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most important criterion to decide whether to go for an EOR process. Obviously, a high Sor is often desirable, although such is usually not the case! As a rule-of-thumb, an Sor$0.35 is desirable for most EOR processes. 2) Past Performance History The past is a good judge of the future. A good "background check" is essential as such check will reveal whether reservoir will offer favorable characteristics for EOR applications. Moreover, it will help develop a better understanding of the reservoir geology and flow mechanisms. The general expectation is that a reservoir with a trouble-some past is likely to have a trouble-some EOR future as well !
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 1
3) Avoid extremes Cautions must be applied in the following types of reservoirs: -very high gross-to-pay ratio. -small areal extent. -highly heterogeneous, fractured/faulted reservoirs. -thin pay with an extensive active aquifer. -very high and low API gravity oils -very deep and hot (for chemical processes) reservoirs.
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 2
4) Economic, geo-political and management policy criteria Current oil prices and future geo-political scenarios will most likely dictate management's decision to go ahead with EOR investments. For example, if the oil price remains at its current low level, there is less chance of any chemical flooding getting widespread field applications. However, government incentives such as tax and royalty holidays may "entice"or change the view of the management. Thus, in essence, the screening criteria include both technical and policy considerations.
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 3
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 4
Sand Limited by pressure < 82 > 50 > 100 > 20 >6 > 100 > 20 >6 > 100 > 20 >6 > 10 > 15 >3 >3 > 4.6 > 457 Limited by pressure > 1370 > 305 < 1220 < 1220 < 1220 >150 Limited by pressure
Temperature, 1C Permeability, md Porosity, % Net Pay Thickness, m Oil Saturation, % Initial Pressure, kPa Current Pressure, kPa Water Salinity, ppm Water Hardness, ppm Oil Density, kg/m
3
< 82 > 10
< 82 > 20
< 82 > 20
> 40
> 40
> 30
> 30
> 50
> 50 < 17240 < 17240 < 17240 < 17240 < 17240 < 17240
< 100,000 < 3000 > 850 < 904 < 10 < 904 < 10 < 850 < 10 < 965 < 3000 < 1000 > 825 > 50 > 0.5 > 0.5 > 0.5 825-1000 825-1000 > 800
O @Reservoir, mPaAs Vertical Permeability, md Clays Present Gas Cap Present Bottom Water Present Fractures Present Active Water Drive Oil Mobility, md/mPaAs Oil Content, fraction Transmissibility, mdAm/mPaAs
< 20
< 50
< 20
< 50
No No No No No
No No No
No No No No No No No No No No
No No
No No
No No No No No No
No No > 0.1 No > 0.1 No > 0.1 No > 0.1 No No > 0.02 > 0.065 > 16 > 16
No
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 5
>23_41_ >22_36_a
<3`0.5`
NC
>4,000 >2,500a
NC
CO2
<10`1.5`
NC
NC
1-3
Immiscible gases
>12
<600
NC
>1,800
NC
>20_35_
<35`13`
>15
<150,>10
>10_16P7
Steam
>8 to 13.5P7
Surface mining
7 to 11
(Enhanced) Waterflooding >35_53_ Light, Sandstone intermediate, preferred some organic acids for alkaline floods NC >50_80_ Sandstone preferred Thermal/ Mechanical >50_72_ Some High-porosity asphaltic sand/ components sandstone NC >40_66_ High-porosity sand/ sandstone NC >8 wt% Mineable sand tar sand
>10_450_
>9,000`3,250
>200`80
NC
<9,000
>200`140
>10
<11,500`3,500
>100_135
>20 >10e
<4,500`1,500
NC
NC
NC
NC = not critical. Underlined values represent the approximate mean or average for current field projects. a See Table 3 of Ref. 16 b> 3md from some carbonate reservoirs if the intent is to sweep only the fracture system. C Transmissibility > 20 md-ft/cpd Transmissibility > 50 md-ft/cpe See depth.
