Results of modeling polymer flooding using the example of the AB1-2 object model of the K oil field

Abstract

The almost complete depletion of easily recoverable oil reserves and intensive development of reserves with complex geological structures characterize the development of oil fields today. Due to the non-standard geological structure of such reservoirs, operators face multiple challenges that do not appear with the production of easily recoverable oil. A vivid example is oil field K, which contains low-viscosity oil and has a well-permeable terrigenous pore reservoir. Initial data obtained during exploratory drilling and trial production allowed optimistic forecasts of achieving an oil recovery factor (ORF) of 0.364. However, features of the geological structure hindered the achievement of this recovery target.

This paper studies explore potential strategies for increasing oil recovery in the AB_1-2 area of oil field K.

The aim of this paper is to identify reasons for the low oil recovery at oil field K and to develop recommendations for methods, which could enhance recovery and increase the oil recovery factor.

The authors created synthetic hydrodynamic model of the AB1-2 oil object. They also performed multivariate calculations to analyze the structure of oil saturation and clarify the causes of low oil recovery.

The authors reviewed six development strategies for the AB_1-2 object model: traditional water flooding, cyclic water flooding with injection wells, cyclic water flooding with injection and production wells, and polymer flooding. The oil recovery factor values obtained in these scenarios ranged from 0,238 to 0,265. Based on the results of this study, the authors recommend to use a combination of cyclic and polymer flooding.