Buckley-Leverett Theory For Immiscible Displacement - Fundamentals of Fluid Flow in Porous Media

4/27/2018 Buckley-Leverett Theory for Immiscible Displacement | Fundamentals of Fluid Flow in Porous Media
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Chapter 4  Fundamentals of
Fluid Flow in Porous
Media
Immiscible Displacement
Chapter 1:
Introduction
Buckley-Leverett Theory  Chapter 2: The
Porous Medium
One of the simplest and most widely used methods of estimating the
advance of a uid displacement front in an immiscible displacement
 Chapter 3:
process is the Buckley-Leverett method
Molecular
[1],[2]. The Buckley-Leverett theory [1942] estimates the rate at which an Diffusion
injected water bank moves through a porous medium. The approach uses
fractional ow theory and is based on the following assumptions:  Chapter 4:
Immiscible
Flow is linear and horizontal Displacement
Water is injected into an oil reservoir
Oil and water are both incompressible Buckley-
Oil and water are immiscible Leverett
Gravity and capillary pressure effects are negligible
Theory
In many rocks there is a transition zone between the water and the Oil
zones. In the true water zone, the water saturation is essentially 100. In the  Water
oil zone, there is usually present connate water, which is essentially Injection
immobile. Only water will be produced from a well completed in the true Oil
water zone, and only oil will be produced from the true oil zone. In the Recovery
transition zone both oil and water will be produced, and at each point the Calculations
fraction of the owrate that is water will depend on the oil and water
saturations at that point.  Vertical
and
Frontal advance theory is an application of the law of conservation of mass.
Volumetric
Flow through a small volume element () with length ∆x and cross-sectional
area “A” can be expressed in terms of total ow rate qt as: Sweep
Efficiencies
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Where q denotes volumetric ow rate at reservoir conditions and the sub-

References
scripts {o,w,t} refer to oil, water, and total rate, respectively and ƒw and ƒo
are fractional ow to water and oil (or water cut and oil cut) respectively:
 Chapter 5:
Miscible
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ko / kw is a function of saturation. So for constant viscosity ƒw is just a

function of saturation.
Figure 4‑1 is a plot of the relative permeability ratio, ko / kw, versus water
saturation. Because of the wide range of ko / kw values, the relative
permeability ratio is usually plotted on the log scale of semi-log paper. Like
many relative permeability ratio curves, the central or main portion of the
curve is quite linear. As a straight line on semi-log paper, the relative
permeability ratio may be expresses as a function of the water saturation
by:
The constants “a” and “b” may be determined from the graph, such as Figure
4‑1, or determined from simultaneous equations from known data of
saturation and relative permeability.
Figure 4-1: Semilog Plot of Relative Permeability Ratio versus Saturation
Substituting eq. (4‑6) into eq. (4‑5) will end with:
If the water fractional ow is plotted versus water saturation, an S-shaped

curve will result that is named fractional ow curve.
Figure 4-2: Fractional Flow Curve
Assume that the total ow rate is the same at all the medium cross section.
Neglect capillary and gravitational forces that may be acting. Let the oil be
displaced by water from left to right.
The rate the water enters to the medium element from left hand side (LHS)
is:
The rate of water leaving element from the right hand side (RHS) is:
The change in water ow rate across the element is found by performing a

mass balance. The movement of mass for an immiscible, incompressible
system gives:
Change in Water Flowrate = water entering – water leaving
This is equal to the change in element water content per unit time.
Let Sw is the water saturation of the element at time t. Then if oil is being
displaced from the element, at time ( t + Δt ) the water saturation will be (
Sw + ΔSw ). So water accumulation in the element per unit time is:
Where, φ is porosity. Equating equations (4‑10) and (4‑11) results:
In the limit as ∆t → 0 and ∆x → 0 (for the water phase):
The subscript x on the derivative indicates that this derivative is different

for each element.
It is not possible to solve for the general distribution of water saturation Sw(
x,t ) in most realistic cases because of the nonlinearity of the problem. For
example, water fractional ow is usually a nonlinear function of water
saturation. It is therefore necessary to consider a simpli ed approach to
solving Eq. ((4‑13)).
Figure 4-3: Horizontal Bed Containing Oil and Water
For a given rock, the fraction of ow for water ƒw is a function only of the
water saturation Sw, as indicated by Eq. (4‑13), assuming constant oil and
water viscosities. The water saturation however is a function of both time
and position, which may be express as ƒw = F( Sw ) and Sw = G( t,x ). Then:
Now, there is interest in determining the rate of advance of a constant

