CHAPTER-I

OIL RECOVERY METHODS

Primary Recovery Methods

Producing reserves are called “primary” when they are produced by

primary recovery methods using the natural energy inherent in the

reservoir. The driving energy may be derived from the liberation and

expansion of dissolved gas, from the expansion of the gas cap or of an

active aquifer, from gravity drainage, or from a combination of these

effects.

Improved Recovery Methods

The producing reserves are called “improved recovery reserves”

when they are produced by improved recovery methods, in addition to the

primary reserves.

-Conventional methods (secondary methods) which involve the injection

of gas and/or water into the reservoir.

-Enhanced oil recovery methods (tertiary methods), of which thermal,

chemical, and miscible methods are generally recognised as the most

promising. The intent of enhanced oil recovery methods is to;

-improve sweep efficiency by reducing the mobility ratio between

injected and in-place fluids,

-eliminate or reduce the capillary and interfacial forces and thus improve

displacement efficiency, and

-act on both phenomena simultaneously.

Other processes, such as bacterial activity, electrical heating of

the reservoir, and so on have been proposed, but their potential for

adding to proved oil reserves must be demonstrated.

-Chemical methods of enhanced oil recovery are characterised by the

addition of chemicals to water in order to generate fluid properties or
interfacial conditions that are more favourable for oil displacement.

Polymer flooding, using polyacrylamides or polyaccarides, is conceptually

simple and inexpensive, and its commercial use is increasing despite the

fact that it raises potential production by only small increments.

Surfactant flooding is complex, requiring laboratory testing to support

field project design. It is also expensive, and is used in few large scale

projects. Alkaline flooding, has been used only in those reservoirs

containing specific types of high-acid number crude oils.

-Miscible methods have their greatest potential for enhanced recovery

of low-viscosity oils. Among these methods, CO2 miscible flooding on a

large scale is expected to make the greatest contribution to miscible

enhanced oil recovery in the future.

-Thermal methods provide a driving force and add heat to the reservoir
to reduce the viscosity and/or vaporise the oil. This makes the oil more

mobile, so that it can be more effectively driven to producing wells.

The Intent of EOR Methods:

-improve sweep efficiency by reducing the mobility ratio between

injected and in-place fluids,

-eliminate or reduce the capillary and interfacial forces and thus

displacement efficiency,

-act on both phenomena simultaneously

Oil Recovery Factor

The oil reserves obtained as a result of EOR methods in addition to

the primary or conventional reserves may be expressed as the percentage

of original oil in places (OOIP). To estimate how much EOR methods can

add oil reserves, the recovery potential of the reservoir has to be known.

This is defined by the reservoir’s characteristics and prior recovery

mechanism. For instance, the ultimate oil recovery factor of individual

reservoirs under primary and/or conventional recovery methods may

range from 5 % of OOIP for the poorest reservoir characteristics or for

viscous oil, to as high as 55 or 600 % of OOIP for the best reservoir

characteristics or for light oil. To achieve this desideratum the oil

reservoirs are classified by several models according to the average of

the ultimate oil recovery Erfinal, expressed as % of OOIP, possibly

attained by the respective recovery mechanism, as follows:

5-10 % -Tight oil reservoirs, slightly fractured or heavy oil reservoirs

10-25 % -Oil reservoirs produced mainly by solution gas drive.

25-40 % -Oil reservoirs producing under partial water drive, gas

injection or gravity drainage

40-55 % -Oil reservoirs produced by conventional water-flood.

PRIMARY PRODUCTION:

Primary production, as the term suggests, is the first method of oil

from a well. When discovered, a crude oil reservoir contains a mixture of

water, oil and gas in the small pore spaces in the reservoir rock. Initially,

the reservoir holds these fluids under considerable pressure, caused by

the hydrostatic pressure of the ground water. At this pressure a large

part of the gas is dissolved in the oil. These two fluids, the initial water

(connate) and the gas in solution, combine to provide the driving force for

moving the oil into the well.

If the pressure on the fluid in the reservoir (reservoir energy) is

great enough, the oil will flow into the well and up to the surface. In this

case no pumping equipment is required. If the reservoir energy is not

sufficient to force the oil to the surface then the well must be pumped.

