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of waterflooding under various conditions have been extensively 䊉 three-dimensional displacement 共including layering兲.
冉 冊
⫽⫺ , 共4兲 ⫺S or , can be approximated by a power law,
共 S w* 兲 2
t
1⫹ ⫽a 共 1⫺S w ⫺S or 兲 b , 共8兲
M
where a⬎0 is a constant, and b⬎1 is the exponent of the relative
obtained by substituting Eq. 2 in Eq. 3. Denoting by W the WOR
permeability to oil. In deriving Eq. 8 it was assumed that k ro
at the producing well, it is then easily shown that
varies in this region as
M
W⫽ . 共5兲 k ro ⬃ 共 1⫺S w ⫺S or 兲 b , 共9兲
共 S w* 兲
as can be verified by percolation theory 共for example, see Ref. 7兲.
Hence, to obtain the relation between W and t, one needs to first For the hypothetical case of Fig. 1共b兲, where b⫽2.1, this regime
solve Eq. 4 for S w* and subsequently substitute the result in Eq. 5. applies after S w* ⫽0.55. Use of Eq. 8 in Eqs. 4 and 5 leads to
Clearly, this relation will be directly influenced by the assumed
dependence of the ratio on the saturation. 共 W⫹1 兲 2
An inspection of a typical plot of vs. S w 共Fig. 1兲 shows the ⫽ba 1/b M ⫺ 共 1/b 兲 t, 共10兲
W 1⫹ 共 1/b 兲
following two different regimes.
䊉 At intermediate values of S * , can be roughly approximated
which at large W suggests a linear log W-log t plot, but now with
w
by the exponential slope b/(b⫺1).
We will use these two different limiting regimes to analyze the
⫽A exp共 ⫺BS w 兲 , 共6兲 properties of 1D displacements. We will focus on two different
414 Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999
Fig. 4–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a 1D displacement
Fig. 2–Behavior following breakthrough using X-plot coordi- and M ⴝ0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10. The late-time slope is equal to 1.5.
nates †X ⴝ1/t B ⴚ1/t , Y ⴝ W B /„1ⴙ W B … 2 ⴚ W /„1ⴙ W … 2 ‡, for M
ⴝ0.1, 1, 2, 5, and 10.
expected, Eq. 12 is satisfied better under conditions of more fa-
vorable mobility.
time regimes, one following breakthrough and a late-time regime. Either Eq. 11 or 12 can be linearized near t B to yield the scal-
Equivalent results for the relationship between W and the dimen- ing,
sionless cumulative oil production, Q o , are given in Appendix A.
W⫺W B ⬃t⫺t B , 共13兲
Behavior Following Breakthrough. Of most interest in practi-
cal applications is the early part of the WOR curve that immedi- which indicates a straight line of slope 1 in a log-log plot of
ately follows breakthrough. For unfavorable mobility displace- increments of the WOR vs. increments of time. The numerical
ments, where S w* is relatively small, hence where X-plot results of Figs. 2 and 3 confirm this scaling at early times. In
conditions prevail, we can use the Buckley–Leverett theory above principle, Eqs. 11 through 13 can be used for diagnostic purposes.
to obtain the following equation after breakthrough: However, such tests will be sensitive to the particular choice of
冋 册
W B , the value of which needs to be estimated by other means.
1 1 W WB Late-Time Behavior. Following breakthrough, the saturation at
⫺ ⫽B 2⫺ ; W B ⬎1. 共11兲
t tB 共 W⫹1 兲 共 W B ⫹1 兲 2 the producing end is relatively high. Again, the WOR behavior
depends on the particular regime of the relative permeability de-
Here t B and W B are, respectively 共dimensionless兲 breakthrough pendence. For sufficiently large M , such that the water saturation
time and the WOR at breakthrough 共which in the Buckley– at breakthrough probes the X-plot region 共where Eq. 6 is appro-
Leverett theory is nonzero兲. In an appropriate log-log plot, there- priate兲, Eq. 7 can be rearranged to yield
fore, this equation represents a straight line of slope 1. On the
other hand, for more favorable mobility displacements, where the 共 1⫹W 兲 2
breakthrough saturation is relatively high and where the power- ⫽B. 共14兲
Wt
law regime is obeyed, the equation near breakthrough is
冋 册
Under such conditions, the ratio 关 (1⫹W) 2 /Wt 兴 is independent of
1 1 ba 1/b W b⫹1/b W Bb⫹1/b b⫹1 production time. Furthermore, at large W 共assuming that exponen-
⫺ ⫽ 1/b ⫺ ; W B⬎ . 共12兲
t tB M 共 W⫹1 兲 2 共 W B ⫹1 兲 2 b⫺1 tial behavior is still obeyed兲, Eq. 14 can be approximated by
This equation is also a straight line with a unit slope in the appro- log W⬇log t⫹C, 共15兲
priate log-log plot.