saturation plane, or front ( ∂x / ∂t )Sw , where Sw is constant and dSw = 0. So
from eq. (4‑14):
Substituting eqs (4‑13) and 4‑15) into eq. (4‑16) gives the Buckley-Leverett
frontal advance equation:
The derivative is the slope of the fractional ow curve and
derivative is the velocity of the moving plane with water
saturation Sw. Because the porosity, area, and owrate are constant and
because for any value of Sw, the derivative is a constant, then
the rate dx / dt is constant.
This means that the distance a plane of constant saturation, Sw, advances is
proportional to time and to the value of the derivative ( ) at that
saturation, or:
Where,
xSwis the distance traveled by a particular Sw contour
QinjHome
is the cumulative
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In eld units:
Example 4-1
Assume a cubical reservoir under active water drive with oil production of
900bbl/day. The ow could be approximated as a linear ow. The cross
sectional area is the product of the width, 1320 ft, and the true formation
thickness, 20 ft, so that for a porosity of 0.25, eq. (4‑19) becomes:
Consider that because we assume the uids are completely incompressible,

so the oil production rate is equal to the total owrate in the different cross
sections of the reservoir.
Figure 4-4: Cubic Reservoir Under Active Water Drive
If we let x=0 at the rst point of the transition zone, then the distances the
various constant water saturation planes will travel in, say, 60, 120, and 240
days are given by:
The value of the derivative may be obtained for any value of water
saturation, Sw, by plotting ƒw from eq. (4‑7) versus Sw and graphically

taking the slopes at various values of Sw. Assume you nd a=1222 and b=12
from Figure 4‑1 (intercept = 1222 = ‘a’ and slope of the straight line = 13 =
‘b’) for eq. (4‑7). For example at Sw = 0.4, ƒw = 0.129. The slope taken
graphically at Sw = 0.4 and ƒw = 0.267 is 1.66.
The derivative may also be obtained mathematically using eq.(4‑7):

Figure 4‑5 shows the water fractional ow curve and also the derivative
plotted against water saturation from eq. (4‑21). Since Eq. (4‑7) does
not hold for the very high and for the quite low water saturation ranges (see
Figure 4‑1), some error is introduced below 30% and above 80% water
saturation. Since these are in the regions of the lower values of the
derivatives, the overall effect on the calculation is small.
Figure 4-5: Water Fractional Flow and its Derivative
A plot of Sw versus distance using Eq. (4‑20) and typical fractional ow

curves leads to the physically impossible situation of multiple values of Sw
at a given location. For example Figure 4‑6 shows water saturation
distribution according to eqs (4‑20) and (4‑21). For example, at 50% water
saturation, the value of the derivative is 2.87; so by eq. (4‑20), at 60 days
the 50% water saturation plane will advance a distance of:
This distance is plotted as shown in Figure 4‑6 along with the other
distances that have been calculated using eqs (4‑20) and (4‑21) for other
time values and other water saturations. These curves are characteristically
double-valued or triple valued. For example, Figure 4‑6 indicates that the
water saturation after 240 days at 400 ft is 20, 39, and 69%. The saturation
can be only one value at any place and time. What actually occurs is that
the intermediate values of the water saturation have the maximum velocity
(Figure 4‑5 and eq. (4‑17)), will initially tend to overtake the lower
saturations resulting in the formation of a saturation discontinuity or shock
front. Because of this discontinuity the mathematical approach of Buckley-
Leverett, which assumes that Sw is continuous and differentiable, will be
inappropriate to describe the situation at the front itself.
The dif culty is resolved by dropping perpendiculars at point Xƒ (as ood

front position) so that the areas to the right (A) equal the areas to the left
(B), as shown in Figure 4‑6. In other words a discontinuity in Sw at a ood

front location Xƒ is needed to make the water saturation distribution single
valued and to provide a material balance for displacing uid.
Figure 4-6: (a) Fluid Distribution at 60, 120, 240 days (b) Triple-Valued
Saturation Distribution (After Buckley and Leverett, 1942)
A more elegant method of achieving the same result was presented by

