Basra University for oil & gas

College of oil and gas Engineering

Oil & gas engineering department

Water flooding
Introduction
 Introduction
Outline
Drive mechanism & oil recovery
What is water flooding
Why water flooding?
Objective of water flooding
Water flooding versus pressure maintenance
Sweep efficiency
Oil recovery due to water injection
Water flooding strategy example
Factors controlling Waterflood behaviour
Reservoir simulation case study
Principle reservoir engineering for Water flooding
 Introduction
Drive mechanisms & oil recovery

Primary recovery:
 Natural energy of reservoirs to displace hydrocarbons
 Primary drive Mechanism include:
1- Gas cap drive (expansion of the gas phase) RF=20-40%
2- Solution gas drive (exsolution of solution gas) Rf=5-30% OIIP
3- Water drive (aquifer displacement) RF=35-75%
 Introduction
Drive mechanisms & oil recovery

Secondary recovery:
 Adding energy to the natural system
 Water is injected to maintain pressure & displace oil
 Also known as waterflood
 Typical recoveries are 25-45% OOIP after primary recovery (average
32%).
 Introduction
Drive mechanisms & oil recovery

Tertiary recovery:
 All other methods used to increase the recovery factor
 Such as: Miscible & immiscible gas injection, Polymer flooding, Steam
flooding, etc.

 Typical recoveries are 5-20% of OIP after primary and secondary

recovery (average 13%).

 Secondary and tertiary recovery are together referred to as enhanced

oil recovery (EOR).
 Introduction
What is water flooding
 Process of injection of
water into a wellbore to
push, or “drive” oil to
another well to increase
the recovery factor

 One of the most widely

used EOR techniques
 Introduction
Why Water flooding is the most widely used and
successful oil recovery process?

1- Water is available
2- Low cost relative to other injection fluids
3- Ease of injecting water into a formation
4- High efficiency with which water displaces oil
 Introduction
Objective of water flooding

1- To increase the recovery factor ( Sweeping more oil)

2- Pressure maintenance ( Filling the voidage left by

produced fluids)

3- Maintain the reservoir pressure and BHP of the well above

bubble point pressure
 Introduction
Water flooding versus pressure maintenance

Pressure maintenance: Injection process where water is injected

into a reservoir at early time where the reservoir pressure is at
high level.

Waterflooding: Injection process where the water is injected into

the reservoir when reservoir pressure has declined to a low level
due to primary depletion
 Introduction
Sweep efficiency

Areal sweep efficiency, EA: The fraction of the floodable pore volume area
swept by the injected water. It depends on permeability anisotropy and
inhomogeneity and mobility ratio.

Vertical sweep efficiency, Ev: The fraction of the floodable pore volume in
the vertical plane swept by the injected water. It is influenced by reservoirs
stratification

Displacement efficiency, ED:The fraction of oil which water will displace in

that portion of the reservoir invaded by water
 Introduction
Calculation oil recovery due to water injection

Four factors are required:

1- Oil in place at start of water flooding, N
2- Areal sweep efficiency, EA :
3- Vertical sweep efficiency, Ev
4- Displacement efficiency, ED
 Introduction
Calculation oil recovery due to water injection

Np = N x EA x EV x ED

where
N = OIIP at the start of water injection, STB
EA = Areal sweep efficiency, fraction
Ev = Vertical sweep efficiency, fraction
ED = Displacement sweep efficiency, fraction
 Introduction
Water flooding strategy: example

 Some of existing oil wells are converted to Injectors

 Other oil wells remain as producers

 The injected water displaces, or “pushes” oil to the producers

 Introduction
Water flooding strategy example

 During the primary recovery

all wells are oil producers

 A certain space between all

well
 Introduction
Water flooding strategy Example

 Starting of secondary recovery

WF operations in place

 Some oil producers are

converted into injectors
 Introduction
Water flooding strategy Example
A certain well pattern is formed

5-Spot water flood pattern

 Introduction
Water flood progression

Injection water
At early time of WF, Time 1
Oil wells Produce 100 % oil only
Oil
 Introduction
Water flood progression

At early time of WF, Time 2

Water banks expanding
Oil wells still Produce 100 % oil only
 Introduction
Water flood progression

At mid-life time of WF, Time 3

Water reaching the producer
Oil wells Produce oil & water
 Introduction
Water flood progression The effectiveness of the water
“sweeping” the area of the
pattern is called the “areal
sweep efficiency”, or Ea .

At late-life time of WF, Time 4

Oil wells Produce water much more
than oil
 Introduction
Water flood efficiency in vertical direction

Permeability has a vital impact on the efficiency of water

injection in the vertical direction ( Vertical sweep efficiency)

Most oil reservoirs encompass of multi-layers having different

permeabilities
 Introduction
Water flood efficiency in vertical direction
 Introduction
Water flood efficiency in vertical direction
 Introduction
Water flood efficiency in vertical direction
 Introduction
Water flood efficiency in vertical direction
 Introduction
Water flood efficiency in vertical direction
The effectiveness of the water
“sweeping” the layers of the
reservoir is called the “vertical
sweep efficiency”, or Ev .
 Introduction
Factors controlling Waterflood behaviour

1- Oil saturation at start of water flooding

2- Residual oil saturation, Sor
3- Connate water saturation, Swc
4- Free gas saturation at start of injection
5- Water floodable pore volume, Vp bbl ( Porosity
and permeability)
6- Oil and water viscosities
 Introduction
Factors controlling Waterflood behaviour

7- Effective permeability to oil Ko at Swi

8-Relative permeability to oil and water
9- Reservoir stratification
10- Water flood pattern
11- Pressure distribution between injector and producer
12- Injection rate
13- Oil formation volume factor
14- Economics
 Introduction
Water flooding-reservoir simulation case study
 Introduction
Water flooding-reservoir simulation case study
 Introduction
Water flooding reservoir simulation model: Example

Change of water saturation with time

 Introduction
Principle reservoir engineering for Water flooding

Wettability
Relative permeability curve
Capillary pressure
Well pattern