where C is a constant, and which shows that a log W-log t plot is
The validity of Eqs. 11 and 12 was tested numerically using a
linear with slope 1.
commercial finite-difference simulator. Fig. 2 shows that, for
For sufficiently low M , on the other hand, or at sufficiently
rather large M and at early times following breakthrough, Eq. 11
large times and for any M , the power-law regime, Eq. 8, applies.
is well obeyed. Fig. 3 shows the corresponding test for Eq. 12. As
In contrast to the X-plot prediction, Eq. 14, the ratio 关 (1
⫹W) 2 /Wt 兴 is not constant but varies with time following Eq. 10,
which can be rearranged to
共 1⫹W 兲 2
⬃W 1/b . 共16兲
Wt
As W increases, this can be further simplified to
W 1⫺ 共 1/b 兲 ⬇ba 1/b M ⫺ 1/b t 共17兲
or
b
log W⬃ log t⫹H, 共18兲
b⫺1
where H is a constant. Under these conditions, therefore, a plot of
log W vs. log t is asymptotically a straight line, but now with slope
b/(b⫺1). This slope provides information on the exponent of the
power-law dependence of the oil’s relative permeability on satu-
ration. As will be shown below using numerical simulations, this
asymptotic behavior is eventually common to all systems tested.
Fig. 3–Behavior following breakthrough using power-law coor- Using the numerical simulator we proceeded to test numeri-
dinates †X ⴝ1/t B ⴚ1/t , Y ⴝ W Bbⴙ1/ b /„1ⴙ W B … 2 ⴚ W b ⴙ1/ b /„1ⴙ W … 2 ‡, cally the validity of these two regimes for practically relevant
for M ⴝ0.1, 1, 2, 5, and 10. values of the WOR. Figs. 4 and 5 show log-log plots of the WOR
Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999 415
Fig. 7–Well-doublet geometry.
416 Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999
共note again that the analytical solution corresponds to an infinite
reservoir, while the rescaling of time in the time axis reflects the
assumed pore volume of the finite numerical reservoir兲. For the
varying M curves, a qualitatively similar behavior is shown that
lasts for a period of time, during which the slope is approximately
the same as the analytical. Following this period the curves do not
reproduce the analytical predictions for several reasons: The
curves start reflecting the finite-size domain of the numerical cal-
culations, and possibly the lack of grid refinement at the wells;
capillary effects start to become important 共the latter effect was
also present in all our simulations at a sufficiently high WOR兲;
finally, variable mobility effects also become important, and may
lead to viscous instabilities, etc. These were not analyzed in this
paper.
The results of Fig. 8 show that the well pattern and 2D geo-
metrical features dominate over fractional flow effects. Indeed, the
Fig. 8–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a well doublet and
1D model predictions would have suggested an asymptotic slope
M ⴝ0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, and 10 „ b ⴝ1.5…. The solid line is the ana-
lytical prediction. The late-time slope is 1/3. of 3, which is clearly not observed in Fig. 8. We note that this is
a consequence of the unbounded nature of the reservoir in the
problem considered here. When the reservoir is bounded, the
curve ultimately approaches 1D asymptotic behavior, as will be
tained rather easily, since all streamlines are circular.8 共This was demonstrated below. Similar results were found for other values
also discussed by Brigham in 1995 unpublished notes.兲 Then one of b studied.