Welge in 1952. This consists of integrating the saturation distribution over
the distance from the injection point to the front, thus obtaining the
average water saturation behind the front Sw, as shown in Figure 4‑7[3].
Figure 4-7: Water Saturation Distribution as a Function of Distance, Prior to

Breakthrough
The situation depicted is at a xed time, before water breakthrough,

corresponding to an amount of water injection. At this time the maximum
water saturation, Sw = 1 – Sor, has moved a distance X1, its velocity being
proportional to the slope of the fractional ow curve evaluated for the
maximum saturation which, as shown in Figure 4‑5, is small but nite. The
ood front saturation Swƒ is located at position x2 measured from the
injection point. Applying the simple material balance:
So:
Where, Qinj is cumulative water injection.

Using eq. (4‑18):
At breakthrough time:
Where,
tbt = Breakthrough time,
qt = Total injection rate,
L = Medium length
From eq. (4‑24):
Where PVI is the pore volume injected. So:
The average water saturation in the reservoir at the time of breakthrough is

given by material balance as:
From eqs (4-26) and (4-27):
Therefore:
i.e. the slope of the fractional ow curve at conditions of the front is given
by eq. 4‑29).
To satisfy eq. (4‑29) the tangent to the fractional ow curve, from the point
Sw = Swc, where ƒw = 0, must have a point of tangency with co-ordinates Sw
= Swƒ; ƒw = ƒwƒ, and extrapolated tangent must intercept the line ƒw = 1 at
the point (Sw = Swbt ; ƒw = 1). See Figure 4‑8.
Figure 4-8: Tangent to the Fractional Flow Curve from Sw = Swc
The use of either of these equations ignores the effect of the capillary
pressure gradient, ∂Pc / ∂x.
This simple graphical technique of Welge has much wider application in the
eld of oil recovery calculations.
As eq. (4‑19) shows the velocity of every saturation front is constant, the
graph of saturation location vs. time is set of straight lines starting from the
origin. This graph is often plotted in dimensionless form. The equation can
be made dimensionless by de ning:
Where
xD = Normalized distance
tD = Pore volumes injected
Eq. (4‑19) becomes:
Figure 4‑9 is a graph of dimensionless distance vs. dimensionless time for

the movement of water saturation predicted by the frontal advance
equation. Saturation Siw < Sw < Swƒ travel at the same velocity are located
on the ood-front path. The region ahead of ood front has a uniform
saturation. Saturations greater than Swƒ travel at progressively slower
velocities as indicated by the decreasing slopes in Figure 4‑9.
Figure 4-9: xo vs. tD for a Linear Water ooding
Saturation pro les or saturation histories can be constructed by making

cross sections through the time/distance graph. A saturation pro le is a
graph of the locations of all saturations along a cross section of xed time,
as illustrated by the continuous line at tD = 0.28 in Figure 4‑9. Figure 4‑10
displays the saturation pro le at tD = 0.28 that was obtained from Figure
4‑9.
Figure 4-10: Saturation Pro le at tD = 0.28
The saturation history is the graph of saturation vs. time at a particular

value of xD. A plot of water saturation vs. tD for xD = 1, shown in Figure
4‑11, illustrates the arrival of water saturations at the end of the linear
system.
Figure 4-11: Saturation History at xD = 1, Producing Face of the Medium
Figure 4‑12 represents the initial water and oil distributions in the reservoir
unit and also the saturation distributions after 240 days, provided the ood
front has not reached the produced face of the cubic reservoir. The area to
the right of the ood front in Figure 4‑12 is commonly called the oil bank
and the area to the left is sometimes called the ooded or drag zone. The
area above the 240-day curve and below the 90% water saturation curve
represents oil that may yet be recovered, or dragged out of the high-water
saturation portion of the reservoir by owing large volumes of water
through it. The area above the 90% water saturation represents
unrecoverable oil since the critical oil saturation is 10%. This presentation
of the displacement mechanism has assumed that capillary force is
negligible.
Figure 4‑12 also indicates that a well in this reservoir will produce water-
free oil until the ood front approaches the well. Thereafter, in a relatively
short period, the water cut will rise sharply and be followed by a relatively
long period of production at high, and increasingly higher, water cuts. For
example, just behind the ood front at 240 days, the water saturation rises
from 20% to about 60%-that is, the water cut rises from zero to 66% (see
Figure 4‑5). When a producing formation consists of two or more rather
de nite strata, or stringers, of different permeabilities, the rates of advance
in the separate strata will be proportional to their permeabilities, and the
overall effect will be a combination of several separate displacements, such
as described for a single homogeneous stratum.
Figure 4-12: Saturation Distribution After 240 Days
<< IMMISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT WATER INJECTION OIL RECOVERY

