Waterflooding

[Link]"secondaryrecovery"andtypically
follows"primaryproduction,"whichusesthereservoirsnaturalenergy(fluidandrockexpansion,solutiongasdrive(/Solution_gas_drive_reservoirs),gravitydrainage,andaquifer
influx(/Waterdrive_reservoirs))toproduceoil.

Contents
1Rationaleforwaterflooding
2History
3Waterfloodingconsiderations
4Reservoirgeologyconsiderations
5Limitationsofwaterfloodtechnology
6Summary
7Nomenclature
8References
9NoteworthypapersinOnePetro
10Onlinemultimedia
11Externallinks
12Seealso

Rationaleforwaterflooding
Theprincipalreasonforwaterfloodinganoilreservoiristoincreasetheoilproductionrateand,ultimately,[Link]"voidagereplacement"
[Link],buttheefficiencyofsuch
displacementdependsonmanyfactors(e.g.,oilviscosityandrockcharacteristics).InoilfieldssuchasWilmington(/Wilmington_field)(California,US)andEkofisk(/Ekofisk_field)
(NorthSea),[Link],thehighporosityoftheunconsolidatedsandstonesoftheWilmington
oilfieldsreservoirsandofthesoftchalkreservoirrockintheEkofiskoilfieldhadcompactedsignificantlywhenthereservoirpressurewasdrawndownduringprimaryproduction.
Overthepast40years,SPEhaspublishedthreesignificantandindepthbookswrittenbyCraig,[1]Willhite,[2]andRoseetal.[3]thataddresswaterfloodingtechnology.

History
Intheearlydaysoftheoilindustry,salinewaterorbrinefrequentlywasproducedfromawellalongwithoil,andastheoilproductionratedeclined,thewaterproductionrateoften
[Link].Inthe1920s,thepracticebeganofreinjectingtheproducedwaterintoporousand
permeablesubsurfaceformations,includingthereservoirintervalfromwhichtheoilandwateroriginallyhadcome.Bythe1930s,reinjectionofproducedwaterhadbecomea
commonoilfieldpractice.
ReinjectionofwaterwasfirstdonesystematicallyintheBradfordoilfieldofPennsylvania,US.[4]There,theinitial"circleflood"approachwasreplacedbya"lineflood,"inwhich
tworowsofproducingwellswerestaggeredonbothsidesofanequallyspacedrowofwaterinjectionwells.Inthe1920s,besidesthelineflood,a"fivespot"welllayoutwasused
(sonamedbecauseitspatternislikethatofthefivespotsonadie).
MuchofwaterfloodingstechnologyandcommonpracticedevelopedintheU.S.between1940and1970.Bythemid1940s,theonshoreUSoilindustrywasmaturingandprimary
productionfrommanyofitsreservoirshaddeclinedsignificantly,[Link],intheU.S.,
thousandsofwellshadbeendrilledthatwerecloselyspaced,sothattheeffectsofwaterinjectionweremoreobviousandsoweremorequicklyunderstandable.
Inadditiontotheneedtodisposeofsalinewaterthatwasproducedalongwiththeoil,severalotherfactorsmadewaterfloodingalogicalandeconomicalmethodforincreasing
[Link],itwasrecognizedthatinmostreservoirs,onlyasmallpercentageoftheoriginaloilinplace(OOIP)wasbeingrecoveredduringtheprimary
[Link]
injectionsearlysuccessinlengtheningtheoilproductionperiodbyyearsmadewaterfloodingthenaturalstepafterprimaryproductiontorecoveradditionaloilfromreservoirs
whoseoilproductionratehaddeclinedtoverylowlevels.
Otherkeyfactorsthatdrovewaterfloodingsdevelopmentandincreasingusewere:
Waterisinexpensive
Watergenerallyisreadilyavailableinlargequantitiesfromnearbystreams,rivers,oroceans,orfromwellsdrilledintoshallowerordeepersubsurfaceaquifers
Waterinjectioneffectivelymadeproductionwellsthatwerenearthewaterinjectionwellsfloworbepumpedathigherratesbecauseoftheincreasedreservoirpressure
Concurrently,thescientificreasonsbehindwaterfloodingssuccesswereidentified(i.e.,thatwaterhasviscosity,density,andwettingproperties,comparedtooil,thataffecthow
efficientlyitwilldisplacevariousoilsfromreservoirrock).
Bythe1970s,mostonshoreoilfieldsintheUS,USSR,andChina,forwhichwaterfloodingwasthelogicalrecoveryprocess,werebeingproducedbyuseofthistechnologyin
[Link]
[Link],manylargescalewaterinjectionprojectshavebeenappliedtooilreservoirsinlocationsrangingfromfaroffshoreintheNorthSeatotheArcticregionsto
desertareas.

