Waterflooding

Waterfloodingistheuseofwaterinjectiontoincreasetheproductionfromoilreservoirs.Useofwatertoincreaseoilproductionisknownas"secondaryrecovery"andtypically
follows"primaryproduction,"whichusesthereservoirsnaturalenergy(fluidandrockexpansion,solutiongasdrive(/Solution_gas_drive_reservoirs),gravitydrainage,andaquifer
influx(/Waterdrive_reservoirs))toproduceoil.

Contents
1Rationaleforwaterflooding
2History
3Waterfloodingconsiderations
4Reservoirgeologyconsiderations
5Limitationsofwaterfloodtechnology
6Summary
7Nomenclature
8References
9NoteworthypapersinOnePetro
10Onlinemultimedia
11Externallinks
12Seealso

Rationaleforwaterflooding
Theprincipalreasonforwaterfloodinganoilreservoiristoincreasetheoilproductionrateand,ultimately,theoilrecovery.Thisisaccomplishedby"voidagereplacement"
injectionofwatertoincreasethereservoirpressuretoitsinitiallevelandmaintainitnearthatpressure.Thewaterdisplacesoilfromtheporespaces,buttheefficiencyofsuch
displacementdependsonmanyfactors(e.g.,oilviscosityandrockcharacteristics).InoilfieldssuchasWilmington(/Wilmington_field)(California,US)andEkofisk(/Ekofisk_field)
(NorthSea),voidagereplacementalsohasbeenusedtomitigateadditionalsurfacesubsidence.Inthesecases,thehighporosityoftheunconsolidatedsandstonesoftheWilmington
oilfieldsreservoirsandofthesoftchalkreservoirrockintheEkofiskoilfieldhadcompactedsignificantlywhenthereservoirpressurewasdrawndownduringprimaryproduction.
Overthepast40years,SPEhaspublishedthreesignificantandindepthbookswrittenbyCraig,[1]Willhite,[2]andRoseetal.[3]thataddresswaterfloodingtechnology.

History
Intheearlydaysoftheoilindustry,salinewaterorbrinefrequentlywasproducedfromawellalongwithoil,andastheoilproductionratedeclined,thewaterproductionrateoften
wouldincrease.Thiswatertypicallywasdisposedofbydumpingitintonearbystreamsorrivers.Inthe1920s,thepracticebeganofreinjectingtheproducedwaterintoporousand
permeablesubsurfaceformations,includingthereservoirintervalfromwhichtheoilandwateroriginallyhadcome.Bythe1930s,reinjectionofproducedwaterhadbecomea
commonoilfieldpractice.
ReinjectionofwaterwasfirstdonesystematicallyintheBradfordoilfieldofPennsylvania,US.[4]There,theinitial"circleflood"approachwasreplacedbya"lineflood,"inwhich
tworowsofproducingwellswerestaggeredonbothsidesofanequallyspacedrowofwaterinjectionwells.Inthe1920s,besidesthelineflood,a"fivespot"welllayoutwasused
(sonamedbecauseitspatternislikethatofthefivespotsonadie).
MuchofwaterfloodingstechnologyandcommonpracticedevelopedintheU.S.between1940and1970.Bythemid1940s,theonshoreUSoilindustrywasmaturingandprimary
productionfrommanyofitsreservoirshaddeclinedsignificantly,whereasmostreservoirselsewhereintheworldwereintheearlystagesofprimaryproduction.Also,intheU.S.,
thousandsofwellshadbeendrilledthatwerecloselyspaced,sothattheeffectsofwaterinjectionweremoreobviousandsoweremorequicklyunderstandable.
Inadditiontotheneedtodisposeofsalinewaterthatwasproducedalongwiththeoil,severalotherfactorsmadewaterfloodingalogicalandeconomicalmethodforincreasing
recoveryfromoilfields.Veryearlyon,itwasrecognizedthatinmostreservoirs,onlyasmallpercentageoftheoriginaloilinplace(OOIP)wasbeingrecoveredduringtheprimary
productionperiodbecauseofdepletionofthereservoirsnaturalenergy.Additionalrecoverymethodswereneededtoproducethelargequantityofoilthatremained.Water
injectionsearlysuccessinlengtheningtheoilproductionperiodbyyearsmadewaterfloodingthenaturalstepafterprimaryproductiontorecoveradditionaloilfromreservoirs
whoseoilproductionratehaddeclinedtoverylowlevels.
Otherkeyfactorsthatdrovewaterfloodingsdevelopmentandincreasingusewere:
Waterisinexpensive
Watergenerallyisreadilyavailableinlargequantitiesfromnearbystreams,rivers,oroceans,orfromwellsdrilledintoshallowerordeepersubsurfaceaquifers
Waterinjectioneffectivelymadeproductionwellsthatwerenearthewaterinjectionwellsfloworbepumpedathigherratesbecauseoftheincreasedreservoirpressure
Concurrently,thescientificreasonsbehindwaterfloodingssuccesswereidentified(i.e.,thatwaterhasviscosity,density,andwettingproperties,comparedtooil,thataffecthow
efficientlyitwilldisplacevariousoilsfromreservoirrock).
Bythe1970s,mostonshoreoilfieldsintheUS,USSR,andChina,forwhichwaterfloodingwasthelogicalrecoveryprocess,werebeingproducedbyuseofthistechnologyin
variouswellpatternarrangements.SomeUSoffshoreoilfieldsandoilfieldselsewhereintheworldwerereceivingwaterinjectionasdeemedappropriatebytheirownersand
operators.Sincethen,manylargescalewaterinjectionprojectshavebeenappliedtooilreservoirsinlocationsrangingfromfaroffshoreintheNorthSeatotheArcticregionsto
desertareas.

