Imbibition oil recovery of single fracture-controlled matrix unit: Model construction and numerical simulation

Qiang Liu, Bing Liang, Jianjun Liu, Weiji Sun, Yun Lei

Abstract view|0|times       PDF download|0|times

Abstract


The fracture-controlled matrix unit is commonly found in low-permeability fractured reservoirs. Due to the permeability difference between the fracture system and the matrix system, a large amount of oil will remain in the matrix during traditional water injection development, thus limiting reservoir productivity. However, the special imbibition mode of the fracture-controlled matrix unit provides a breakthrough for secondary oil recovery. In this paper, based on the model of single fracture-controlled matrix unit, the dynamic production process of fractured reservoir is studied by the numerical simulation method. The numerical simulation of the imbibition oil production is carried out on the two-point well model by using the method of huff and puff injection. The results show that imbibition is the main mechanism in the middle and late stages of oil recovery from fractured reservoirs. The water in the fracture is absorbed into the matrix by capillary force and the oil is replaced; in this way, imbibition can increase the recovery rate by 20%. The findings provide a basis for the further study of the fracture-controlled matrix unit and imbibition.

Cited as: Liu, Q., Liang, B., Liu, J., Sun, W., Lei, Y. Imbibition oil recovery of single fracture-controlled matrix unit: Model construction and numerical simulation. Capillarity, 2022, 5(2): 32-40. https://doi.org/10.46690/capi.2022.02.02


Keywords


Low-permeability reservoir, imbibition oil recovery, enhanced oil recovery, reservoir scale

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abbasi, J., Ghaedi, M., Riazi, M. Discussion on similarity of recovery curves in scaling of imbibition process in fractured porous media. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2016, 36: 617-629.

Akhlaghi Amiri, H. A., Hamouda, A. A. Evaluation of level set and phase field methods in modeling two phase flow with viscosity contrast through dual-permeability porous medium. International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 2013, 52: 22-34.

Al-Huthali, A., Datta-Gupta, A. Streamline simulation of counter-current imbibition in naturally fractured reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2004, 43(3-4): 271-300.

Alinejad, A., Dehghanpour, H. Evaluating porous media wettability from changes in Helmholtz free energy using spontaneous imbibition profiles. Advances in Water Resources, 2021, 157: 104038.

Babadagli, T., Boluk, Y. Oil recovery performances of surfactant solutions by capillary imbibition. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2005, 282(1): 162-175.

Bagherinezhad, A., Pishvaie, M. R. A new approach to counter-current spontaneous imbibition simulation using Green element method. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2014, 119: 163-168.

Behbahani, H. S., Donato, G. D., Blunt, M. J. Simulation of counter-current imbibition in water-wet fractured reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2006, 50: 21-39.

Berga, S., Rückerab, M., Ottca, H., et al. Connected pathway relative permeability from pore-scale imaging of imbibition. Advances in Water Resources, 2016, 90: 24-35.

Cai, J., Guo, S., You, L., et al. Fractal analysis of spontaneous imbibition mechanism in fractured-porous dual media reservoir. Acta Physica Sinica, 2013, 62(1): 014701. (in Chinese)

Cai, J., Jin, T., Kou, J., et al. Lucas–washburn equation-based modeling of capillary-driven flow in porous systems. Langmuir, 2021, 37(5): 1623-1636.

Chen, T., Feng, X., Cui, G., et al. Experimental study of permeability change of organic-rich gas shales under high effective stress. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2019, 64: 1-14.

Diao, Z., Li, S., Liu, W., et al. Numerical study of the effect of tortuosity and mixed wettability on spontaneous imbibition in heterogeneous porous media. Capillarity, 2021, 4(3): 50-62.

Fichot, F., Meekunnasombat, P., Belloni, J., et al. Two-phase flows in porous media: Prediction of pressure drops using a diffuse interface mathematical description. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2007, 237(15-17): 1887-1898.

Ghasemi, F., Ghaedi, M., Escrochi, M. A new scaling equation for imbibition process in naturally fractured gas reservoirs. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2020, 4(1): 99-106.