In either case, nothing is added to the reservoir to increase or maintain

the reservoir energy not to sweep the oil towards the well. The rate of

production from a flowing well tends to decline as the natural reservoir

energy is expanded. When a flowing well is no longer producing at an

efficient rate, a pump is installed. As oil production continues, the

reservoir pressure declines unless a fluid such as water enters the

reservoir to replace the produced oil. Only a few oil reservoirs are

fortunate enough to have an aquifer which is able to supply water as fast

s the oil is normally produced. Thus nearly all oil reservoirs experience

decreasing reservoir pressures throughout their production history.

Reservoir pressure decline adversely affects oil production in two ways.

First it diminishes the force which drives oil into the well-bore. Second

and more important one, a decline in reservoir pressure soon causes some

of the gas held in solution to be released as discrete gas phase impedes

the flow of oil toward the well while increasing the flow of gas. The

amount of oil that can be displaced by the natural reservoir energy

associated with a reservoir varies with reservoir type. Reservoirs are

classified into five broad categories based on the principal source of

reservoir energy. These are:

(a) water drive,

(b) solution gas drive,

(c) fluid expansion,

(d) gas cap drive

(e) gravity drainage.

Water Drive Reservoirs:

A water drive reservoir has a hydraulic connection between the

reservoir and a porous, water saturated rock called an aquifer. The water

in an aquifer is compressed. As reservoir pressure is reduced by oil

production, the water expands, creating a natural water-flood at the

reservoir/aquifer boundary. Reservoir energy is also supplied by

compressibility of the rock in the aquifer. When the aquifer is large and

contains sufficient energy, the entire reservoir may be “water-flooded”

by proper management of fluid withdrawal rates. Recovery efficiencies of

70 to 80 % of the original oil in place (OOIP) are possible in some water

drive reservoirs.

Solution Gas Drive:

Crude oil under high pressure may contain large amounts of

dissolved gas. When the reservoir pressure is reduced as fluids are

withdrawn, gas comes out of solution and displaces oil from the reservoir

to the producing wells. The efficiency of solution gas drive depends on

the amount of gas in solution, the rock and fluid properties, and the

geological structure of the reservoir. Recoveries are low, on the order of

10-15 % of the OOIP. Recovery is low, because the gas phase is more

mobile than the oil phase in the reservoir. As pressure declines, gas flows

at a faster rate than the oil, leading to rapid depletion of reservoir

energy, which is noted by increasing gas / oil ratios in the field. Solution

gas drive reservoirs are usually good candidates for water-flooding.

Under-saturated Reservoir:

A crude oil is under-saturated when it contains less gas than is

required to saturate the oil at the pressure and temperature of the

reservoir. When the oil is highly under-saturated, much of the reservoir

energy is stored in the form of fluid and rock compressibility. Pressure

declines rapidly as fluids are withdrawn from an under-saturated

reservoir until the bubble point is reached. Then, solution gas drive

becomes the source of energy for fluid displacement. Reservoir fluid

analysis, PVT behavior and reservoir pressure data will identify an under-

saturated reservoir. These reservoirs are good candidates for water

injection to maintain a high reservoir pressure and to increase oil

recovery.

Gas-cap Drive Reservoirs:

When a reservoir has a large gas cap, there may be a large amount

of energy stored in the form of compressed gas. The gas cap expands as

fluids are withdrawn from the reservoir, displacing the oil by a gas drive

assisted by gravity drainage. Expansion of the gas cap is limited by the

desired pressure level in the reservoir and by gas production after gas

comes into production wells. Reservoirs with large gas caps generally are

not considered to be good water-flood candidates. Pressure has been

maintained in some of these reservoirs by injection of gas into the gas

cap.

Gravity Drainage:

Gravity drainage may be a primary producing mechanism in thick

reservoirs that have good vertical communication or in steeply dipping

reservoirs. Gravity drainage is a slow process because gas must migrate

up structure or to the top of the formation to fill the space formerly

occupied by oil. Gas migration is fast relative to oil drainage so those oil

rates are controlled by the rate of oil drainage.