Waterfloodingconsiderations
Unitdisplacementefficiencyishowwaterdisplacesoilfromaporousandpermeablereservoirrockonamicroscopicscale(/Microscopic_efficiency_of_waterflooding).Thisisthe
levelofanalysisthatisappliedwhenwater/oilflowmeasurementsaremadeonsmallcoreplugsamplesinalaboratory.Calculationsfordetermininghowwellwaterfloodingwill
workonareservoirscale(/Macroscopic_displacement_efficiency_of_a_linear_waterflood)mustincludetheeffectsofgeology,gravity,andgeometry(vertical
(/Vertical_displacement_in_a_waterflood),areal(/Areal_displacement_in_a_waterflood),andwellspacing/patternarrangement(/Waterflood_design)).Theformulaforoverall
waterfloodoilrecoveryefficiencyERmightbesimplystatedastheproductofthreeindependentterms:
(/File%3AVol5_page_1039_eq_001.png)....................(1)

whereED=theunitdisplacementefficiency,EI=theverticaldisplacementefficiency,andEA=thearealdisplacementefficiency.Ofcourse,assumingindependenceofthesethree
factorsisnotvalidforrealoilreservoirs.
Oilproperties(/Oil_fluid_properties)areimportanttotechnicalandeconomicsuccessofawaterflood.Thekeyoilpropertiesareviscosityanddensityatreservoirconditions.Ina
porousmedium,themobilityofafluidisdefinedasitsendpointrelativepermeabilitydividedbyitsviscosityhence,afluidwithalowviscosity(1cp)hasahighmobilityunless
itsrelativepermeabilityisverylow.Similarly,alowAPIcrudeoil(20API)hasahighviscosityandaverylowmobilityunlessitisheatedtohightemperatures.Becausewaters
viscosityatreservoirtemperaturesgenerallyismuchlowerthanor,atbest,equaltothatofthereservoiroil,thewater/oilviscosityratioisgenerallymuchgreaterthan1:1.The
water/oilmobilityratioisakeyparameterindeterminingtheefficiencyofthewater/oildisplacementprocess,withtherecoveryefficiencyincreasingasthewater/oilmobilityratio
decreases.
Moreinformationonthedisplacementofoilbywaterinwaterfloodingcanbefoundin:
Microscopicefficiencyofwaterflooding(/Microscopic_efficiency_of_waterflooding)
Macroscopicdisplacementefficiencyofalinearwaterflood(/Macroscopic_displacement_efficiency_of_a_linear_waterflood)
Arealdisplacementinawaterflood(/Areal_displacement_in_a_waterflood)
Verticaldisplacementinawaterflood(/Vertical_displacement_in_a_waterflood)

