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Well Placement Optimization through the Triple-Completion Gas and Downhole Water Sink-Assisted Gravity Drainage (TC-GDWS-AGD) EOR Process

Author

Listed:
  • Watheq J. Al-Mudhafar

    (Basrah Oil Company, Basrah 61001, Iraq)

  • David A. Wood

    (DWA Energy Limited, Lincoln LN5 9JP, UK)

  • Dahlia A. Al-Obaidi

    (Department of Petroleum Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, Baghdad 10071, Iraq)

  • Andrew K. Wojtanowicz

    (Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA)

Abstract

Gas and downhole water sink-assisted gravity drainage (GDWS-AGD) is a new process of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in oil reservoirs underlain by large bottom aquifers. The process is capital intensive as it requires the construction of dual-completed wells for oil production and water drainage and additional multiple vertical gas-injection wells. The costs could be substantially reduced by eliminating the gas-injection wells and using triple-completed multi-functional wells. These wells are dubbed triple-completion-GDWS-AGD (TC-GDWS-AGD). In this work, we design and optimize the TC-GDWS-AGD oil recovery process in a fictitious oil reservoir (Punq-S3) that emulates a real North Sea oil field. The design aims at maximum oil recovery using a minimum number of triple-completed wells with a gas-injection completion in the vertical section of the well, and two horizontal well sections—the upper section for producing oil (from above the oil/water contact) and the lower section for draining water below the oil/water contact. The three well completions are isolated with hydraulic packers and water is drained from below the oil–water contact using the electric submersible pump. Well placement is optimized using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique by considering only 1 or 2 TC-GDWS-AGD wells to maximize a 12-year oil recovery with a minimum volume of produced water. The best well placement was found by considering hundreds of possible well locations throughout the reservoir for the single-well and two-well scenarios. The results show 58% oil recovery and 0.28 water cut for the single-well scenario and 63.5% oil recovery and 0.45 water cut for the two-well scenario. Interestingly, the base-case scenario using two wells without the TC-GDWS-AGD process would give the smallest oil recovery of 55.5% and the largest 70% water cut. The study indicates that the TC-GDWS-AGD process could be more productive by reducing the number of wells and increasing recovery with less water production.

Suggested Citation

  • Watheq J. Al-Mudhafar & David A. Wood & Dahlia A. Al-Obaidi & Andrew K. Wojtanowicz, 2023. "Well Placement Optimization through the Triple-Completion Gas and Downhole Water Sink-Assisted Gravity Drainage (TC-GDWS-AGD) EOR Process," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:4:p:1790-:d:1065191
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ronald Gugl & Riyaz Kharrat & Ali Shariat & Holger Ott, 2022. "Evaluation of Gas-Based EOR Methods in Gas-Invaded Zones of Fractured Carbonate Reservoir," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Alexey Sorokin & Alexander Bolotov & Mikhail Varfolomeev & Ilgiz Minkhanov & Azat Gimazov & Evgeny Sergeyev & Angelica Balionis, 2021. "Feasibility of Gas Injection Efficiency for Low-Permeability Sandstone Reservoir in Western Siberia: Experiments and Numerical Simulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-12, November.
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