can show the exact result, In essence, the well doublet in an unbounded reservoir is dia-
冉 冊
sin ␣ ⫺ ␣ cos ␣ metrically opposite to that of the 1D problem. While the former
t⫽ , 共24兲 emphasizes relative permeability effects, the latter is dominated
sin3 ␣ by areal displacement features. The analysis of this behavior is
where time was dimensionalized with the characteristic time novel. As will be shown below, however, most realistic 2D prob-
4 L 2 h/ v 共where is porosity, h the reservoir thickness, 2L the lems share common features with both these limits.
distance between the two wells, and v the volumetric injection General Patterns. Consider next more general patterns. As be-
rate兲. Eqs. 23 and 24 implicitly provide the relationship between fore, to analyze these problems we will decouple geometry from
W and t. As before, we will analyze the displacement behavior in fractional flow effects. To evaluate the effect of the pattern, we
the two different time domains: following breakthrough and at will make use of the findings of Koplik et al.,9,10 who considered
late times. the problem of tracer dispersion in 2D multipole and bounded
Behavior Following Breakthrough. To obtain the behavior potential flows. These investigators analyzed the probability dis-
following breakthrough we expand Eqs. 23 and 24 at small ␣. tribution, p(t), of the arrival times, namely, the time t it takes for
Then we can readily show the power-law scaling, a tracer particle released at a source to reach the sink well. In our
context, the arrival time also represents the time for water break-
2 2t B 2 through from a given streamtube in a waterflood with M ⫽1 and
t⫺t B ⬇ W , 共25兲 in the absence of fractional flow effects. Therefore, results on p(t)
5
can be potentially useful to our problem. The well-doublet prob-
which can be further rearranged to lem discussed above is a particular case of the more general mul-
W⬇ 0.25 冉 t⫺t B
tB 冊 1/2
. 共26兲
tipole problem treated here.
To obtain an expression for the WOR behavior, it is necessary
to relate W to p, which is obtained as follows. Consider first the
In the appropriate log-log plot, Eq. 26 indicates a straight line case where fractional flow effects are not included, such that the
with slope 1/2. Note that in contrast to 1D displacements 关e.g., displacement is piston like within a streamtube. Following water
Eqs. 11 and 12兴, here the value of the WOR at the time of water breakthrough, only water will be produced from that streamtube.
breakthrough is zero (W B ⫽0). Also note that the scaling expo- Under this assumption, it is easy to show that
nents are different in the two expressions, Eqs. 13 and 26.
t
Late-Time Behavior. Late-time behavior can be obtained from 兰 t * p 共 t B 兲 dt B 1
an asymptotic analysis of Eqs. 23 and 24 in the limit ␣ → . Then W共 t 兲⫽
B
⫽ ⫺1, 共28兲
it is straightforward to show the power-law scaling, 兰 t⬁ p 共 t B 兲 dt B 兰 t⬁ p 共 t B 兲 dt B
W⬃t 1/3, 共27兲
where we made use of the normalization condition,
which in a log-log plot represents a straight line of slope 1/3. This
slope is smaller than unity. This feature is generic to multidimen-
sional displacements, as will be shown below, and in contrast to
Eq. 18 reflects areal displacement, not relative permeability, ef-
冕 t*
B
⬁
p 共 t 兲 dt⫽1. 共29兲
Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999 417
冕
t*
B
t W s 共 t/t B 兲
1⫹W s 共 t/t B 兲
p 共 t B 兲 dt B
W共 t 兲⫽ 共30兲
冕 冕
,
t p 共 t B 兲 dt B ⬁
⫹ p 共 t B 兲 dt B
*
tB 1⫹W s 共 t/t B 兲 t
*
tB
p 共 t B 兲 dt B
1⫹W s 共 t/t B 兲
⫹ 冕t
⬁
p 共 t B 兲 dt B
where G⬎0 measures the rate of stretching of the streamlines the exponential decay, the asymptotic scaling of W s (t) dominates
near stagnation points. The difference between the power law, Eq. the asymptotic behavior, hence the WOR scaling would follow
34, and the exponential decay, Eq. 35, when the geometry be- that of 1D displacement, which predicts a slope b/(b⫺1). Thus,
comes bounded must be emphasized. the 1D slope will eventually emerge at sufficiently late times in
Consider then the application of these scalings to the WOR any problem. The corresponding scaling of the WOR-oil recovery
expressions, Eq. 28 or 31. If we neglect fractional flow effects, relationship is now
Eq. 28 applies, and from it we obtain the late-time scaling,
ln W⬇⫺b ln共 1⫺Q o 兲 ⫹H ⬘ , 共39兲
W⬃t N/N⫹2 , 共36兲
as in Eq. 20, which as we noted above can also be approximated
for the case of multipole flows in unbounded geometries, followed by the semilog relationship, Eq. 21.