Reservoirgeologyconsiderations
Themostimportantaspectofevaluatingafieldwaterfloodingprojectisunderstandingthereservoirrocks.Thisunderstandingbeginswithknowingthedepositionalenvironmentat
theporeandreservoirlevelsandpossiblyalsoseverallevelsinbetween.Second,thediagenetichistoryofthereservoirrocksmustbeascertained.Then,thestructureandfaultingof
thereservoirmustbedeterminedtounderstandtheinterconnectivitiesamongthevariouspartsofthereservoir,particularlytheinjector/producerconnectivity.Finally,the
water/oil/rockcharacteristicsneedtobeunderstoodbecausetheycontrolwettability,residualoilsaturationtowaterflooding,andtheoilrelativepermeabilityathigherwater
saturations.Becauseoftheseneeds,therealwaysshouldbeadevelopmentalgeologistonthewaterfloodevaluationteam.
Alloilreservoirsareheterogeneousrockformations.Theprimarygeologicalconsiderationinwaterfloodingevaluationistodeterminethenatureanddegreeofheterogeneitiesthat
existinaparticularoilfield.Reservoirheterogeneitiescantakemanyforms,including
Shale,anhydrite,orotherimpermeablelayersthatpartlyorcompletelyseparatetheporousandpermeablereservoirlayers.
Interbeddedhydrocarbonbearinglayersthathavesignificantlydifferentrockqualitiessandstonesorcarbonates.
Varyingcontinuity,interconnection,andarealextentofporousandpermeablelayersthroughoutthereservoir.
Directionalpermeabilitytrendsthatarecausedbythedepositionalenvironmentorbydiageneticchanges.
Fracturetrendsthatdevelopedbecauseofregionaltectonicstressesontherockandtheeffectsofburialandupliftontheparticularrocklayer.
Faulttrendsthataffecttheconnectionofonepartofanoilreservoirtoadjacentareas,eitherbecausetheyareflowbarriersorbecausetheyareopenconduitsthatallow
unlimitedflowalongthefaultplane.
Thestructureofthereservoirandhowitaffectswaterfloodperformanceisanothergeologicalconsideration.Structurecreatesdippingbedsthatdipatvariousangles.Theinterplay
betweenthebedangle,gravity,andtheoil/brinedensitydifferenceatreservoirconditionssignificantlyaffectstherelativeverticalandhorizontalflowbehaviors.Structural
considerationsalsocanincludewhethertheoilcolumnhasanunderlyingaquiferoranoverlyinggascap,eitherofwhichcansignificantlyaffectthelikelihoodofsuccessfully
waterfloodingtheoilcolumn.
Geologistsandgeophysicistsmustassesssuchgeologicalandstructuralaspectsofareservoir.Geologistsusecoresandroutinecoreanalysisdatatodevelopanunderstandingofthe
depositionalenvironmentandpostdepositionaldiagenesisandtocharacterizethereservoirsinternalarchitecture.Usingseismicdata,geophysicistscandiscernthemajorfaults,as
wellastrendsinrockquality,sincecoresandwelllogsareessentiallypinpricksintotheoverallreservoir.
Thetechnicalteamthatisevaluatingandmonitoringwaterfloodperformanceshouldincludeageologistandageophysicist.Includingageostatisticianonthetechnicalteam,aswell,
willhelptoensurethatthegeoscientistsreservoirdescriptionisproperlytranslatedintoengineeringcalculations,whetherthosearesimplercalculationsoraredetailednumerical
reservoirsimulations.
Forawaterflood,thereservoirdescriptionmustbedevelopedonthescalethatisrequiredforthequantitativeevaluation(i.e.,itmustbe"fitforpurpose").Avarietyofapproaches
(e.g.,objectandpixelbasedtechniques)canbeused.[5]The"flowunit"isaconceptthatfrequentlyisusedbygeologistsandthatwouldbeusefultoengineers."Aflowunitisa
volumeofthetotalreservoirrockwithinwhichgeologicalandpetrophysicalpropertiesthataffectfluidflowareinternallyconsistentandpredictablydifferentfrompropertiesof
otherrockvolumes(e.g.,flowunits)."[6]
Theprocessofevaluatingareservoirsgeologybeginswhenthereservoirisdiscoveredandisplacedonprimaryproduction.Afterawaterfloodhasbeeninitiated,theproduction
andinjectionwelldataprovideadditionalinsightintotheinternalcharacteristicsoftherockvolumethatisbeingflooded.Infact,thewaterfloodproductionwelldata(thewaterand
oilratesasafunctionoftime)arecriticalbecausetheyarethefirstdatathatrelatedirectlytotheinterwellconnectivitywithinthereservoirandthatvalidateorcausemodificationof
thegeoscientistsconceptsofthevariouslevelsofreservoirheterogeneities.
Duringawaterflood,tracers(/Well_to_well_tracer_tests)canbeinjectedtotrackwhichinjector/producerpairsarewellconnectedandwhicharepoorlyconnected.Othermonitoring
techniquesincludetheuseofspeciallydrilledobservationwellsand4Dseismicinterpretationstotrackthedirectionalityandshapeofthehigherpressurewatersweptreservoirareas
thatarecenteredontheinjectionwells.

