Reservoir Dive

Mechanisms
Group # 2

Group Members
Umar Khalid 2013-PET-06
M.Usman Manzoor 2013-PET-05
Ahsan Ali 2013-PET-08
Abdi Aziz Rashid 2013-PET-53
AbdulRahman 2013-PET-07
Discussion Outline

Definition of Reservoir Drive Mechanism

Types of Reservoir Drive Mechanisms
Primary Recovery
Drive Mechanisms in Primary Recovery
Secondary Recovery & its Drive Mechanisms
Tertiary Recovery(EOR) & its Mechanisms
Infill Recovery
References
Overview
Queries
Reservoir Drive Mechanism
Recovery of hydrocarbons from
Petroleum/oil reservoir.

It supplies energy that moves the

hydrocarbons located in a reservoir
toward the wellbore as fluid is removed
near the wellbore.
Types of Reservoir Drive Mechanism

Recovery of hydrocarbons from an oil reservoir is commonly recognized to

occur in several recovery stages .We use different mechanisms in these
stages.These are :
Primary recovery
Secondary recovery
Tertiary recovery (Enhanced Oil Recovery, EOR)
Infill recovery
 Primary Recovery

Natural energy of the reservoir works as Drive

Expansion of original reservoir fluids
Natural energy is determined by Production data (Reservoir
Pressure and Fluid production Ratios)
Use of the pressure already in the reservoir
Drive Mechanisms in Primary Recovery

Solution Gas Drive

Gas Cap Drive
Water Drive
Gravity drainage
Combination or Mixed Drive
Solution Gas Drive Mechanism

Reservoir rock surrounded by impermeable barrier.

At the start of Production, expansion of dissolved gases occur.
Change in fluid volume results in production of Reservoir fluids.
A solution gas drive reservoir is initially either considered to be
1. Under saturated
2. Saturated
Solution Gas Drive Mechanism
 Oil Recovery from Solution Gas Drive Reservoirs

Initial reservoir
pressure Dissolved gas
reservoir reservoirs typically
pressure bubble point pressure recover between 5
(psig) and 25% OIIP and
60 to 80% GIIP.

0 5 10 15
Oil recovery ,% of OOIP
Gas Cap Drive

Expansion of already present Gas Cap above the reservoir .

Decrease in pressure during the production, expansion of Gas cap
occur.
As production continues, the gas cap expands pushing the gas-oil
contact (GOC) downwards.
Better than Solution gas drive .
The recovery of gas cap reservoirs is better than for solution drive
reservoirs (20% to 40% OOIP).
Gas cap Drive
Water Drive Mechanism

Reservoir bounded by aquifers.

During Pressure Depletion, the compressed water expands and
overflow towards reservoir.
Invading water drive the oil towards producing wells.
Water influx acts to mitigate the Pressure Decline.
The recovery from water driven reservoirs is usually good (20-60%
OOIP)
Oil recovery from water drive reservoirs typically ranges from 35
to 75% of the original oil in place
Water Drive Mechanism
Gravity Drainage

Density Differences segregate oil, water and gas .

Relatively weak mechanism
Can be used as drive mechanism in combination with other drive mechanism
The best conditions for gravity drainage are:
1. Thick oil zones.
2. High vertical permeabilities
Rate of production generated by gravity mechanism is vey low(50-70% OOIP).
The rate of oil gravity drainage in the reservoir is usually low compared to field
production rates.
Gravity Drainage
Combination or Mixed Drive

In practice, reservoir usually incorporates at least two main drive

mechanisms.
The management of the reservoir for different drive mechanisms
can be diametrically opposed.
For example Gas cap & Aquifer are sometime present together.
Strength of drives must be identified as early as possible in the life
of reservoir to optimize the reservoirs performance.
Combination or Mixed Drive
Secondary Recovery

Results from human intervention in the reservoir to improve

recovery after the low efficiencies of Natural /Primary Drive
mechanisms.
Two techniques are commonly used :
(i) Water flooding
(ii) Gas flooding
Water Flooding Mechanism

Injection of water in the base of reservoir .

Water flooding maintain the reservoir pressure.
Displace oil (usually with gas and water) towards production wells.
The successful outcome depends on
1. Designs based on accurate relative permeability data in both
horizontal directions,
2. The choice of a good injector/producer array
Water Flooding Mechanism
Gas Flooding Mechanism

Same as Water Flooding.

Injection of a gas.
e.g CO2, N2 or flue gases are generally used.
Categorized into two types :
1. Immiscible gas injection.
2. Miscible or high-pressure gas injection.
Gas Flooding Mechanism
Immiscible gas injection
Inefficient fluid for additional oil
recovery.
The gas is non-wetting to reservoir
rocks
The gas will move through the larger
spaces of the reservoir rock
Thus the initial gas may be displacing
gas not oil.
Miscible gas injection
The gas is wetting the reservoir rock.
The gas moves through smaller pores.
The injection of non aqueous hydrocarbons
solvent.
The displacement of oil occurs.
An important factor is that the mass
transfer between displaced and the
displacing factor/ phase.
Leads to the formation of oil bank, to move.
Gas Flooding Mechanism
Tertiary Recovery (EOR)

Extraction by Primary and Secondary recovery methods is about

35% of the original oil in place.
Many methods are used:
(i) Thermal
(ii) Chemical
(iii) Miscible gas
Thermal EOR

Use of heat to improve oil recovery by reducing the viscosity of heavy oils and
vaporising lighter oils and hence improving their mobility.
This technique includes :
1. Steam injection
2. injection of a hot gas that combusts with the oil in place.
3. Microwave heating downhole
4. Hot water injection.
thermal EOR is probably the most efficient EOR approach.
Thermal EOR
Chemical EOR

Use of Chemicals added to water in the injected fluid of a Waterflood to

improve oil recovery.
This can be done in many ways, examples are listed below:
1. Increasing water viscosity (polymer floods)
2. Decreasing the relative permeability to water (cross-linked polymer
floods)
3. Increasing the relative permeability to oil (micellar and alkaline floods).
4. Decreasing the interfacial tension between the oil and water
phases(micellar and alkaline floods)
Chemical EOR
Miscible Gas

Uses a fluid that is miscible with the oil

A fluid has a zero interfacial tension with the oil.
In practice a gas is used since gases have high mobilities and can easily
enter all the pores in the rock providing the gas is miscible in the oil.
Three types of gas are commonly used:
1. Carbon di oxide
2. Nitrogen
3. Hydrocarbon gases
All of these are relatively cheap to obtain..
Miscible Gas
Infill Recovery

At the end of the reservoir life.

To improve the production rate.
To carry out infill drilling,
Directly accessing oil that may have been left unproduced.
By using all the previous natural and artificial drive mechanisms.
Infill drilling can involve very significant drilling costs
Additional production may not be great.
References

http://homepages.see.leeds.ac.uk/~earpwjg/PG_EN/CD%20Contents/For
mation%20Evaluation%20English/Chapter%203.PDF
https://www.metu.edu.tr/~kok/pete110/PETE110_CHAPTER5.pdf
http://wiki.aapg.org/Drive_mechanisms_and_recovery
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering ----Basic Concepts
general view of oil recovery
https://www.google.com.pk/slideshare
Any Question ??????