Waterfloodingconsiderations
Unitdisplacementefficiencyishowwaterdisplacesoilfromaporousandpermeablereservoirrockonamicroscopicscale(/Microscopic_efficiency_of_waterflooding).Thisisthe
levelofanalysisthatisappliedwhenwater/[Link]
workonareservoirscale(/Macroscopic_displacement_efficiency_of_a_linear_waterflood)mustincludetheeffectsofgeology,gravity,andgeometry(vertical
(/Vertical_displacement_in_a_waterflood),areal(/Areal_displacement_in_a_waterflood),andwellspacing/patternarrangement(/Waterflood_design)).Theformulaforoverall
waterfloodoilrecoveryefficiencyERmightbesimplystatedastheproductofthreeindependentterms:
(/File%3AVol5_page_1039_eq_001.png)....................(1)

whereED=theunitdisplacementefficiency,EI=theverticaldisplacementefficiency,andEA=[Link],assumingindependenceofthesethree
factorsisnotvalidforrealoilreservoirs.
Oilproperties(/Oil_fluid_properties)[Link]
porousmedium,themobilityofafluidisdefinedasitsendpointrelativepermeabilitydividedbyitsviscosityhence,afluidwithalowviscosity(1cp)hasahighmobilityunless
[Link],alowAPIcrudeoil(20API)[Link]
viscosityatreservoirtemperaturesgenerallyismuchlowerthanor,atbest,equaltothatofthereservoiroil,thewater/oilviscosityratioisgenerallymuchgreaterthan1:[Link]
water/oilmobilityratioisakeyparameterindeterminingtheefficiencyofthewater/oildisplacementprocess,withtherecoveryefficiencyincreasingasthewater/oilmobilityratio
decreases.
Moreinformationonthedisplacementofoilbywaterinwaterfloodingcanbefoundin:
Microscopicefficiencyofwaterflooding(/Microscopic_efficiency_of_waterflooding)
Macroscopicdisplacementefficiencyofalinearwaterflood(/Macroscopic_displacement_efficiency_of_a_linear_waterflood)
Arealdisplacementinawaterflood(/Areal_displacement_in_a_waterflood)
Verticaldisplacementinawaterflood(/Vertical_displacement_in_a_waterflood)

Reservoirgeologyconsiderations
[Link]
[Link],[Link],thestructureandfaultingof
thereservoirmustbedeterminedtounderstandtheinterconnectivitiesamongthevariouspartsofthereservoir,particularlytheinjector/[Link],the
water/oil/rockcharacteristicsneedtobeunderstoodbecausetheycontrolwettability,residualoilsaturationtowaterflooding,andtheoilrelativepermeabilityathigherwater
[Link],therealwaysshouldbeadevelopmentalgeologistonthewaterfloodevaluationteam.
[Link]
[Link],including
Shale,anhydrite,orotherimpermeablelayersthatpartlyorcompletelyseparatetheporousandpermeablereservoirlayers.
Interbeddedhydrocarbonbearinglayersthathavesignificantlydifferentrockqualitiessandstonesorcarbonates.
Varyingcontinuity,interconnection,andarealextentofporousandpermeablelayersthroughoutthereservoir.
Directionalpermeabilitytrendsthatarecausedbythedepositionalenvironmentorbydiageneticchanges.
Fracturetrendsthatdevelopedbecauseofregionaltectonicstressesontherockandtheeffectsofburialandupliftontheparticularrocklayer.
Faulttrendsthataffecttheconnectionofonepartofanoilreservoirtoadjacentareas,eitherbecausetheyareflowbarriersorbecausetheyareopenconduitsthatallow
unlimitedflowalongthefaultplane.
[Link]
betweenthebedangle,gravity,andtheoil/[Link]
considerationsalsocanincludewhethertheoilcolumnhasanunderlyingaquiferoranoverlyinggascap,eitherofwhichcansignificantlyaffectthelikelihoodofsuccessfully
waterfloodingtheoilcolumn.
[Link]
[Link],geophysicistscandiscernthemajorfaults,as
wellastrendsinrockquality,sincecoresandwelllogsareessentiallypinpricksintotheoverallreservoir.
[Link],aswell,
willhelptoensurethatthegeoscientistsreservoirdescriptionisproperlytranslatedintoengineeringcalculations,whetherthosearesimplercalculationsoraredetailednumerical
reservoirsimulations.
Forawaterflood,thereservoirdescriptionmustbedevelopedonthescalethatisrequiredforthequantitativeevaluation(i.e.,itmustbe"fitforpurpose").Avarietyofapproaches
(e.g.,objectandpixelbasedtechniques)canbeused.[5]The"flowunit"isaconceptthatfrequentlyisusedbygeologistsandthatwouldbeusefultoengineers."Aflowunitisa
volumeofthetotalreservoirrockwithinwhichgeologicalandpetrophysicalpropertiesthataffectfluidflowareinternallyconsistentandpredictablydifferentfrompropertiesof
otherrockvolumes(e.g.,flowunits)."[6]
[Link],theproduction
[Link],thewaterfloodproductionwelldata(thewaterand
oilratesasafunctionoftime)arecriticalbecausetheyarethefirstdatathatrelatedirectlytotheinterwellconnectivitywithinthereservoirandthatvalidateorcausemodificationof
thegeoscientistsconceptsofthevariouslevelsofreservoirheterogeneities.
Duringawaterflood,tracers(/Well_to_well_tracer_tests)canbeinjectedtotrackwhichinjector/[Link]
techniquesincludetheuseofspeciallydrilledobservationwellsand4Dseismicinterpretationstotrackthedirectionalityandshapeofthehigherpressurewatersweptreservoirareas
thatarecenteredontheinjectionwells.

