Section 6: Drive Force

& Recovery Methods

Reservoir Engineering
By Dr E. Dimou

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What You Will Learn

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Reservoir Drive Types
Primary recovery methods: HC flow because of the natural
drive
Recovery Factor is usually low
Secondary recovery methods: Aim to maintain pressure in
order to increase the production Field life extension because
RF is increased
Water injection
Gas Injection
Artificial lift
Gas lift
Electrical Submersible Pumps
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Tertiary recovery methods: Aim to further increase the recovery
method
Reservoir Drive Forces
Energy force for a reservoir to produce hydrocarbons
Natural recovery- known as Primary recovery
Secondary recovery
Tertiary recovery
Natural force for oil reservoirs:
Solution gas drive (also known as Depletion drive)
Gas cap drive
Water drive
Combination drive
Gravity drainage drive
Natural force for production from gas reservoirs
Gas expansion drive 4

Water drive
Natural Flow Reservoirs- Oil
Reservoirs

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Saturated & Under-saturated Oil
Reservoir
Function of the reservoir pressure with the bubble pressure
Saturated (for black and volatile oil)
When the reservoir pressure is at the bubble point we refer to it as
saturated oil, since if any more gas were added to the system it could not
be dissolved in the oil.
Under-saturated
When the reservoir pressure is above the bubble point of oil, we refer to the
oil as undersaturated.- no gas is presented in the oil and it is only one
phase (liquid)
The bubble point is therefore the saturation pressure for the
reservoir fluid.
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Rock and Oil Expansion Recovery
Observed in Under-saturated oil reservoirs
As the reservoir pressure declines, the rock and fluids expand due to their
individual compressibilities

The reservoir rock compressibility is the result of two factors:

expansion of the individual rock grains
formation compaction
The oil reservoir under this driving mechanism is characterized
by a constant gasoil ratio that is equal to the gas solubility at
the bubble point pressure
This driving mechanism is considered the least efficient driving
force and usually results in the recovery of only a small 7
percentage of the total oil-in-place
Depletion (Solution gas) Drive
The principal source of energy is a result of gas liberation from the
crude oil and the subsequent expansion of the solution gas as the
reservoir pressure is reduced.
As pressure falls below the bubble point pressure, gas bubbles are
liberated within the microscopic pore spaces. These bubbles expand
and force the crude oil out of the pore space

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Solution Gas Depletion
Solution gas drive occurs in a reservoir which contains no initial gas
cap or string underlying active aquifer to support the pressure and
therefore oil is produced by the driving force due to the expansion of
oil
The oil compressibility initially dominates the drive energy. Because
the oil compressibility itself is low, pressure drops rapidly in the
reservoir as production takes place, until the pressure reaches the
bubble point
A solution gas drive reservoir is initially either considered to be under-
saturated or saturated depending on its pressure:
Under-saturated: Reservoir pressure > bubble point of oil
Saturated: Reservoir pressure <= bubble point of oil.
For an under-saturated reservoir no free gas exists until the reservoir
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pressure falls below the bubble point. In this regime reservoir drive
energy is provided only by the bulk expansion on the reservoir rock
and liquids (water and oil)
Characteristics of Solution Gas (1)
Pressure behaviour: The reservoir pressure declines rapidly and
continuously because no fluids or gas caps are available to provide a
replacement of the gas and oil withdrawals.
Water production: The absence of a water drive means there will be little or
no water production with the oil during the entire producing life of the
reservoir as water aquifer is considered absent in this case.
Gas to Oil ratio: There is a rapidly increasing gasoil ratio from all wells,
regardless of their structural position. When the reservoir pressure is
reduced below the bubble point pressure, gas is released from solution
throughout the reservoir. Once the gas saturation exceeds the critical gas
saturation, free gas begins to flow.
Unique oil recovery: Oil production by depletion drive is usually the least
efficient recovery method. Ultimate oil recovery from depletion drive
reservoirs may vary from less than 5% to about 30%. The low recovery from 10
this type of reservoir suggests that large quantities of oil remain in the
reservoir and enhanced recoveries are good candidates.
Characteristics of Solution Gas (2)
Once the bubble point is reached, solution gas starts to
become liberated from the oil.
The liberated gas has a high compressibility the rate of
decline of pressure per unit of production slows down

