Brownfield Management: Waterflood Surveillance Framework, Streamline Simulation, and Bright Water Polymer Flooding

Abstract

Abstract Mature oil and gas fields typically exhibit declining production rates, necessitating the application of various techniques to alleviate this decline. One such method is waterflooding, a secondary recovery technique involving the injection of water into the reservoir. This process displaces and sweeps oil towards production wells, thereby enhancing recovery rates. However, as these fields mature, challenges become more pronounced. The water cut, representing the ratio of water produced to total fluids, tends to increase over time, posing a significant threat to economic viability. It becomes imperative to implement strategic interventions and advanced technologies for efficient reservoir management, particularly in addressing issues related to aging wells, such as early water breakthrough, and maintaining optimal injection rates. To tackle these challenges, sophisticated reservoir simulation models are employed to optimize injection patterns, predict reservoir behavior, and enhance overall field performance. Additionally, advanced surveillance technologies are utilized to monitor reservoir dynamics, identify regions with poor sweep efficiency, and adapt water injection strategies accordingly. This research paper investigates the efficacy of the streamline method in various domains of reservoir management, with a focus on waterflood balancing, rate re-allocation, and improved oil recovery. Through rigorous surveillance analysis using streamline simulation-based workflow, dynamic well pair allocation factors, specific injector efficiency and strategic reallocation of water injection, significant improvements were observed in key producers, validating the adaptability and speed of the streamline method. However, challenges such as thief zones persist, necessitating further exploration. To address this issue of water recycling, bright water polymer was implemented. The bright water solution demonstrated remarkable efficiency in displacing remaining oil and enhancing oil recovery by improving sweep efficiency. This was achieved through a synergistic combination of polymer viscosity and mobility control, resulting in better reservoir sweep and increased oil displacement. Notably it yielded a substantial incremental oil recovery of 1.4 million sm3, accompanied by a significant reduction in water production by 2 million sm3. These findings underscore the effectiveness of the strategies employed, indicating enhanced reservoir performance and optimized oil recovery processes. As efforts continue to refine and expand upon these methodologies, the streamline method emerges as a promising tool for optimizing reservoir management and enhancing oil recovery processes.