Assignment:

Tutorial 3

Herriot-Watt University, Dubai

Campus
Studying the effect of pseudo relative
permeability curves, upscaling, permeability
variation & different driving forces on the
sweep efficiency in water flooding process.
Emad Ali Kaawan

INTRODUCTION
The success of oil recovery is strongly influenced by the change of reservoir
permeability; therefore, attempting to understand the fluid flow is an
important task for reservoir and production engineers. Upscaling has
become an increasingly important tool in recent years for converting highly
detailed geological models to simulation grids. Upscaling is needed to
bridge the gap between these two scales. Given a fine-scale reservoir
description and a simulation grid, an upscaling algorithm assigns suitable
values for porosity, permeability, and other flow functions to cells on the
coarse simulation grid. Upscaling calculations use Darcy's law equation. .
In parts B, C & D, three models were used to predict permeability
alteration. In these models, the permeability alteration in porous media is
predicted by setting a reservoir with different thin layers with a
permeability contrast of 10:1. Then changing the direction of layers from
the vertical (across the flow), to horizontal (along the flow), and finally
setting a uniform case where the whole reservoir is divided into two high &
low permeability thick layers. By this, we were able to study the effect of
the viscous, capillary and gravity forces.
TUTORIAL 3A
Upscaling Relative Permeability Curves
The objective was to take three cells out of the high permeability zone in
model TUT2C (which were created in tutorial 2) and split it into 150 x 1 x 20
cells which have similar dimensions to a core sample in the X and Z
directions. The original rock relative permeability data was used in these
fine scale cells, and once the Eclipse simulation of a water flood in this fine
scale model has been completed, the Pseudo program was used to
generate pseudo relative permeability curves assuming high & low
permeability values. The resulted pseudo relative permeability curves
replaced the original rock curves in the coarser scale model (ROCK.DATA) &
(PSEUDO.DATA). By comparing the two simulations using the pseudo and
rock relative permeability, it was obvious that the pseudo relative
permeability curves produced a better reservoir description.
The PSEUDO model showed a better recovery & sweep efficiency, hence a
higher value of total field oil production compared with the ROCK model,
(Figure 1). Also, by looking at the Floviz saturation profiles (graphs 1 to 4)
for both models, an early water breakthrough was observed in the ROCK
model whereas when using the PSEUDO model, a later water breakthrough
occurred (Figure 2). So, by using the pseudo rel. perm. curves a much
better detailed reservoir description was obtained by observing the change
in Pc values over the fine scale (shorter water front), which in turn reduced
the effect of numerical dispersion.
In order to make pseudos more representative, we might have to increase
Pc k r values so that we can represent the detailed
include more
movement of fluids inside the reservoir. Also, if we play with the

transmissibility between layers and vertical to horizontal permeability ratio

kv
.
kh

TUTORIAL 3B
Lab-scale model ACROSS
The model is a 20x20x1cm slab of rock with alternating 2cm layers of 500
and 50md, and 2cm thick buffer zones on either end; grid cells are 1cm x
1cm x 1cm. The model is designed to illustrate flow processes operating at
the scale of sediment lamination. Layers 2cm thick with a 10:1 permeability
contrast are typical of a good reservoir sandstone. The model is positioned
vertically so that gravity, viscous and capillary forces are all operating.
The objective is to understand flow behavior at the small scale and to
calculate pseudofunctions for use in upscaling calculations, but the model
could also represent a (rather large) core analysis experiment. We
calculated
the
injection
rate
Q
as
follows,
2
2
V ( m/d ) A ( cm ) 0.48 ( m/d ) 20 ( cm ) 0.2
Q=
=
=8 cc /hr , The time T to flood 1
0.24
0.24
(volume ) ( 20 20 1) 0.2
=
=10 hrs , so TSTEP was set to
pore volume T =
Q cc /hr
8 cc /hr
20*1
By looking at the pressure & saturation distribution profiles (Figures 3 and
4), it's obvious that the higher pressure drop takes place at the high
permeability layer (viscous dominated fluid flow). Also, the most bypassed
capillary oil exists in the high perm. layers because of the low capillary
pressure. The high water saturation exists in the low perm. layers because
most of the oil has been swept by water.
When opening the ACROSS model in FloViz it shows that the high perm.
layers has the viscous force as the dominant force whereas in the low perm.
layers the capillary force is the dominant force. Also, there is no significant
gravitational effects because gravity has to have continues high perm.
layers along the flow in order to be able to see its effect. In this case the
high perm. layers are interrupted by the low perm. layers, the matter which
cuts down the gravity effect.
TUTORIAL 3C
Lab-scale model ALONG
The model is positioned horizontally along the flow direction and again
the objective is to understand the flow behavior and the effects of gravity,
viscous and capillary forces in the water flooding process.
TUTORIAL 3D
Lab-scale model UNIFORM
The model is now changed so that it represents two large blocks with low &
high permeabilities respectively. When the oil recovery efficiency (ROE for
region 2) was plotted for the three models ACROSS, ALONG & UNIFORM,
there were differences between them (Figure 5). The best ROE was
obtained by the ALONG model & the worst was the ACROSS model. The
water flooding works best in the low perm. layers leaving the capillary
trapped oil in the high permeability layers. At the ACROSS model the
varying permeability layers are perpendicular to the flow direction, this
makes it difficult to the water to sweep most of the oil because of the
discontinuity of permeability across the flow. Whereas in the ALONG model

the layers are positioned along with the flow direction which makes it easier
to sweep the low perm. layers first and by continuing the injection
eventually most of the capillary trapped oil will be recovered too.
If we set the capillary pressure to zero, we would get a better sweep
efficiency and better recovery because we would have a piston like
displacement.