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Gas Cap vs Free Gas
An oil reservoir which exists at initial conditions with an
overlying gas cap must by definition be at the bubble point
pressure at the interface between the gas and the oil, the gas-
oil-contact (GOC).
Gas existing in an initial gas cap is called free gas, while the
gas in solution in the oil is called dissolved or solution gas
Solution gas (or associated gas) is released from under-
saturated oil reservoirs

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Gas Cap Drive Reservoirs
Gas cap drive reservoirs can be identified by the presence of a gas
cap with little or no water drive
Due to the ability of the gas cap to expand, these reservoirs are
characterized by a slow decline in the reservoir pressure.
The natural energy available to produce the crude oil comes from the
following two sources:
Expansion of the gas cap gas
Expansion of the solution gas as it is liberated

Gas Cap
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Characteristics of Gas Cap Drive (1)
Reservoir pressure: The reservoir pressure falls slowly and
continuously. Pressure tends to be maintained at a higher level than
in a depletion drive reservoir. The degree of pressure maintenance
depends upon the volume of gas in the gas cap compared to the oil
volume.
Water production: Absent or negligible water production.
Gasoil ratio: The gasoil ratio rises continuously in up-structure
wells. As the expanding gas cap reaches the producing intervals of
up-structure wells, the gasoil ratio from the affected wells will
increase to high values.
Ultimate oil recovery: Oil recovery by gas cap expansion results in a
considerably larger recovery efficiency than that of depletion drive
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reservoirs. The expected oil recovery ranges from 20% to 40%.
Characteristics of Gas Cap Drive (2)
The larger the gas cap, the more energy is available
The typical production profile for gas cap drive shows a much
slower decline in reservoir pressure, due to the energy provided
by the highly compressible gas cap, resulting in a more
prolonged plateau and a slower decline
Initial condition: Saturated oil

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Key points for Gas cap drive
Free gas phase exists as an original gas cap
Reservoir energy is the result of the expansion of gas cap and liberation and
expansion of solution gas in the oil zone
Gas cap expands pushing GOC down and maintaining higher pressure
Typical production characteristics
High GOR increase when gas breakthrough (gas is coned or cusped into
the producers)
Plateau period is prolonged with slower decline
Low water cut
Recovery factors for gas cap drive are in the range 20 - 60%, influenced
by the field dip and the gas cap size
Abandonment conditions are caused by high producing GORs and lack of
reservoir pressure to sustain production 16
Natural gas cap drive may be supplemented by reinjection of produced gas
Water (Aquifer) Drive
Natural water drive occurs when the underlying aquifer is both large
(typically greater than ten times the oil volume) and the water is able
to flow into the oil column, for example, it has a communication path
and sufficient permeability
Production from the oil column creates a pressure drop the aquifer
responds by expanding, and water moves into the oil column to
replace the voidage created by production

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Edge Water Drive Bottom Water Drive
Water (Aquifer) Drive
It is difficult to predict the water drive in a reservoir. A common
solution is to initially produce the reservoir using natural depletion,
and to install water injection facilities in the event of little aquifer
support

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Key Characteristics for Water Drive
The oil could be saturated or under-saturated
Typical reservoir characteristics
The aquifer response may maintain the reservoir pressure close to the
initial pressure, providing a long plateau period and slow decline of oil
production.
The producing GOR may remain approximately at the solution GOR if the
reservoir pressure is maintained above the bubble point.
Large increase in water cut over the life of the field, which is usually the
main reason for abandonment.
Water cut may exceed 90% in the final part of the field life.
a constant gross liquids (oil plus water) production may be maintained.
The recovery factor (RF) is in the range 30-70%, depending on the strength
of the natural aquifer, or the efficiency with which the injected water
sweeps the oil. 19
The high RF is an incentive for water injection into reservoirs which lack
natural water drive
Gravity Depletion
This mechanism occurs in petroleum reservoirs as a result of
differences in densities of the reservoir fluids.
The fluids are separated as a result of the gravitational forces
acting on them
Due to the long periods of time involved in the petroleum
accumulation and migration process, it is generally assumed
that the reservoir fluids are in equilibrium

