Heavy oil is one of the globally important unconventional oil and gas resources, and its development faces the challenge of water invasion. The numerical model of a heavy oil reservoir with edge water is established and validated by field data and physical experiments. An evaluation model for selecting water invasion mitigation measures for different targets is established. The mechanisms of mitigating water invasion in the vertical-horizontal well steam drive (VHSD) heavy oil reservoir by cold-water injection, gel injection, nitrogen injection, and “Air + LTO” coking are investigated. The advantages of the “Air + LTO” coking technology in mitigating water invasion are elucidated. The importance of LTO reaction for water invasion mitigation is emphasized. The results show: (1) the edge water flows into the reservoir along the drainage interface of the steam chamber first and forms large water invasion channels in the heated crude oil region in the middle part of the reservoir; (2) the cold-water injection reduces the oil recovery factor by 3 %, the nitrogen injection increases it by 16.3 %, the gel injection improves it by 11.5 % and the “Air + LTO” coking technology enhances it by 24.1 %; (3) after air injection, the coke deposition effectively plugs the water invasion channels in the middle of the reservoir. This research provides a new perspective for mitigating water invasion and improving the oil recovery factor in heavy oil reservoirs with edge water, demonstrating the potential value and feasibility of the “Air + LTO” coking technology.
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