Abstract
At the high water cut stage, the residual oil in a reservoir becomes complex and dispersed. Moreover, it is challenging to achieve good predictions of the movement of oil and water in a reservoir according to the macroscopic models based on the statistic parameters of this scenario. However, pore-scale simulation technology based on directly tracking the interaction among different phases can make an accurate prediction of the fluid distribution in the pore space, which is highly important in the improvement of the recovery rate. In this work, pore-scale simulation methods, including the pore network model, lattice Boltzmann method, Navier–Stokes equation-based interface tracking methods, and smoothed particle hydrodynamics, and relevant technologies are summarized. The principles, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as the degree of difficulty in the implementation are analyzed and compared. Problems in the current simulation technologies, micro sub-models, and applications in physicochemical percolation are also discussed. Finally, potential developments and prospects in this field are summarized.
Highlights
At the high water cut or super high water cut stages in oilfields, residual oil distribution becomes complex and dispersed
The pore network model is one of the earliest models used for pore-scale simulation
The random reconstruction method randomly constructs a core based on the statistical information measured on images of the pore space and gives the results very quickly and but the resulting pore structure exhibits poor connectivity, and the statistical law obtained from reconstructed pore media requires further verification
Summary
At the high water cut or super high water cut stages in oilfields, residual oil distribution becomes complex and dispersed. It becomes more difficult to take in-depth measures in order to improve the recovery rate At this stage, the movement of oil and water is controlled by rock wettability, pore structure characteristics, physical property of the fluid, and mining scheme. Further study of the movement characteristics of oil and water at the pore-scale as well as the effects of control factors (rock wettability, pore structure characteristics, physical property of the fluid, and development plan) is essentially important to further enhance the oil recovery at the high water cut stage. Most of the studies on the movement of oil and water phases at the pore-scale are limited to physical experiments because of the complicated pore structure in oil reservoirs [1]. Potential developments and prospects in this field are addressed
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