Waterflooding

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Development Geology Reference Manual

Series Methods in Exploration

Part Reservoir engineering methods

Chapter Waterflooding

Author A. M. Sam Sarem

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Waterflooding is a process used to inject water into an oil-bearing reservoir for pressure
maintenance as well as for displacing and producing incremental oil after (or sometimes before)
the economic production limit has been reached. This is done through the displacement of oil and
free gas by water. In waterflooding, water is injected into one or more injection wells while the
oil is produced from surrounding producing wells spaced according to the desired patterns. There
are many different waterflood patterns used in the industry, the most common of which are
illustrated in Figure 1.

Contents
 1 Quick estimation of waterflood recovery
 2 Mathematical modeling of waterfloods
 3 See also
 4 References
 5 External links
Quick estimation of waterflood recovery

Figure 1 Flooding patterns.[1]

Figure 2 Permeability variation example problem.[1]



Figure 3 Vertical sweep efficiency (coverage) as a function of WOR, M, and

permeability variation (VDP), where WOR = 5.[2]

Figure 4 Vertical sweep efficiency (coverage) as a function of WOR, M, and

permeability variation (VDP), where WOR = 0.1.[2]
 

Figure 5 Effect of mobility ratio on oil production for the five-spot pattern.[1]

Figure 6 Effect of directional permeability on sweep efficiencies for varied degrees of

permeability anisotropes at a fluid mobility ratio of 1.[3]

The overall recovery (ER) is a product of displacement efficiency (ED), invasion or vertical
sweep efficiency (EV) and the pattern or areal sweep efficiency (EP).

where

 ER = overall recovery (fraction of initial oil in place recovered)

 ED = displacement efficiency or volume of oil displaced divided by total oil volume
(fraction)
 EV = vertical or invasion efficiency (fraction of vertical reservoir section contacted by
injection fluid)
 EP = pattern efficiency or pattern swept by total pattern area

The displacement efficiency is a function of residual oil saturation (Sor) of the swept region. The
following equation gives the displacement efficiency as a function of Sor and the interstitial
(irreducible) water saturation (Swi):
where

 Sor = saturation of residual oil (fraction)

 Swi = saturation of irreducible water (fraction)

The displacement efficiency depends upon the ratio of the viscous to capillary forces or capillary
number. In enhanced recovery processes, the interfacial tension between the oil and water is
reduced to improve the capillary number.[4]

The vertical sweep efficiency is a function of the vertical heterogeneity (layering) and the
mobility ratio (M). The mobility ratio defined here is the ratio of the relative permeability to
water at Sor (krw) to the relative permeability of the oil at Swi multiplied by the oil-water viscosity
ratio (μo/μw) as expressed in the following equation:

where

 M = mobility ratio, or the ratio of relative permeability to water at Sor divided by the
relative permeability of oil at Swi multiplied by the oil-water viscosity ratio
 krw = relative permeability of water
 kro = relative permeability of oil
 μo = viscosity of oil
 μw = viscosity of water

The vertical heterogeneity is most commonly described by the Dykstra-Parsons permeability

variation (VDP), defined as the ratio of the standard deviation of the permeability of various
layers (σ) divided by the mean permeability ( ), as given in the following equation:

where

 VDP = Dykstra-Parsons permeability variation

 k = absolute permeability
 = mean permeability or sum of the permeabilities divided by the number of
permeabilities

In practice, the permeability variation is determined by arranging the permeabilities in

descending order and determining the percent-greater-than values for each permeability. From a
plot of k versus percent greater than on a log probability graph sheet (as shown in Figure 2), the
values of k at 50% and k at 84.1% are read, and VDP is determined as follows:
Dykstra and Parsons[2] have published charts for determining the vertical sweep efficiency (VD)
or conformance from the mobility ratio and the permeability variation, as shown for WOR = 5
and 0.1 in Figures 3 and 4, respectively.

The pattern efficiency is a function of the previously defined mobility ratio, the flood pattern,
and given water cut. Figure 5 shows the pattern efficiency as a function of mobility ratio and
water cut for a five-spot pattern. Craig[1] shows similar plots for several other common patterns.

A word of caution is appropriate at this point. The knowledge of directional permeability can be
crucial in placement of pattern injectors. The injectors should always line up in the direction of
maximum permeability. As shown in Figure 6, infill drilling can rotate the flow pattern and in
some cases it can reduce the areal sweep efficiency, as exemplified in this figure for a five-spot
and line-drive case. As shown, the sensitivity of the sweep efficiency to the ratio of maximum to
minimum areal permeability depends heavily upon whether the maximum permeability is in the
direction of injection to injection wells or injection to production wells.

Example of Estimation of Waterflooding Recovery:

Estimate the overall recovery of a five-spot waterflood for the following cases:

Case VDP M WOR

1 0.7 3 0.1
2 0.7 1.5 0.1
3 0.5 1.5 0.1
4 0.7 3 5
5 0.5 3 5

Other properties are as follows:

 krw at Sor = 0.2

 kro at Swi = 0.95
 μo = 10 cp at reservoir temperature
 μw = 0.7 cp at reservoir temperature
 Sor = 0.30
 Swi = 0.28

Solution:
The rest of the solution is given in the following table:

Case VDP M WOR ED EV EP ER

1 0.7 3 0.1 0.583 0.06 0.57 0.02
2 0.7 1.5 0.1 0.583 0.09 0.61 0.03
3 0.5 1.5 0.1 0.583 0.27 0.61 0.10
4 0.7 3 5 0.583 0.5 0.835 0.24
5 0.5 3 5 0.583 0.185 0.57 0.06

Mathematical modeling of waterfloods

The foregoing analysis is one of many simplified approaches that can be taken as a first
approximation for the prediction of waterflood recovery, as fully explained by Craig[1] and
Bradley.[5] For a more accurate recovery prediction, mathematical modeling of the reservoir is
essential. However, the most important aspect of reservoir modeling is the construction of the
model, which requires detailed knowledge of the reservoir characteristics. Once the most
probable reservoir realization is determined, the history matching of primary production can be
used to refine the model before it is used to predict the waterflood behavior. For this purpose,
any of the many commercially available softwares can be used.

See also
 Enhanced oil recovery
 Drive mechanisms and recovery
 Reservoir modeling for simulation purposes
 Reserves estimation
 Fluid flow fundamentals
 Introduction to reservoir engineering methods
 Petroleum reservoir fluid properties

References
1. ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Craig, F. F., 1971, Reservoir engineering aspects of
waterflooding: Richardson, TX, Society of Petroleum Engineers Monograph Series, v. 3.
2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dykstra, H., Parsons, R. L., 1950, Secondary recovery of oil in U., S.:
American Petroleum Institute Publication, p. 160–174.
3. Jump up ↑ Landrum, B. L., Crawford, P. B., 1960, Petroleum Transactions, AIME, v.
219, p. 407.
4. Jump up ↑ Willhite, P. G., 1986, Waterflooding: Society of Petroleum Engineers
Textbook Series No. 3, chap. 2.
5. Jump up ↑ Bradley, H. B., ed., 1987, Petroleum Engineering Handbook: Richardson, TX,
Society of Petroleum Engineers.
External links
find literature about
Waterflooding

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