A novel design for a selective fluid inflow control device

Abstract

In oil field development projects, reservoir heterogeneity can easily to produce water ridge problems, resulting in premature water discovery in wells. Selective inflow control devices can effectively slow water ridging. However, there are relatively few studies on inflow control devices for medium and low viscosity crude oil with viscosity below 50 mPa s. In this study, a new type of selective inflow control device was designed for wells with low oil viscosities, and its performance was analyzed using experimental and numerical simulation software. The effects of the structural (inner inlet) and fluid parameters (viscosity, flow rate and water cut) on the performance of the selective inflow control device were simulated. The experimental results show that the flow pressure loss is still low when the oil viscosity is 32 mPa s, and it can achieve a more considerable flow difference between oil and water at a larger flow rate. The simulation results show that the best suitable viscosity of the device is 50 mPa s. The internal structure of the tool has considerable influence on the pressure loss and flow-field distribution under low-viscosity conditions. Under high viscosity conditions, the pressure loss gradually exhibited a linear trend, and the influence of the internal structure decreased. When the flow rate is greater than 2 m³/d, the internal flow field distribution is more affected by the viscosity than the flow rate.