Vertical displacement of immiscible fluids from heterogeneous formations

Abstract

The modified phase permeability model [1, 2] is extended to the case of vertical displacement with allowance for the force of gravity. It is assumed that in connection with vertical displacement a thicker dometype formation may be regarded as a stream tube of variable cross section. An exact solution of the one-dimensional displacement problem is constructed. It is shown that in vertical displacement from heterogeneous formations the gravity forces stabilize the displacement, so that at low velocities it approaches displacement of the pure piston type. It is established that a decrease in the injection and extraction rates leads to an increase in hydrocarbon output, and an increase in formation pressure to a fall in output.