Limitationsofwaterfloodtechnology
Waterfloodingcanincreasethevolumeofoilrecoveredfromareservoirhowever,[Link]
howbesttoproduceaparticularoilreservoir,apetroleumengineershouldincludewaterfloodingintheoptionsthatareanalyzed,[Link]
evaluationsshouldincludesuchpotentiallycomplicatingfactorsas:
Compatibilityoftheplannedinjectedwaterwiththereservoirsconnatewater
Interactionoftheinjectedwaterwiththereservoirrock(claysensitivities,rockdissolution,orgenerallyweakeningtherockframework)
Injectionwatertreatmenttoremoveoxygen,bacteria,andundesirablechemicals
Thechallengesinvolvedinseparatingandhandlingtheproducedwaterthathastraceoilcontent,naturallyoccurringradioactivematerials(NORMs),andvariousscale
formingminerals

Summary
Keypointsconcerningwaterfloodingare:
[Link]
veryeffectiveatsubstantiallyincreasingoilrecovery.

Thelevelofeffectivenessofawaterflooddependsonthemobilityratiobetweentheoilandwater,[Link]
[Link]/oildisplacement
[Link],thedetailsofareservoirs
internalgeologyarenotknownuntilproductionwellsstartproducinginjectedwater.
Gravityeffectsi.e.,theinterplaybetweenthegravity/densityeffectsandthegeologiclayeringofareservoirareimportantinwaterfloodsbecauseatreservoirconditions,oil
[Link].
[Link],continuous,routinefieldproductionandpressuredatamustbetakenformonitoring
(/Waterflood_monitoring)[Link]
[Link],moreexpensive,specialdataacquisitionprograms(i.e.,3Dor4Dseismicdata)areruntoassisttheevaluation
[Link],rangingfromsimpleplotsoffieldproductiondatatofullfieldnumerical
reservoirsimulationmodels.
Waterfloodsaredynamicprocessestheperformanceofwhich,asproductionwellsrespondtotheinjectionofwater,canbeimprovedbymodificationofoperationsbythe
[Link],drillingadditionalwellsatinfill
locations,and/ormodifyingthepatternstyle.
Waterfloodinghasbeenusedsuccessfullyinoilfieldsofallsizesandallovertheworld,inoffshoreandonshoreoilfields.

Nomenclature
ED = theunitdisplacementefficiency
EI = theverticaldisplacementefficiency
EA = thearealdisplacementefficiency

References
[Link].,[Link],[Link],Texas:MonographSeries,SPE.
[Link],[Link],[Link],Texas:TextbookSeries,SPE.
[Link],S.C.,Buckwalter,J.F.,andWoodhall,[Link],[Link],Texas:MonographSeries,SPE.
[Link],[Link],PennsylvaniaandNewYork.MineralResourcesReportM21,PennsylvaniaGeologicalSurvey,Harrisburg,Pennsylvania,298
301.
[Link],M.H.,Thompson,R.D.,andSeifert,[Link],NorthSlopeof
[Link]/AAPGPacificSectionJointMeeting,Anchorage,2022May.SPE76753MS.[Link]
([Link]
[Link],W.J.,Jr.,Scheihing,M.H.,andAtkinson,[Link],[Link].M.
Woods,No.10,[Link]:AAPGMethodsinExploration,AmericanAssociationofPetroleumGeologists.

NoteworthypapersinOnePetro
Shehata,A.M.,Alotaibi,M.B.,&NasrElDin,[Link]:DoestheSalinityMatter?SocietyofPetroleumEngineers.
[Link]

Onlinemultimedia
TechnicalAspectsofWaterflooding.2013.[Link]

Externallinks
UsethissectiontoprovidelinkstorelevantmaterialonwebsitesotherthanPetroWikiandOnePetro

Seealso
Waterflooddesign(/Waterflood_design)
Waterfloodmonitoring(/Waterflood_monitoring)
Ekofiskfield(/Ekofisk_field)
Wilmingtonfield(/Wilmington_field)
WestTexascarbonatefields(/West_Texas_carbonate_fields)
KuparukRiverfield(/Kuparuk_River_field)
Kirkukfield(/Kirkuk_field)
PEH:Waterflooding(/PEH%3AWaterflooding)
Category(/Special%3ACategories): 5.4.1Waterflooding(/Category%3A5.4.1_Waterflooding)

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