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Gravity Depletion Characteristics
Reservoir pressure: Variable rates of pressure decline depend principally
upon the amount of gas conservation. If the gas is conserved, and reservoir
pressure is maintained, the reservoir would be operating under combined
gas cap drive and gravity drainage mechanisms. Therefore, for the reservoir
to be operating solely as a result of gravity drainage, the reservoir would
show a rapid pressure decline
Gas Oil Ratio: They show low gasoil ratios from structurally located low
wells. This is caused by migration of the evolved gas upstructure due to
gravitational segregation of the fluids. On the other hand, the structurally
high wells will experience an increasing gasoil ratio as a result of the
upstructure migration of the gas released from the crude oil.
Water production: Gravity drainage reservoirs have little or no water
production. Water production is essentially indicative of a water drive
reservoir. 21
Combination Drive
It is possible that more than one of these drive mechanisms
occur simultaneously
The most common combination being gas cap drive and
natural aquifer drive.
Material balance techniques are applied to historic production
data to estimate the contribution from each drive mechanism.

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Natural Drive Forces- Summary

Range of Recovery Average RF (%) of

Factor (%) of OIIP OIIP
Solution gas drive 5-30 % 15%
Water drive 30-60% 40%
Gas cap drive 15-50% 30%
Gravity drainage 16-85% 50%
drive

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Natural Flow Reservoirs- Gas
Reservoirs

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Natural Gas Reservoirs
Volumetric (gas expansion)
Production energy is the gas expansion
Performance similar to gas cap in the oil reservoirs
Water drives
Similar to oil reservoirs
Note that the recovery factor is higher in volumetric depletion
because the water occupies the pore space and reduces the
amount of gas that can be produce
Range of Recovery Factor (%) Average RF (%) of GIIP
of GIIP
Volumetric (Gas 70-90 % 80%
expansion)
Water drive 35-65% 50% 25
Secondary & Tertiary recovery
Oil recovered from the natural depletion drive may be up to
40%, depending on the natural drive force
The remaining 60% of the oil is attempted to be recovered with
other techniques, such as pressure maintenance (secondary
recovery) and changing the fluid properties (tertiary recovery)
Oil remaining in the reservoir because more energy is required
to make it flow
That energy comes from secondary and tertiary recoveries that
aim to:
Increase the pressures to improve production
Loose the bonds of oil with the grain and the well to make it flow
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Secondary Recovery Methods

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Secondary Recovery Method
Secondary oil recovery refers to the additional recovery that
results from the conventional methods of water injection and
immiscible gas injection.
Usually, the selected secondary recovery process follows the
primary recovery but it can also be conducted concurrently with
the primary recovery.
Water injection (or water-flooding) is perhaps the most common
method of secondary recovery.
Before undertaking a secondary recovery, it should be clearly
proven that the natural recovery processes are insufficient;
otherwise there is a risk that the substantial capital investment 28
required for a secondary recovery project may be wasted.
Water and Gas Injection

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Water Injection Methods
Water injection
Drill a well near to production well
Inject water to the well
Injected water:
Produced water from the reservoir after the separation phase
Seawater chemically treated to remove impurities that may cause
problem to the reservoir production profile
Water aim to push oil to the borehole
Advantages of WI
Enhance production
Not expensive source of water supply
Disadvantage of WI 30
CAPEX increased due to additional water injection well
Water may go to the wellbore and increase the water production (water cut)
Diagram for Water Injection
Water injection wells may
maintain the reservoir
pressure close to the initial
pressure, providing a long
plateau period and slow
decline of oil production.

The producing GOR may

remain approximately at the
solution GOR if the reservoir
pressure is maintained
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above the bubble point.
Water Injection Application
Water-drive reservoirs that are classified as strong water-drive
reservoirs not usually considered to be good candidates for
waterflooding because of the natural on going water influx.
However, supplemented water injection can be applied in order to:
Support a higher withdrawal rate
Better distribute the water volume to different areas of the field to
achieve more uniform areal coverage
Gas-cap drive reservoirs are not normally good water-flood
prospects because the primary mechanism may be quite
efficient without water injection
Depletion drive reservoirs: Good reservoirs due to low recovery
factor (result of the natural flow) 32
Gas Injection Method
Gas injection:
Drill a well for gas injection near to the production well
Inject gas to the reservoir to maintain pressure for production
Gas injected may be:
From the reservoir (associated gas/solution gas)
Purchased gas from a nearby facility
GI advantages
Increase field life cycle
Eliminates normal gas flaring (e,g Norway no gas is allowed to flare,
instead, it has to be injected)
GI disadvantages
CAPEX for the additional well 33
Gas is compressed before it is injected additional power requirements on
the platform
Artificial Lift Methods
Artificial Lift Methods

