EFFECTS OF WETABILITY ON WATER

FLOODED, GAS AND FOAM INJECTION

SYSTEMS IN NATURALLY FRACTURED
CARBONATE RESERVOIRS
Yannick Agbor

What are natural fractured

carbonate reservoirs?

Naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs are

geological formations characterized by a
heterogeneous distribution of porosity and
permeability. A common scenario is low porosity
and low permeability matrix blocks surrounded by
a tortuous, highly permeable fracture network
Some of the worlds largest remaining oil
reserves are found in oil-wet, fractured, carbonate
reservoirs

Naturally fractured reservoirs, can also be

defined as reservoirs where the fractures
have a significant impact on performance
and oil recovery, fracture properties should
be therefore evaluated because they
control the efficiency of oil production.
Fractures are usually caused by brittle
failure
induced by geological features such as
folding, faulting, weathering and release of
lithostatic
(overburden) pressure (Miller, 2007)

Fractured Dolostone

Naturally Fractured
Carbonate(limestone)

original size
20483
dx =3.1m

Image courtesy of Drs. M. Knackstedt & R. Sok, Australian

National University

Major characteristics of fractured reservoirs

Small pressure drop around producing well :Due to

high transmissibility of fluids in the fracture
network
Low producing gas oil ratio : The high permeability
in the vertical fractures will lead the liberated gas
towards the top of the reservoir
Lack of transition zone: The high fracture
permeability allows the rapid re-equilibration of the
fluid contacts. The oil-water and oil-gas contacts are
sharp contrasts prior to and during production
Low pressure decline per unit oil produced : This is
caused by large supply of fluids from matrix to
fracture as a result of gravity and imbibition
combined with fluid expansion, and segregation .

Classification of fractured reservoirs

Type I - little to no porosity and permeability in the

matrix. The interconnected fracture network constitutes
the hydrocarbon storage and controls the fluid flow to
producing well.

Type II - low matrix porosity and permeability. Some of

the hydrocarbons are stored in matrix. Fractures control
the fluid flow, and fracture intensity and distribution
dictates production.

Type III - high matrix porosity and low matrix

permeability. Majority of the hydrocarbons are stored in
matrix. Matrix provides storage capacity, the fracture
network transport hydrocarbons to producing wells.

Porosity
The porosity of carbonates can be grouped into three
types:
a)
Connected porosity- exists between the
carbonate grains.
b)
Vugs- they are unconnected pores resulting from
the dissolution of calcite by water during
diagenesis.
c)
Fracture porosity- caused by stresses following
deposition. These can also cause styolites, which
can form horizontal flow barriers, and can
sometimes extend over kilometers within the rock.

Carbonate Terminology

Dolomitic: has the mineral dolomite in it (no we

do not have dolomitic dolostone!!)
Calcareous: has the mineral calcite in it (do not
use with limestone)
Argillaceous: has clay present in it.
Arenaceous: has sand size detrital grains
Fossiliferous: dead plants and animals
Oolitic: oolites present (but you have to be
certain of this; use your hand lens)
Pisolitic: contains pisolites
Cherty: chert nodules present
Brecciated: the rock is broken in situ

Carbonate Reservoirs
More than 60% of the worlds oil and 40% of the
worlds gas reserves are held in carbonates.

The Middle East has 62% of the worlds proved

conventional oil reserves; approximately 70% of
these reserves are in carbonate reservoirs.
- The Middle East also has 40% of the worlds
proved gas reserves; 90% of these gas
reserves lie in carbonate reservoirs.
- Therefore, due to the complex internal nature of
carbonate rocks, proper understanding of the core
is required before any additional work is
completed.

Recovery in FCRs

The recovery of oil from fractured

reservoirs is controlled by the interaction
between brine/oil/rock interaction, which
again depends on the wetting and twophase flow, the chemical and physical
properties of all of the three components,
fracture geometry and pore structure of
the matrix

COUNTER-CURRENT SI

Water in the fracture spontaneously enters a

water-wet rock and oil is displaced in the
opposite direction.
CCSI= F(Pc curve, Wettability, Pore structure)
Limited viscous forces.
The shape and range of the positive capillary
pressure curve is dictated by the wettability.
Viscous pressure drop exerted by the wetting
phase bridges across isolated matrix blocks can
increase recovery.

Effect of Permeability on
Shape
Capillary Pressure

20

16

Decreasing
Permeability,
Decreasing

12
C
B

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

Water Saturation
Modified from NExT 1999, after xx)

Capillary pressure, psia

Effect of Grain Size Distribution

on Shape

Well-sorted

Modfied from NExT, 1999; after )

Poorly sorted
Decreasing

Water saturation, %

Lab scale monitoring of fluids displacements.

- MRI :high spatial resolution and fast data
acquisition necessary to capture fluid
displacements that occur inside fractures less
than 1 mm wide.
- NTI : information on macro-scale saturation
distribution in larger fractured systems.

EOR strategy

Reservoir description
Fractures high permeability paths
Oil wet oil trapped in matrix by capillarity
Dolomite inclusion in matrix

Recover oil from matrix spontaneous imbibition

IFT reduction
Surfactants

Wettability alteration
Surfactants
Alkali
Ref: Hirasaki et. al, 2003 16

Gas and pre- generated foam injection

Gas flooding in matrix

Foam injection displacing

formation in the fracture and
matrix

2D Fracture

imbibition

imbibition

Simulation steps (alternating red and green colors). All <= 2% rel.abs.err.

Foam mixture(gas + surfactant)

Gas goes
to matrix

Gas flood vs pregenerated foam

injection on core

The effect of foam as an EOR technique in

fractured, oil-wet carbonate block sample

RELATIVE DISPLACEMENTS IN THE CORE

FLUIDS BY INJECTED FLUIDS

The extent to which nonwetting

phase is trapped in
fracture/enclosed gaps is very
sensitive to the direction of the
displacement

Fractured Sphere Pack

fractur
e
matrix
Pore-grain surface
sphere radii R=1.0
Image size 1603
(dx=0.1)

NW phase surface in
fracture (drainage
beginning)

Drainage and Imbibition

Drainage,
C=4.9

imbibition

Trapped NW
phase

imbibition rotated

THANKS YOU !!!!!