Graham, J. W., Richardson, J. G. Theory and application of imbibition phenomena in recovery of oil. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 1959, 11(2): 65-69.

Khosravi, R., Chahardowli, M., Keykhosravi, A., et al. A model for interpretation of nanoparticle-assisted oil recovery: Numerical study of nanoparticle-enhanced spontaneous imbibition experiments. Fuel, 2021, 292: 120174.

Liu, Q., Liu, J., Pei, G., et al. A new method for artificial core reconstruction of a fracture-control matrix unit. Advances in Civil Engineering, 2020a, 2020: 7469584.

Liu, Q., Song, R., Liu, J., et al. Mass transfer model of fracture-controlled matrix unit: Model derivation and experimental verification based on fractal theory and micro-CT scanning technology. Energy Reports, 2020b, 6: 3067-3079.

Liu, Q., Song, R., Liu, J., et al. Pore-scale visualization and quantitative analysis of the spontaneous imbibition based on experiments and micro-CT technology in low-permeability mixed-wettability rock. Energy Science and Engineering, 2020c, 8: 1840-1856.

Liu, Y., Cai, J., Sahimi, M., et al. A study of the role of microfractures in counter-current spontaneous imbibition by lattice boltzmann simulation. Transport in Porous Media, 2020d, 133: 313-332.

Meleán, Y., Broseta, D., Blossey, R. Imbibition fronts in porous media: Effects of initial wetting fluid saturation and flow rate. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2003, 39(3-4): 327-336.

Meng, Q., Cai, J. Recent advances in spontaneous imbibition with different boundary conditions. Capillarity, 2018, 1(3): 19-26.

Mirzaei, M., DiCarlo, D. A., Pope, G. A. Visualization and Analysis of Surfactant Imbibition Into Oil-Wet Fractured Cores. SPE Journal, 2016, 21: 101-111.

Mohammadi, S., Kord, S., Moghadasi, J., et al. An experimental investigation into the spontaneous imbibition of surfactant assisted low salinity water in carbonate rocks. Fuel, 2019, 243: 142-154.

Moore, T. F., Slobod, R. L. The effect of viscosity and capillarity on the displacement of oil by water. Producers Monthly, 1956, 20: 20-30.

Patel, H. S., Meher, R. Simulation of counter-current imbibition phenomenon in a double phase flow through fracture porous medium with capillary pressure. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 2018, 9(4): 2163-2169.

Santos, L. K., Figueiredo, J. J. S. D., Macedo, D. L., et al. A new way to construct synthetic porous fractured medium. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2017, 156: 763-768.

Sedaghat, M. H., Azizmohammadi, S., Matthäi, S. K. Numerical investigation of fracture-rock matrix ensemble saturation functions and their dependence on wettability. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2017, 159: 869-888.

Shen, Y., Li, C., Ge, H., et al. Spontaneous imbibition in asymmetric branch-like throat structures in unconventional reservoirs. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2017, 44: 328-337.

Song, R., Wang, Y., Liu, J., et al. Comparative analysis on pore-scale permeability prediction on micro-CT images of rock using numerical and empirical approaches. Energy Science and Engineering, 2019, 7(6): 2842-2854.

Tagavifar, M., Balhoff, M., Mohanty, K. Dynamics of low-interfacial-tension imbibition in oil-wet carbonates. SPE Journal, 2019, 24: 1092-1107.

Wang, Y., Song, R., Liu, J., et al. Pore scale investigation on scaling-up micro-macro capillary number and wettability on trapping and mobilization of residual fluid. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 2019, 225: 103499.

Xiao, J., Cai, J., Xu, J. Saturated imbibition under the influence of gravity and geometry. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2018, 521: 226-231.

Zheng, J., Chen, Z., Xie, C., et al. Characterization of spontaneous imbibition dynamics in irregular channels by mesoscopic modeling. Computers & Fluids, 2018, 168: 21-31.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2022 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright ©2018. All Rights Reserved