Limitationsofwaterfloodtechnology
Waterfloodingcanincreasethevolumeofoilrecoveredfromareservoirhowever,itisnotalwaysthebesttechnologytouseanditcanhavecomplicatingfactors.Whenevaluating
howbesttoproduceaparticularoilreservoir,apetroleumengineershouldincludewaterfloodingintheoptionsthatareanalyzed,bothtechnicallyandeconomically.Those
evaluationsshouldincludesuchpotentiallycomplicatingfactorsas:
Compatibilityoftheplannedinjectedwaterwiththereservoirsconnatewater
Interactionoftheinjectedwaterwiththereservoirrock(claysensitivities,rockdissolution,orgenerallyweakeningtherockframework)
Injectionwatertreatmenttoremoveoxygen,bacteria,andundesirablechemicals
Thechallengesinvolvedinseparatingandhandlingtheproducedwaterthathastraceoilcontent,naturallyoccurringradioactivematerials(NORMs),andvariousscale
formingminerals

Summary
Keypointsconcerningwaterfloodingare:
Waterfloodingisthemostcommonlyusedsecondaryoilrecoverymethod.Thisisbecausewaterisinexpensiveandreadilyavailableinlargevolumesandbecausewateris
veryeffectiveatsubstantiallyincreasingoilrecovery.