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 6
TABLE 3 -HYDROCARBON-MISCIBLE FLOODING Description Hydrocarbon-miscible flooding consists of injecting light hydrocarbons through the reservoir to form a miscible flood. Three different methods have been used. The first-contact miscible method uses about 5% PV slug of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), such as propane, followed by natural gas or gas and water. A second method, called enriched (condensing) gasdrive, consists of injecting a 10 to 20% PV slug of natural gas that is enriched with ethane through hexane (C2 through C6), followed by lean gas (dry, mostly methane) and possibly water. The enriching components are transferred from the gas to the oil. The third and most common method, called high-pressure (vaporizing) gasdrive, consists of injecting lean gas at high pressure to vaporize C2 through C6 components from the crude oil being displaced. A combination of condensing/ vaporizing mechanisms also occurs at many reservoir conditions, even though we usually think that one process is dominant. Immiscible criteria are given in Table 3 of Ref 1. Mechanisms Hydrocarbon miscible flooding recovers crude oil by (1) generating miscibility (in the condensing and vaporizing gasdrive); (2) increasing the oil volume (swelling); (3) decreasing the oil viscosity; and (4) immiscible gas displacement, especially enhanced gravity drainage with the right reservoir conditions. Technical Screening Guides Recommended Crude Oil Gravity, oAPI Viscosity, cp Composition Reservoir Oil saturation, % PV Type of formation Net thickness Average permeability Depth, ft Temperature, F
o
>23 <3 High percentage of light hydrocarbons >30 Sandstone or carbonate with a minimum of fractures and high-permeability streaks Relatively thin unless formation is dipping Not critical if uniform >4,000
30 to 98
4,040 to 15,900
Temperature can have a significant effect on the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP); it normally raises the pressure required. However, this is accounted for in the deeper reservoirs that are needed to contain the high pressures for the lean gasdrives.
Limitations The minimum depth is set by the pressure needed to maintain the generated miscibility. The required pressure ranges from about 1,200 psi for the LPG process to 4,000 to 5,000 psi for the high-pressure gasdrive, depending on the oil. A steeply dipping formation is very desirable to permit some gravity stabilization of the displacement, which normally has an unfavorable mobility ratio. Problems Viscous fingering results in poor vertical and horizontal sweep efficiency. Large quantities of valuable hydrocarbons are required. Solvent may be trapped and not recovered in the LPG method.
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 7
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 8
TABLE 5 - NITROGEN AND FLUE-GAS FLOODING Description Nitrogen and flue gas are oil recovery methods that use these inexpensive nonhydrocarbon gases to displace oil in systems that may be either miscible or immiscible depending on the pressure and oil composition. Because of their low cost, large volumes of these gases may be injected. Nitrogen and flue gas are also considered for use as chase gases in hydrocarbon-miscible and CO2 floods. Mechanisms Nitrogen and flue gas flooding recover oil by (1) vaporizing the lighter components of the crude oil and generating miscibility if the pressure is high enough; (2) providing a gasdrive where a significant portion of the reservoir volume is filled with low-cost gases, and (3) enhancing gravity drainage in dipping reservoirs (miscible or immiscible). Technical Screening Guides Recommended Crude Oil Gravity, oAPI Viscosity, cp Composition Reservoir Oil saturation, % PV Type of formation Net thickness Average permeability Depth, ft Temperature, oF >35 <0.4 High percentage of light hydrocarbons
>40 59 to 80 Sandstone or carbonate with few fractures and high permeability streaks Relatively thin unless formation is dipping Not critical >6,000 10,000 to 18,500 Not critical for screening purposes, even though the deep reservoirs required to accommodate the high pressure will have high temperatures.
Limitations Developed miscibility can only be achieved with light oils and at very high pressures; therefore, deep reservoirs are needed. A steeply dipping reservoir is desired to permit gravity stabilization of the displacement, which has an unfavorable mobility ratio. For miscible or immiscible enhanced gravity drainage, a dipping reservoir may be crucial to the success of the project. Problems Viscous fingering results in poor vertical and horizontal sweep efficiency. The non-hydrocarbon gases must be separated from the saleable produced gas. Injection of flue gas has caused corrosion problems in the past. At present, nitrogen is being injected into large successful projects that formerly used flue gas.
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 9
Group Exercise 5.1: (a)Make your choice for EOR method, with justification, for the following five reservoirs (b)What additional data will you ask for and why?
Type Depth, ft Temp, deg C Ca++,ppm Mg ++, ppm Salinity, ppm VDP API Viscosity, cP K, mD H, ft So Porosity Pi, psi Current P, psi WOR, bbl/bbl 1 Carbonate 9000 200 5000 1000 100000 0.8 38 1.2 10 150 0.45 0.1 3800 2500 0.5 2 Sandstone 600 70 500 50 9000 0.7 13 2000 3000 120 0.5 0.3 250 100 0 3 Sandstone 3000 85 1000 100 7000 06 20 150 2000 15 0.65 0.25 1500 1000 0.1 4 Sandstone 3500 95 75 25 1500 0.45 19 40 2100 25 0.65 0.25 1800 1200 0.4 5 Sandstone 2500 80 500 100 15000 0.55 30 10 500 30 0.3 0.21 1300 1200 10
Gas Processes: Principles and Field Applications ! Hemanta K. Sarma ! General Screening Criteria - 10