by the scaling, We tested the above theoretical predictions by numerical simu-
lation. Fig. 9 shows results for the case of a quadrupole (N⫽2) in
W⬃exp共 Gt 兲 , 共37兲
an unbounded reservoir. We observe that the theoretical slope of
in bounded geometries. Eq. 36 predicts that in unbounded geom- 1/2 is well satisfied. Numerical simulations were subsequently
etries 共or at relatively early times, when the effect of boundaries is conducted to test the late-time behavior of displacements in
not yet felt兲 the late-time behavior is a power law with exponent bounded geometries. Fig. 10 shows results obtained for a well
418 Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999
Fig. 10–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a bounded well Fig. 12–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a bounded well
doublet with aspect ratios of B / A ⴝ1, 2, and 3 „M ⴝ1, b ⴝ3.0…. doublet with aspect ratios of B / A ⴝ1, 2, and 3 and of a doublet
The late-time slope is 1.5. with a heterogeneity channel „M ⴝ1, b ⴝ3…. The late-time slope
is 1.5.
Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999 419
Fig. 13–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a bounded well
doublet with a permeability streak and for different cross flows: Fig. 14–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a vertical cross
m y ⴝ0.001, 0.1, 10, and 100 „from top to bottom… „M ⴝ1, b section with 2, 5, and 10 noncommunicating layers „M ⴝ1, b
ⴝ3.0, m x ⴝ100…. The late-time slope is 1.5. ⴝ2.0….
d
1⫺d
⫺W⬃
d
共 1⫺d 兲 2
t ⫺a , 共42兲
W⫽
冋 冕
0
⬁
Wp
1⫹W p
k
km 冉 冊
t
k
km冉 冊
t
k f 共 k 兲 dk
册 冒冋冕 0
⬁ k f 共 k 兲 dk
1⫹W p 冉 k
km
t 冊册
.
共43兲
Some special cases are of interest: For a single layer, we have
which shows that a log-log plot of d/(1⫺d) ⫺W vs. t would be a f (k)⫽ ␦ (k⫺k m ), and Eq. 43 gives the single-layer expression
straight line with the 1D slope m⫽b/(b⫺1). This equation could W⫽W p (t) as expected. For the case of two layers of equal thick-
be used for diagnostic purposes. ness, denoted by subscripts 1 and 2, respectively, we have f (k)
The previous analysis was based on the absence of cross flow ⫽1/2关 ␦ (k⫺k 1 )⫹ ␦ (k⫺k 2 ) 兴 , which when substituted into Eq. 43
冋 册
between the streak and the rest of the reservoir. Consider next the leads to
冉 冊 冉 冊
case of cross flow. The parameters affecting the behavior of this
system are the two ratios, m x ⬅k x,s /k x,r and m y ⬅k y,s /k y,r , where k1 k2
k 1W p t k 2W p t
k is permeability, subscripts x and y refer to the streamwise and km km
冉 冊 冉 冊
transverse flow directions, respectively, and s and r refer to the ⫹
streak and the reservoir, respectively. Fig. 13 shows simulations k1 k2
in which the effect of cross flow is explored in the geometry of a 1⫹W p t 1⫹W p t
冋 冉 冊册
km km
well doublet in terms of the parameter m y that varies from 0.01 W⫽ . 共44兲
共negligible cross flow兲 to 100 共high cross flow兲 and with m x k1 k2
冉 冊
⫽100. The presence of the streak is evident in the case of small ⫹
k1 k1
cross flow, where the WOR increases fast and appears to stabilize 1⫹W p t 1⫹W p t
to a constant value. However, as the cross flow increases, the km km
response is mitigated, and at large values the system behavior
Of particular interest in the latter case is the behavior following
approaches that of a homogeneous system. We recall that for the
the breakthrough of the first layer 兵 W p 关 (k 1 /k m ) t 兴 ⬎0 其 and before
well doublet described here the slope of the WOR curve in a
the breakthrough of the second layer 兵 W p 关 (k 2 /k m ) t B2 兴 ⫽0 其 .
