thumbnail

Material balance approach for determining oil saturation at the start of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery

Open-File Report 2018-1146
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181146

Links

Abstract

Oil producers have been using enhanced oil recovery methods, including (1) thermal recovery for heavy oil and (2) carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) for medium or light oil, to maximize oil recovery from existing reservoirs. The CO2-EOR method is widely used for recovering additional oil after waterflood, which leaves behind a large volume of oil in the reservoir. Completing a CO2-EOR feasibility study requires values of various geologic, petrophysical, and reservoir properties, as well as production data. Most of the required data are available except for two critical parameters: (1) the oil saturation at the start of CO2-EOR and (2) the oil recovery factor. Several methods, including core analysis, open-hole and cased-hole well logging, well-to-well tracer tests, and material balance, have been deployed to determine the residual oil saturation after waterflood (at which the relative permeability to oil nears zero) or remaining oil saturation after waterflood, equal to the oil saturation at the start of CO2-EOR. This report presents the material balance approach, which is less expensive than other approaches and provides reasonably accurate values of oil saturation at the start of CO2-EOR, and therefore is more useful when assessing a large number of reservoirs.

Suggested Citation

Verma, M.K., 2018, Material balance approach for determining oil saturation at the start of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1146, 14 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181146.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Table of Contents

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Background
  • Oil Saturation Zones
  • Oil Saturation After Waterflood
  • Proposed Approach to Determine Oil Saturation
  • Validation Process and Discussion
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgments
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Material balance approach for determining oil saturation at the start of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2018-1146
DOI 10.3133/ofr20181146
Year Published 2018
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Eastern Energy Resources Science Center
Description v, 14 p.
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details