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Description of the Methods
Rod Pumps - A downhole plunger is moved up and down by a
rod connected to an engine at the surface. The plunger
movement displaces produced fluid into the tubing via a pump
consisting of suitably arranged travelling and standing valves
mounted in a pump barrel
Only for onshore production
Progressing Cavity Pump (PCP) employs a helical, metal rotor
rotating inside an elastomeric, double helical stator. The
rotating action is supplied by downhole electric motor or by
rotating rods

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Description of Artificial Lift
Hydraulic Pumps use a high pressure power fluid to:
drive a downhole turbine pump creating a low pressure area which
produces an increased drawdown and inflow from the reservoir.
Electric Submersible Pump (ESP) employs:
A downhole centrifugal pump driven by a three phase electric moto
Power supplied with electric power via a cable run from the surface on the
outside of the tubing.
Gas Lift involves the:
Supply of high pressure gas to the casing/tubing annulus from a
compressor unit on the topside
Compressed gas is injected into the tubing deep in the well
The gas reduces the flowing density of the fluids in the tubing 36
increasing the formation drawdown and the well inflow rate.
Gas Lift Process
Gas is injected between the annulus and the tubing of the
production well
Note that this is different from gas injection that needs a
separate well near to the production well for pressure
maintenance and increase production
Gas injected results from:
Separator phases when oil and gas is separated.
Flaring gas minimisation option
Supply gas from a gas source through a pipeline- expensive option
Gas injected in required pressures, therefore, compression may
be required on the topsides
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ESP method
The ESP is a down hole motor that affects the downhole
pressure and allows the fluid to flow
Their location depends on the purposes, Usually the motor is
located above the perforation
Requires power from the topside
It is the most used method in offshore industry when gas
supply is not available
Drawback is the more frequent maintenance time (3-5 years)
compared to the gas lift (moving/rotating parts require more
frequent maintenance and in offshore may be expensive)
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Tertiary Recovery

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Tertiary Recovery (Enhanced Oil
Recovery )
Methods used to remove the remaining oil
Thermal technique
Chemical techniques
Miscible processes
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques seek to produce oil
which would not be recovered using the primary or secondary
recovery methods

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Thermal Techniques
Thermal techniques are used to reduce the viscosity of heavy
crudes, thereby improving the mobility, and allowing the oil to
be displaced to the producers.
Most widely used method of heat generation is by injecting hot
water or steam into the reservoir.
This can be done in dedicated injectors (hot water or steam drive)
Alternately injecting into, and then producing from the same well (steam
soak).
A more ambitious method of generating heat in the reservoir is by igniting a
mixture of the hydrocarbon gases and oxygen, and is called insitu
combustion

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Chemical Methods
Aim to change the physical properties of either the displacing fluid, or
of the oil, and comprise of:
Polymer flooding
Aims at reducing the amount of by-passed oil by increasing the viscosity of the
displacing fluid, say water, and thereby improving the mobility ratio (M)
Applied when natural mobility ratio is greater than 1.0
Polymer chemicals such as polysaccharides are added to the injection water.
Surfactant flooding
Aims at reducing the amount of residual oil left in the pore space, by reducing the
interfacial tension between oil and water and allowing the oil droplets to break
down into small enough droplets to be displaced through the pore throats.
Very low residual oil saturations (around 5%) can be achieved.
Surfactants such as soaps and detergents are added to the injection wate
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Miscible Process
Aimed at recovering oil which would normally be left behind as
residual oil, by using a displacing fluid which actually mixes
with the oil.
Because the miscible drive fluid is usually more mobile than oil, it tends to
bypass the oil giving rise to a low macroscopic sweep efficiency. The
method is therefore best suited to high dip reservoirs.
Miscible drive fluids include hydrocarbon solvents, hydrocarbon gases,
carbon dioxide and nitrogen

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Taught Material Applicaton
Working in O&G company
Understand the drive force for the production
Expect oil, gas and water production rates during the fields life to design
properly the:
Surface processing system
Subsurface system, for example, if pressure support is needs
Able to calculate the costs involved in field development if water injection
and/or gas injection is required
Identify the requirements (subsea, wells, topside processing system) for
each application

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