EOR-Feasibility Study for a Large Carbonate Field in Kuwait

Abstract

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 173255, “EOR-Feasibility Study Through an Integrated Laboratory Evaluation and Reservoir Simulation for a Large Carbonate Field in Kuwait,” by F. Koyassan Veedu, D.E. Thomas, P. Wang, K. Eskandaridalvand, and J. Hornbrook, DeGolyer & MacNaughton; G.A. Pope, The University of Texas at Austin; and E. Al-Maraghi, B.B. Singh, B.S. Al-Matar, B.A. Al-Saad, M.M. Al-Qahtani, and S. Tiwari, Kuwait Oil Company, prepared for the 2015 SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium, Houston, 23–25 February. The paper has not been peer reviewed. This paper presents the results of reservoir simulations for the Mauddud reservoir in the Sabiriyah field (SAMA) in Kuwait, which is a high-temperature and high-salinity carbonate reservoir. The subject reservoir has been under pattern waterflood. Many wells experienced water breakthrough with considerable increase in water cut because of high reservoir heterogeneity and adverse mobility ratio. This study provides technical analysis of the viability of enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) processes; the results indicate the potential for significant improvement in recovery efficiency over continued waterflooding. Introduction SAMA is a giant carbonate oil reservoir covering more than 200 km2 in northern Kuwait. Oil production began in January 1958 and continued under primary recovery until 2000. In 1998, a waterflood pilot was conducted successfully. As a result, inverted-nine-spot waterflood patterns were implemented in 2001. As of 2011, the fieldwide water cut reached approximately 30%. Sector Model A large sector model was developed to study field-scale fluid-flow behavior in SAMA. The first step in generating a sector model was to identify an area of interest (AOI) suitable for EOR applications. A sector geocellular model was then developed for the selected AOI with available petrophysical and geological data. A sector simulation model was obtained from the upscaling of the sector geo cellular model. The sector simulation model was calibrated with the production, pressure, and other surveillance data from the wells in the sector-model area. The history-matched model was then used to perform gas-EOR-forecast simulations. Details of this process are provided in the complete paper.