log-log plot is 1/3 at intermediate times and approaches b/(b
冋 册
Then, the above becomes
⫺1) at late times 共if the system is bounded兲.
冉 冊 冒
冉 冊 冋 册
k1
3D Displacements. To conclude our analysis we considered next k 1W pt
km k1
冉 冊
3D displacements in layered reservoirs in various patterns, such as W⫽ ⫹k 2 , 共45兲
a well doublet or a five spot. k1 k1
1⫹W p t 1⫹W p t
Consider first the case of noncommunicating layers. This is a km km
special case of the general layer problem but with M ⫽1 and in
the absence of fractional flow effects. We follow the previous which is essentially identical to Eq. 41 involving a heterogeneity
approach and combine the WOR behavior of each layer, to be streak. For sufficiently large times, W approaches k 1 /k 2 , which
denoted by W p , and which is influenced by the particular 2D flow for the case of equal thickness layers treated here represents the
pattern, with the heterogeneity of the layers. For this purpose, we kh ratio for the particular layered system. As in the heterogeneity
need the probability density function 共pdf兲, f (k), characterizing case, the quantity k 1 /k 2 ⫺W plotted vs. time in a log-log plot
the heterogeneity of the layered system. In such a system, the must display a power-law scaling 共with an exponent characteristic
breakthrough times of the various layers follow the statistics of of the associated areal displacement兲, namely,
f (k), with the breakthrough time being inversely proportional to k1
k. Therefore, the WOR of each layer can be expressed as a func- ⫺W⬃t ⫺ , 共46兲
k2
tion of its permeability, W p 关 (k/k m ) t 兴 , where, for simplicity, we
normalized time with the breakthrough time of the layer with where is the corresponding exponent.
permeability k m , which denotes the arithmetic mean. In the ab- Fig. 14 shows simulation results for a vertical cross section
sence of communication between the layers, the fraction of the with 2, 5 and 10 layers with permeability contrasts of 5:1,
flow partitioned to a layer is proportional to its kh value or, 5:4:3:2:1, and 10:9:8, . . . :1, respectively. The distinction between
equivalently, to k f (k)dk. Based on these remarks, we can derive layers is clear in the first case, as expected. As the number of
the following result for the overall WOR: layers increases, however, the distinction becomes less clear and
420 Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999
Fig. 15–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a well doublet with
a vertical cross section with 2, 5, and 10 communicating layers
„M ⴝ1, b ⴝ2.0….
1 1
⫺ ⫽F
t tB
冋 冉
W 1⫺
k2
k1
W
共 W⫹1 兲 2
冊 冉
⫺
W B 1⫺ W B
k2
k1
共 W B ⫹1 兲 2
冊册 , 共47兲
Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999 421
Fig. 19–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a five spot with
two and five communicating layers „M ⴝ1, b ⴝ3.0….
Fig. 17–Log-log plot of the WOR vs. time for a well doublet with
a vertical cross section with infinitely many layers following a
log-normal distribution in k : ⴝ„a… 0.001, „b… 0.01, and „c… 0.07
„M ⴝ5, b ⴝ2.0….
