Field Development Strategy through Full-Filed Reservoir Simulation Considering Asphaltene Precipitation and Deposition

Abstract

Abstract Reservoir simulation is an integrated tool for predicting reservoir performance and proposing development plans. However, in the master development plan (MDP) proposed based on the simulation results, there is always an associated risk that must be minimized. This risk arises from many different sources, one of which is the complexity in petroleum reservoir fluid. On the other hand, asphaltene precipitation and deposition can dramatically affect the reservoir rock and fluid properties. Asphaltene deposition may cause severe problems during different stages of oil recovery and can affect the reservoir performance through porosity and permeability reduction and wettability alteration. These effects can be modeled in compositional simulation using parameters that are usually estimated from precipitation tests and core flooding deposition experiments. Through a series of experiments, the asphaltene stability envelope and permeability impairment are established for several bottomhole live crude oil and reservoir core samples during pressure depletion and gas injection processes. Using the parameters obtained from the experiments, precipitation and deposition of asphaltene are investigated at field scale by a compositional simulator, and a comprehensive development plan is suggested for the reservoir. Also, the effect of asphaltene deposition on fracture parameters is investigated. The results show that dynamic and static parameters of asphaltene precipitation and deposition play an important role in the prediction of formation damage and field performance during natural depletion, gas injection and water flooding. Moreover, the results confirm that the permeability reduction due to asphaltene deposition is more considerable in the fractures than in the matrix media.