Reservoir Conformance Control via Tracer-Derived Flow Capacity Curves
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current conformance control treatments for subterranean reservoirs face challenges in designing effective chemical slug injection, including uncertainty about injection location, quantity, and flow control, leading to inefficient hydrocarbon recovery due to non-uniform displacement and bypassing of hydrocarbons in higher permeability regions.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using tracer data to determine a target threshold residence time and calculating the quantity of conformance control treatment material to obstruct flow paths in higher permeability regions, optimizing the design of the treatment to enhance hydrocarbon recovery by constructing flow capacity and storage capacity curves and calculating the volume of the reservoir to be treated.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conformance control treatment material is injected into the reservoir, then flow resistance in higher permeability regions is increased, but injection quantity and location are uncertain leading to non-uniform displacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by injecting tracer fluids into the reservoir before the conformance control treatment material to map flow paths and residence times. This preliminary tracer injection allows operators to identify thief zones and high-permeability regions in advance, enabling precise calculation of treatment material quantity and injection location. The tracer data obtained from this preliminary action is used to construct flow capacity and storage capacity curves, which directly inform the subsequent treatment design, thereby eliminating the uncertainty in injection quantity and location.
2Stability of the object's composition
If chemical slug injection is used to block high permeability zones, then fluid distribution becomes more uniform, but bypassing of hydrocarbons occurs due to incorrect injection design
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by using tracer injection results to inform and adjust the conformance control treatment design. The tracer fluid is injected first, and its movement through the reservoir is monitored to obtain residence time data. This feedback information is used to construct flow capacity and storage capacity curves, which then guide the calculation of the optimal quantity and injection location of the conformance control treatment material. This closed-loop feedback process ensures that the treatment is precisely tailored to the actual reservoir flow characteristics, preventing both over-treatment and under-treatment, and thereby achieving uniform fluid distribution while maximizing hydrocarbon recovery.
3Manufacturing precision
If tracer data is used to calculate treatment material quantity, then treatment precision is improved, but measurement and analysis complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies mechanics substitution by replacing complex physical trial-and-error methods with computational analysis. Instead of using iterative field testing and physical measurement approaches to determine treatment material quantity, the invention uses computational models that process tracer residence time data to construct flow capacity and storage capacity curves. These computational curves directly yield the optimal treatment material quantity and injection location through mathematical analysis, substituting complex physical experimentation with streamlined computational procedures. This reduces the need for complex physical measurement systems while achieving high precision in treatment design.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for a conformance control treatment for a subterranean reservoir are disclosed. The system and method include performing tracer analysis between an injection well and a production well. A flow capacity and storage capacity curve is constructed from the tracer analysis. A storage capacity associated with a threshold residence time is determined using the flow capacity and storage capacity curve. A conformance control treatment is determined for the storage capacity associated with the threshold residence time. A chemical slug is injected into the injection well to increase the flow resistance in high permeability regions of a subterranean reservoir.