422 Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999
which indicates a straight line with slope N/(N⫹2), namely, a M ⫽ viscosity ratio, dimensionless
slope always less than 1, where N is characteristic of the well m ⫽ exponent, dimensionless
pattern 共polarity兲. The corresponding scaling between W and Q o N ⫽ pattern polarity index, dimensionless
is also a power law, p ⫽ probability of arrival times, dimensionless
Q ⫽ cumulative production, dimensionless
W⬃Q N/2
o . 共49兲 q ⫽ injection rate, L3T⫺1
When, however, a high-permeability streak is involved or the sys- S ⫽ saturation, dimensionless
tem consists of only a few discrete layers with a sharp permeabil- t ⫽ injection time, dimensionless
ity contrast, this regime mostly reflects the partition of the flow in v ⫽ volumetric injection rate, L3T⫺1
these two layers. Then, the equations pertaining to post- W ⫽ water/oil ratio, dimensionless
breakthrough and intermediate behavior, respectively, should be x ⫽ distance, dimensionless
used. ␣ ⫽ angle, dimensionless
Regime 共iv兲 is the final asymptotic state in all bounded pat- ⌫ ⫽ gamma function, dimensionless
terns, and its behavior is ⫽ relative permeability ratio, dimensionless
⫽ exponent, dimensionless
b ⫽ exponent, dimensionless
log W⬃ log t⫹H, 共50兲
b⫺1 ⫽ porosity, dimensionless
indicating that a plot of log W-log t is asymptotically a straight ⫽ streamfunction, dimensionless
line with slope b/(b⫺1). This slope provides information on the ⫽ time, dimensionless
exponent b of the power law that describes the relative oil perme-
ability dependence on saturation near the residual saturation, and Subscripts
it is always greater than 1. Alternatively, the WOR-oil recovery B ⫽ breakthrough
ratio is expressed by o ⫽ oil
ln W⬇⫺b ln共 1⫺Q o 兲 ⫹H ⬘ , 共51兲 or ⫽ residual oil
r ⫽ relative
or its further approximation at small Q o , s ⫽ 1D streamtube
ln W⬇bQ o ⫹H ⬘ . 共52兲 w ⫽ water
A semilog relation of the type of Eq. 52 was found to describe
many of the simulations of Lo et al.5 well. Acknowledgments
This work was partly supported by Dowell–Schlumberger. The
Conclusions research of one of the authors 共Y.C.Y.兲 was also supported by
In this article we reported on the progress made in the identifica- DOE Contract No. DE-FG22-96BC14994/SUB. Both these con-
tion of the relationship between the WOR and time during water tributions are gratefully acknowledged. We would also like to
production. This relationship contains two effects, one due to the thank K. Chan and M. Mack of Dowell–Schlumberger and Prof.
relative permeability and mobility and another due to the produc- Iraj Ershaghi of USC for useful discussions.
tion geometry. The first effect was uncovered by conducting a 1D
analysis, in which it was found that the late-time behavior of the References
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C⬘ ⫽ constant, dimensionless First-Passage Properties of Planar Multipole Flows,’’ Phys. Rev. Lett.
共1995兲 74, 82.
D ⫽ constant, dimensionless 11. Carrier, G.F., Krook, M., and Pearson, C.E.: Functions of a Complex
d ⫽ fraction of flow, dimensionless Variable, McGraw-Hill, New York City 共1966兲.
E ⫽ constant, dimensionless
F ⫽ constant, dimensionless
f ⫽ permeability probability density function, L⫺2 Appendix A—Relationship Between Water/Oil Ratio
fw ⫽ fractional flow function, dimensionless and Cumulative Oil Recovery
G ⫽ exponent, dimensionless To obtain the relationship between W and Q o , we first note that
H ⫽ constant, dimensionless dQ w
H⬘ ⫽ constant, dimensionless ⫽W, 共A-1兲
h ⫽ reservoir thickness, L dQ o
k ⫽ permeability, L2 where Q w denotes the cumulative amount of water produced.
