Abstract
The Conventional Fire Flooding (CFF) has been studied deeply in conventional reservoirs as a promising EOR method for certain non-fractured sandstones; however, its application feasibility in fractured carbonates remained questionable. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the effect of fractures geometrical properties such as orientation, density, location and networking on the CFF process performance. Combustion parameters of a fractured low permeable carbonate heavy oil reservoir in Iran called Kuh-E-Mond; applied to simulation study. Simulator has been validated with KEM combustion tube experimental data. Validated model modified to study CFF in a 3D semi-scaled combustion cells. Oil recovery was slower in the case of fractured models compare to the conventional one since in the former the governing mechanism is oxygen diffusion from matrix into fissure and vice versa which will be prolonged. This prevailing mechanism reduced rate of oil recovery in the presence of either traversal or longitudinal fractures. Ultimate oil recovery was higher in the case of near injector traversal fissures compare to near producer ones. CFF performance was lower in the case of near injector longitudinal fractures compare to the farther ones. Contrary far injector longitudinal fissures improved the areal sweep efficiency of oxygen at the lateral side of the combustion cell and hinder the cone liked shape of air profile in conventional model. Higher traversal fracture density reduced oil recovery due to consequent matrixfractures diffusion compare to improved recovery performance in the case of higher traversal fracture density. In the case of networked fractures longitudinal fissures enhanced the performance of traversal fractures and higher ultimate oil recovery compare to the case of either traversal or longitudinal fissures obtained which confirmed that CFF is more feasible in the case of densely fractured reservoirs such as those in the Middle East.
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