CALCULATIONS >>
References
[1] “Principle of applied reservoir simulation”, John R. Fanchi
[2] “Applied Petroleum Reservoir /engineering”, B.C. Craft, M. Hawkins, 1991
[3] “Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering”, L.P. Lake, 1978.

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4/27/2018 Buckley-Leverett Theory for Immiscible Displacement | Fundamentals of Fluid Flow in Porous Media

Fundamentals of Fluid Flow in Porous Media Resources

Ask PERM (Q&A)

Where q denotes volumetric ow rate at reservoir conditions and the sub-

ko / kw is a function of saturation. So for constant viscosity ƒw is just a

Figure 4-1: Semilog Plot of Relative Permeability Ratio versus Saturation

Substituting eq. (4‑6) into eq. (4‑5) will end with:

If the water fractional ow is plotted versus water saturation, an S-shaped

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Figure 4-2: Fractional Flow Curve

The change in water ow rate across the element is found by performing a

Change in Water Flowrate = water entering – water leaving

Where, φ is porosity. Equating equations (4‑10) and (4‑11) results:

In the limit as ∆t → 0 and ∆x → 0 (for the water phase):

The subscript x on the derivative indicates that this derivative is different

Figure 4-3: Horizontal Bed Containing Oil and Water

Now, there is interest in determining the rate of advance of a constant

The derivative is the slope of the fractional ow curve and

derivative is the velocity of the moving plane with water

the rate dx / dt is constant.

xSwis the distance traveled by a particular Sw contour

Consider that because we assume the uids are completely incompressible,

Figure 4-4: Cubic Reservoir Under Active Water Drive

saturation, Sw, by plotting ƒw from eq. (4‑7) versus Sw and graphically

The derivative may also be obtained mathematically using eq.(4‑7):

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Figure 4-5: Water Fractional Flow and its Derivative

A plot of Sw versus distance using Eq. (4‑20) and typical fractional ow

The dif culty is resolved by dropping perpendiculars at point Xƒ (as ood

(B), as shown in Figure 4‑6. In other words a discontinuity in Sw at a ood

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A more elegant method of achieving the same result was presented by

Figure 4-7: Water Saturation Distribution as a Function of Distance, Prior to

The situation depicted is at a xed time, before water breakthrough,

Where, Qinj is cumulative water injection.

tbt = Breakthrough time,

qt = Total injection rate,

From eq. (4‑24):

Where PVI is the pore volume injected. So:

The average water saturation in the reservoir at the time of breakthrough is

From eqs (4-26) and (4-27):

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Figure 4-8: Tangent to the Fractional Flow Curve from Sw = Swc

tD = Pore volumes injected

Eq. (4‑19) becomes:

Figure 4‑9 is a graph of dimensionless distance vs. dimensionless time for

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Figure 4-9: xo vs. tD for a Linear Water ooding

Saturation pro les or saturation histories can be constructed by making

Figure 4-10: Saturation Pro le at tD = 0.28

The saturation history is the graph of saturation vs. time at a particular

Figure 4-11: Saturation History at xD = 1, Producing Face of the Medium

Figure 4-12: Saturation Distribution After 240 Days

<< IMMISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT WATER INJECTION OIL RECOVERY

[1] “Principle of applied reservoir simulation”, John R. Fanchi

[2] “Applied Petroleum Reservoir /engineering”, B.C. Craft, M. Hawkins, 1991

[3] “Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering”, L.P. Lake, 1978.

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