L ⫽ well distance, L Since we also have t⫽Q o ⫹Q w , Eq. A-1 gives
Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999 423
Q o⫽ 冕
0
t
dt
W⫹1
. 共A-2兲 冕 t*
t
B
exp共 ⫺G 兲
1⫹D 共 t/ 兲 m
d ⫽t 冋冕 0
1 x m exp共 ⫺Gtx 兲
D⫹x m
dx
Q o ⫽1⫺ 冕
4
⬁ dt
W⫹1
, 共A-4兲 W⬃
DG m⫹1
⌫ 共 m⫹1,Gt B* 兲
t m, 共B-4兲
hence,
where ⌫(a,z) is the incomplete gamma function. The above is the
scaling claimed in the text.
ln W⬃⫺ ln共 1⫺Q o 兲 . 共A-5兲
⫺1
Yanis C. Yortsos is Professor of Chemical Engineering and
Appendix B—Asymptotic Behavior of Water/Oil Ratio Chester Doley Professor of Petroleum Engineering at the U. of
for 2D Patterns Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. e-mail:
To derive the asymptotic behavior of W for general 2D patterns yortsos@euclid.usc.edu. He also served as Chairman of the
which include fractional flow effects, we need to consider the Chemical Engineering Dept. during 1991–97. His research inter-
ests are in the areas of fluid flow, transport, and displacement
behavior at large t of the two terms on the right-hand side of Eq.
processes in porous media. Yortsos holds a BS degree from
31. For simplicity, we will assume that the 1D WOR has the Natl. Technical U. of Athens and MS and PhD degrees from
simple behavior, W s ( )⫽D m , where m⭓1. We shall examine California Inst. of Technology, all in chemical engineering. A
separately the two different cases corresponding to the different member of the Editorial Review Committee, he served as a
behavior of p 共unbounded vs. bounded patterns兲. member of the 1990–91 and 1996–97 Western Regional Meet-
Consider first an unbounded pattern, in which p(t) has the ing Program Committees and on Annual Meeting Technical
behavior described by Eq. 34, namely, Committees. Youngmin Choi is an R&D supervisor with Jason
Natural Products in Culver City, California. e-mail:
2N⫹2 yochoi@aol.com. He holds a BS degree from A-Joo U., South
p⫽Et ⫺ ; ⫽ ⬎1. 共B-1兲 Korea, and a MS degree from USC, both in chemical engi-
N⫹2
neering. Zhengming Yang is a software engineer with MSC
Now the second term in the denominator of Eq. 31 reads 1/( Software Corp. in Costa Mesa, California. He previously
⫺1) t ⫺(⫺1) , while the first term can be rearranged to read worked as an engineer with China Natl. Oil Co. during 1985–91
and as a research associate at USC and Tidelands Oil Produc-
冕 t E ⫺
t * 1⫹D 共 t/ 兲
B
m d ⫽Et
1⫺
冕 1 x m⫺
t * /t D⫹x
B
m dx. 共B-2兲
tion Co. during 1995–99. Yang holds a BS degree in chemical
engineering from Tianjin U., China; a MS degree in petroleum
engineering from RIPED Graduate School, Beijing; and a PhD
degree in petroleum engineering from USC. Piyush C. Shah is
The behavior of this integral in the limit tⰇt B* depends on the a senior engineering specialist with Landmark Graphics Corp.
magnitude of m⫺. If m⫺⬎⫺1, the integral converges, and in Houston, where he works on development of wellbore-flow
the right-hand side above scales as t ⫺(⫺1) , which is of the same simulation models. e-mail: pcshah@lgc.com. After postdoc-
order as the second term in the denominator of Eq. 31. However, toral work at USC, Shah held R&D positions with major oil com-
since m⭓1 and ⫺1⭐1, the above inequality is always satisfied. panies and also worked for Schlumberger Wireline and Dow-
Therefore, it follows that in this case we shall have W ell. His work has involved reservoir process simulation,
developing interpretation models for well and formation test-
⬃t N/ ( N⫹2 ) , as claimed in the text. ing, and conformance control. He holds a BTech degree from
For a bounded pattern, p follows exponential decay 共Eq. 35兲. Indian Inst. of Technology, Bombay, and MS and PhD degrees
Then the second term above also behaves exponentially and scales in aeronautical engineering from California Inst. of Technol-
as exp(⫺Gt). To calculate the first term, we rearrange the integral ogy. He served on the Editorial Review Committee during
as follows: 1986–89.
424 Yortsos et al.: Water/Oil Ratio in Waterfloods SPE Journal, Vol. 4, No. 4, December 1999