Thelevelofeffectivenessofawaterflooddependsonthemobilityratiobetweentheoilandwater,andthegeologyoftheoilreservoir.Waterfloodingiseffectivebecause
almostallreservoirrocksareeitherwaterwetormixedwet.Thedepositionalanddiageneticcharacteristicsofareservoircontrolmajoraspectsofthewater/oildisplacement
process.ThesecharacteristicscaneitherenhancewaterfloodperformanceorhavedetrimentaleffectsontheWORasafunctionoftime.Often,thedetailsofareservoirs
internalgeologyarenotknownuntilproductionwellsstartproducinginjectedwater.
Gravityeffectsi.e.,theinterplaybetweenthegravity/densityeffectsandthegeologiclayeringofareservoirareimportantinwaterfloodsbecauseatreservoirconditions,oil
alwaysislessdensethanconnatebrineorinjectedwater.Thisinterplaycaneitherhelporhurtwaterfloodperformancerelativetoahomogeneoussystem.
Waterfloodingisaprocessthattypicallytakesseveraldecadestocomplete.Hence,continuous,routinefieldproductionandpressuredatamustbetakenformonitoring
(/Waterflood_monitoring)andanalyzingwaterfloodperformance.Thereareopportunitiestomodifytheoriginalwaterflooddesignandoperatingguidelinesonthebasisof
analysisoftheactualfieldproductiondata.Occasionally,moreexpensive,specialdataacquisitionprograms(i.e.,3Dor4Dseismicdata)areruntoassisttheevaluation
process.Avarietyofengineeringtoolshavebeendevelopedtoanalyzewaterfloodperformance,rangingfromsimpleplotsoffieldproductiondatatofullfieldnumerical
reservoirsimulationmodels.
Waterfloodsaredynamicprocessestheperformanceofwhich,asproductionwellsrespondtotheinjectionofwater,canbeimprovedbymodificationofoperationsbythe
technicalteam.Suchmodificationsincludechangingtheallocationofinjectionwateramongtheinjectionwellsandthewaterfloodedintervals,drillingadditionalwellsatinfill
locations,and/ormodifyingthepatternstyle.
Waterfloodinghasbeenusedsuccessfullyinoilfieldsofallsizesandallovertheworld,inoffshoreandonshoreoilfields.

Nomenclature
ED = theunitdisplacementefficiency
EI = theverticaldisplacementefficiency
EA = thearealdisplacementefficiency

References
1.CraigJr.,F.F.1971.TheReservoirEngineeringAspectsofWaterflooding,Vol.3.Richardson,Texas:MonographSeries,SPE.
2.Willhite,G.P.1986.Waterflooding,Vol.3.Richardson,Texas:TextbookSeries,SPE.
3.Rose,S.C.,Buckwalter,J.F.,andWoodhall,R.J.1989.TheDesignEngineeringAspectsofWaterflooding,Vol.11.Richardson,Texas:MonographSeries,SPE.
4.Fettke,C.R.1938.TheBradfordoilfield,PennsylvaniaandNewYork.MineralResourcesReportM21,PennsylvaniaGeologicalSurvey,Harrisburg,Pennsylvania,298
301.
5.Scheihing,M.H.,Thompson,R.D.,andSeifert,D.2002.MultiscaleReservoirDescriptionModelsforPerformancePredictionintheKuparukRiverField,NorthSlopeof
Alaska.PresentedattheSPEWesternRegional/AAPGPacificSectionJointMeeting,Anchorage,2022May.SPE76753MS.http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/76753MS
(http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/76753MS)
6.Ebanks,W.J.,Jr.,Scheihing,M.H.,andAtkinson,C.D.1993.FlowUnitsforReservoirCharacterization.InDevelopmentGeologyManual,D.MortonThompsonandA.M.
Woods,No.10,282285.Tulsa:AAPGMethodsinExploration,AmericanAssociationofPetroleumGeologists.

NoteworthypapersinOnePetro
Shehata,A.M.,Alotaibi,M.B.,&NasrElDin,H.A.2014.WaterfloodinginCarbonateReservoirs:DoestheSalinityMatter?SocietyofPetroleumEngineers.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/170254PA(http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/170254PA)

Onlinemultimedia
TechnicalAspectsofWaterflooding.2013.http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/spe/session.php?id=11808(http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/spe/session.php?id=11808)

Externallinks
UsethissectiontoprovidelinkstorelevantmaterialonwebsitesotherthanPetroWikiandOnePetro

Seealso
Waterflooddesign(/Waterflood_design)
Waterfloodmonitoring(/Waterflood_monitoring)
Ekofiskfield(/Ekofisk_field)
Wilmingtonfield(/Wilmington_field)
WestTexascarbonatefields(/West_Texas_carbonate_fields)
KuparukRiverfield(/Kuparuk_River_field)
Kirkukfield(/Kirkuk_field)
PEH:Waterflooding(/PEH%3AWaterflooding)
Category(/Special%3ACategories): 5.4.1Waterflooding(/Category%3A5.4.1_Waterflooding)

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