EOR simulation of polymer flooding
Pierre-Victor Cueille A *A
Pierre-Victor Cueille has a PhD in Fluid Mechanics from IFPEN, is a former CSIRO-Petroleum scientist and reservoir consultant for Beicip-Franlab (IFPEN-group) and has an R&D background working for multiphase flow in O&G: LNG sloshing then gas–liquid separation. Then, he worked as a consultant for Beicip in Integrated reservoir Modelling Projects, gaining an enlarged vision of all types of hydrocarbon assets worldwide. Pierre-Victor is now Business Developer for cEOR at SNF, France. |
Abstract
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques, such as polymer flooding, have gained significant attention as a means to maximise hydrocarbon extraction from reservoirs. The success of polymer flooding is intricately tied to the complex interplay between fluid properties, reservoir heterogeneity, and injection strategies. It is admitted in classical modelling methodologies, to account for the mobility ratio in polymer flooding by scaling it with the help of the shear rate in situ. The accuracy of shear assessment therefore rules the mobility of oil and the global process efficiency. It is assumed to depend not solely on pore radius, rate, and porosity, but also on a dimensional parameter known as the shape factor, which varies according to the specifications of several authors. When lab measurement is available, it is possible to adjust this value to match the shear rate recorded from a rheometer at feeding stage, ahead of the core. In the present paper the consequence of not performing this stage in the case of a core flood, then in the simulation of a polymer flood pilot is investigated. An alteration of the recovery factor is then expected. The amplitude shall result from the coupling between pore-scale effects and reservoir-scale response, induced by geological constraints such as reservoir layers productivity, aquifer response, and multiphase dynamics. Relative effect and influence on reservoir parameters will be quantified, commented, and discussed.
Keywords: carbon intensity, cEOR, EOR, lab data, mobility ratio, polymer, recovery factor, simulation, viscosified water, water intensity, waterflood.
Pierre-Victor Cueille has a PhD in Fluid Mechanics from IFPEN, is a former CSIRO-Petroleum scientist and reservoir consultant for Beicip-Franlab (IFPEN-group) and has an R&D background working for multiphase flow in O&G: LNG sloshing then gas–liquid separation. Then, he worked as a consultant for Beicip in Integrated reservoir Modelling Projects, gaining an enlarged vision of all types of hydrocarbon assets worldwide. Pierre-Victor is now Business Developer for cEOR at SNF, France. |
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