5.1.

PHENOMENOLOGICAL MODEL FOR OIL

5.1.1. Process outline

The physical difference between water drive in the case of oil and gas consists of the fact that the
compressibility of oil is much lower than that of gas and is of the same order as water and rock
compressibility. So we cannot longer neglect the rock compressibility within the oil-saturated zone.

The technological difference is related to the fact that in oil reservoirs the natural water drive
mechanism is usually amplified by water injection through injection wells. There exist two main
technological schemes of waterflooding: the lateral injection in the vicinity of oil-water contact, and
the injection in the central zone of the production area. In the first case, water injected is mixed
with aquifer water, which leads simply to the increase of water influx, without providing new quality
to the process. In the second case, oil trapping caused by the system of injectors is different from
that caused by naturally encroaching water. Such a difference is determined essentially by the fact
that a discrete system of injection wells leads to the formation of macroscopic stagnant zones with
dead oil. In other words the swimming efficiency by water injection is expected to be lower than
that caused by water encroaching from the aquifer. Due to this we will distinguish two flooded
zones, as it is shown in Figure 5.1.

Figure 5.1. Three zones in oil reservoir under water drive


Another technological particularity consists in that the oil wells produce usually a significant volume
of water.
We will distinguish trapped oil in zone II
tr
oil
S and in zone III
, tr inj
oil
S .

Two assumptions will be accepted:

1. The trapped oil saturations remain constant in time. This is not totally exact as the
deformation of pores and decompression of oil may cause saturation variation, but such an
assumption is consistent with the degree of uncertainty in a-priori estimations for the
trapped saturation.

2. Oil density in zones I, II and III is identical.

3. Displacements of oil-water contacts caused by rock and fluid deformation are neglected
with respect to the displacement caused by water flow. (Otherwise we would have to
develop the model coupled with differential equations of the elasticity theory).

4. The water influx
w
V (the volume of the encroached water) increases due to growth of
the encroached mass of water and due to water expansion. We will assume that the effect of
water expansion is neglecting while calculating
w
V . In other words, this means that water in
flooded zone is assumed to be incompressible.

At the same time the compressibility of water in the aquifer will be taken into account.

5. The compressibility coefficients of oil
oil
C , water
w
C and medium
por
C are constant.
Then the EOS for oil, medium and connate water are:


( )
0
0
( )
oil
C P P
oil oil
P e

= ,
( )
0
0 por
C P P
V V e

= ,
( )
0
0
( )
w
C P P
w w
P e

= (3.1)

6. The variation of the connate water saturation caused by water conpressibility is neglected
due to the relatively small value of the connate water saturation

conn
w
S const (3.2)

(This assumption may be removed. Then we would obtain relation (1.29) for connate water
saturation). ,
So the oil saturation in zone I is also constant:


0
1
I
oil w oil
S S const S = = (3.3)

7. The variation of the saturation of the trapped oil caused by its compressibility is
neglected due to a relatively small value of the trapped saturation:


tr
oil
S const ,
, tr inj
oil
S const (3.4)

Otherwise, it would be necessary to describe the trapped oil decompression with respect to
the instant of its trapping. This implies the necessity to keep all the history of trapping,
which would be described by memory operators.



5.1.2. Material balance of oil and water

Three main relations constitute the phenomenological (unclosed) balance model:

- Material balance of oil:
0
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
rec I II III
oil oil oil oil
M M t M t M t M t = + + +

or:
,
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 ( )
I I II tr III tr inj
oil oil oil oil oil oil
oil oil oil oil oil oil
V S V S V S
t
V S V S V S

= + + +

(3.5)

where , ,
I II III
V V V are the pore volumes of three zones; three zones are shown in Figure 5.1.

- Geometrical relation between volumes of three zones:
the sum of tree volumes is equal to the initial pore volume of the reservoir
0
V plus its compaction
in time
0
( ) 0 V t < :
0 0
( ) ( ) ( )
I II III
V V V V t V t V t + = + + (3.6)

- Material balance of water in flooded zone:

0 II II tr II aq
oil w w
V V S V S V = + + ,
, 0 III III tr inj III inj
oil w w
V V S V S V = + +

where assumptions 4 and 6 were taken into account. Then

0
aq
II w
tr
oil oil
V
V
S S
=

,
0 ,
inj
III w
tr inj
oil oil
V
V
S S
=

(3.7)


5.1.3. Reduction to one equation

System (3.1) - (3.6) yields the following unclosed material balance equation:

0 0
0 0
1
,
1
por
por oil
oil
C
aq inj
oil
C C
w w
oil oil
V
y y
V
V V
y
V V

+

=

+


(3.8)

Proof:
1. Relations (3.5), (3.3) - (3.4) and (3.6) yield:

( )
( ) ( )
,
0 , 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 ( )
II III I
II tr III tr inj II III
oil
tr tr inj oil oil oil oil
oil oil oil oil
oil oil oil oil oil oil oil
V V V S
V S V S V V V
t S S S S
V V V V V V



= + + = + +







where assumptions 6 and 7 were taken into account.

2. Using (3.7) we obtain:
0 0 0 0
1 ( )
aq inj
oil w w
oil oil oil
V V V
t
V V V

=

.

3. Applying the exponential laws of compressibility (3.1) we obtain:

0
0 0
0 0
1
,
1
por
oil
aq inj
C P P
oil w w
oil oil
V
y y
V V V
e
V V



=

+




4. Pressure P can be expressed through the variable y . Applying the exponential laws of compressibility (3.1) we
obtain:
( )( )
0
por oil
C C P P
y e
+
= , or 0
1
ln
por oil
P P y
C C
= +
+
(3.9)
So
( )
0
por
por
por oil
C
C P P
C C
e y

+
=
Due to this we obtain (3.8).