aining retrograde gas condensate.

Gas injection into very undersaturated oil reservoirs for the purpose of swe
lling the oil and hence increasing oil recovery.
The primary physical mechanisms that occur as a result of gas injection are:
Partial or complete maintenance of reservoir pressure
Displacement of oil by gas both horizontally and vertically
Vaporization of the liquid hydrocarbon components from the oil column and po
ssibly from the gas cap if retrograde condensation has occurred or if the origin
al gas cap contains a relict oil saturation
Swelling of the oil if the oil at original reservoir conditions was very und
ersaturated with gas
Gas injection is particularly effective in high-relief reservoirs where the proc
ess is called "gravity drainage" because the vertical/gravity aspects increase t
he efficiency of the process and enhance recovery of updip oil residing above th
e uppermost oil-zone perforations.
Application
The decision to apply immiscible gas injection is based on a combination of tech
nical and economic factors. Deferral of gas sales is a significant economic dete
rrent for many potential gas injection projects if an outlet for immediate gas s
ales is available. Nevertheless, a variety of opportunities still exist. First a
re those reservoirs with characteristics and conditions particularly conducive t
o gas/oil gravity drainage and where attendant high oil recoveries are possible.
Second are those reservoirs where decreased depletion time resulting from lower
reservoir oil viscosity and gas saturation in the vicinity of producing wells i
s more attractive economically than alternative recovery methods that have highe
r ultimate recovery potential but at higher costs. And third are reservoirs wher
e recovery considerations are augmented by gas storage considerations and hence
gas sales may be delayed for several years.
Nonhydrocarbon gases such as CO2 and nitrogen can and have been used.[4] In gene
ral, calculation techniques developed for hydrocarbon-gas injection and displace
ment can be used for the design and application of nonhydrocarbon, immiscible ga
s projects. Valuing the use of such gases must include any additional costs rela
ted to these gases, such as corrosion control, separating the nonhydrocarbon com
ponents to meet gas marketing specifications, and using the produced gas as fuel
in field operations.
Related topics include:
Displacement efficiency of immiscible gas injection
Compositional effects during immiscible gas injection
Geology impact on immiscible gas displacement
Vertical or gravity drainage gas displacement
Immiscible gas injection performance
Immiscible gas injection monitoring
Immiscible gas injection case studies
The topics listed include discussions on the physical criteria that separate the
successful gas injection operations from the unsuccessful ones, describing the
reservoir and process variables that must be defined and quantified, and demonst
rating some of the simple techniques available for predicting and evaluating fie
ld performance. Some of these calculations can be performed with spreadsheets or
, more tediously, with hand-held calculators. Modern numerical reservoir simulat
ors are commonly used to calculate the projected performance of applying immisci
ble gas injection to a particular reservoir. For reservoirs with several years o
f immiscible gas injection, these same simulators can be used to history match p

ast performance and to project future performance under various scenarios (e.g.,
continuing current operations, evaluating various new producing wells options,
or comparing surface facility operational alternatives).
Specifically not included in this page is any discussion of the factors to consi
der in implementing a gas injection project, such as gas compression needs, gas
distribution systems, wellbore configurations, and vessel selection and sizing f
or handling produced fluids.
Gas sources for injection
The first consideration in any immiscible gas injection project is where to get
the volume of gas necessary for the project. Historically, produced and processe
d residue gas from that particular oil field has been used. This is the most sat
isfactory solution if the economics of the additional oil recovery justify defer
red gas sales. In some locations, this is not an issue because there is no curre
nt market outlet for the produced gas. Generally, reinjection of this local gas
supply is sufficient to nearly maintain the current reservoir pressure.
The next best alternative in some locations is to develop deeper gas horizons as
a gas supply. This is particularly true in the Middle East where massive volume
s of gas are often found in the deeper formations, such as the Khuff, underlying
some major oil reservoirs. The third alternative is to look to nearby fields fo
r a source of gas; this alternative has been used at the Swanson River field in
Alaska[5] and the Haft Kel and oth