Linear Displacement Effficiency - in Waterflooding (Compatibility Mode)

CHAPTER III
Macroscopic
Displacement Efficiency
Reservoir Engineering
g g
Learning Objectives of Lecture 13
Macroscopic displacement efficiency

Waterflood efficiency equation
Design parameters and variables
Objectives of waterflooding
Macroscopic
p Displacement
p Efficiencyy
• Macroscopic efficiency is used to describe the

displacement efficiency of a waterflood in a specified
volume of the rock.
• In other words the term refers to the portion of the oil

initially in place that water displaces from a unit volume of
the reservoir.
• To discuss and quantify how water displaces oil from a

reservoir of complex permeability and porosity we must
first understand the behavior of a linear reservoir segment
having uniform properties.
Fractional flow equation
The fractional flow of water is defined as
qw qw
fw = =
qt qw + qo
substituting the Darcy’s law
ko A ⎡ ∂Pc g ⎤
1+ ⎢ ∂x + ( ρ − ρ ) Sinα ⎥
μ o qt ⎣
o w
g ⎦
fw = c
k ro μ w
1+
k rw μ o
(Note: the dip angle is positive with flow moving up-
dip)
Fractional flow equation
Note
∂Pc ∂Pc ∂S w
=
∂x ∂S w ∂x
As we do not have a way to calculate.
∂Sw
∂x
In practice the capillary pressure term is neglected
but not forgotten.
Typical fractional flow curve
0.8
0.6
fw
0.4
0.2
0
0.2 0.4 Sw 0.6 0.8
Fig.1 Fractional flow curve

Significance of fractional flow
• For a given set of rock, formation and flooding
conditions the fractional flow of water,
water fw, is a
function of water saturation alone.
• If both fluids are flowing the fraction of water in

the total rate at any location is dictated by Sw at
that location
• If Sw varies with location fw varies accordingly
• It is therefore possible to have only water flowing

at some point and no water flowing at another.
Fractional Flow
Variation of fw with location
qo qo
Large fw
Small fw
qw
qw
Small Sw
Large Sw
Fractional Flow
Water Injection
Variation of Sw vary with location
Large Sw Small Sw
Factors affecting fractional flow
For a given saturation Sw, fractional flow varies as:
• rock wettability changes

• the density contrast between fluids for a given
dipping condition changes
• the dip angle and direction of flow (i.e. flow being
up-dip,
p p, horizontal or down-dip) p) varies
• the total flow rate within the reservoir varies
• viscosity contrast between the fluids changes
• reservoir permeability changes
Influence of Wettability
0.8 Wettability increases
06
0.6
fw
0.4
0.2
0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Sw
Effect of capillary pressure on fw
As the capillary pressure decreases with
increasing water saturation.
saturation i.e.
i e in a Pc curve
∂Pc
<0
∂Sw
Since Sw must decrease with distance in the
direction of flow: ∂Sw
<0
∂x
Thus the capillary pressure gradient is always
positive
∂Pc
>0
∂x
and its effect is to increase the value of fw.
Modes of immiscible displacement
• When water invades pore space of rock containing
oil some oil will be displaced by water causing an
increase in Sw
• With continued flooding more oil will be displaced

from any given portion of the rock
• Initial reduction in So (increase in Sw) depends on

the rock/fluid properties specially relative pore size
and geometry, permeability, viscosity and IFT.
• In the extreme case, all mobile may be displaced

initially leaving only residual oil. This ideal mode is
called Piston-like displacement.
Piston-like displacement
• For extremely water wet rock the capillary pressure is large
over most Sw range.
range
• When water is injected in such a rock water is imbibed into

most oil containing pores. Only the largest pores (with the
smallest capillary pressure ) are spared
• Such imbibition of water expels oil out of all invaded pores

leaving only residual oil saturation.
• With more water injection only water advances into new

area since oil is immobile in the invaded area
• This mode of displacement results in near total flushing of

mobile oil within the area swept by the injected water
Piston Like Displacement
Piston Like Displacement: Reservoir Conditions
Water Injection:qw
sw ≈1-Sor Sw≈ swi
qw ≈qt qw ≈ 0
qo ≈0 qo ≈ qt
Sw
Flood front
Frontal advance displacement
• For ordinary water wettability, Pc is large only at the lowest
Sw range.
g
• When water is injected into such a rock, water is imbibed into
the smaller pores only. Only some of oil is expelled leaving
behind a significant amount of mobile oil.
• With continued water injection water imbibes into larger

pores and larger pores within the invaded area. Thus in this
area both
b th oil
il and
d water
t flow
fl simultaneously
i lt l
• Sw within the invaded area decreases in the direction of flow,

but increases with time at a specific location
location.
• This mode of displacement oil recovery depends on how

much So is reduced in the swept area as a function of t and x
Frontal Advance Displacement
Frontal Displacement: Reservoir

Conditions
Water Injection:qt
sw≈ swi
sw>swi qw ≈ 0
qw<qt
qo ≈ qt
qo>0 Sw
fw
invaded area uninvaded area

Flood front
• In modeling the immiscible displacement both

modes are useful if care is exercised in regarding
the range of applicability of each mode.
• In addition one has to be consistent in using a

mode throughout the whole system. Since
modeling is based on determining and combining
efficiencies in 1D, areal and vertical to obtain
volumetric efficiency whichever mode is selected
it should be applied throughout
• For the p pistonlike displacement

p two
alternatives are possible for residual oil
saturation in an invaded area, namely Sor from
an end point pemeability kro=0 and
S or = Swf from a fractional flow curve. Use of
Swf values are closer to the reality specially for
l
low M cases.
• In this work we will cover the more general
case of frontal advance displacement
p and will
briefly refer to pistonlike displacement’s
applicability for the considered case studies.
Frontal advance theory
Unsteady state flow
The immiscible displacement of one fluid by another

is an unsteady state process, because the
saturations change with time. This causes changes
in kr’s and either pressure or phase velocities.
Next Figure shows four representative stages of a

linear waterflood at interstitial water saturation.
[After Whillhite]
Buckley-Leveret frontal advance model is used to
predict unsteady displacement performance
depicted in the previous figure.
It is
i an analytical
l ti l model
d l and
d uses graphical
hi l
techniques developed by Welge.
The model is a valuable tool for insight into

displacement mechanism of oil by water in addition,
it is proven to be sufficient both by lab and field data.
Using assumptions of (1) incompressible flow

(2) fw is a function of saturations only and (3)
No mass transfer between phases
The frontal advance equation is derived as:
dx S wqt df w
v Sw = =
Aφ dS w
Sw Eq.1
dt
The frontal advance equation states that the rate of

advance
d (i.e.
(i velocity)
l it ) off a plane
l off a specified
ifi d water
t
saturation is equal to the total fluid velocity
multiplied
p byy the change
g in composition
p of the
flowing stream caused by change in the saturation
of the displacing fluid.
Within the invaded area by the injected water, the

location xSw of a particular saturation Sw is found by
location,
integrating Eq.1 with respect to time as follows:
qt t df w
xSw = Eq.2
Aφ dS w
Sw
In terms of dimensionless variables:

dff w
x D = Qi Sw Eq.3
dS w
df w
For a given Sw, by computing dS w
S
we can
w
determine the location x Sw of that Sw, and

hence the location of all saturations in the system
(i.e the saturation profile in the system at a particular
time, ).
We can also determine saturation history at a

particular distance as well
well.
Setting XD=1 in Eq3, states that the required pore

volume injection to increase end point saturation to
that particular saturation is equal to the inverse slope
of fw cu
o curve
e at tthat
at satu
saturation
at o
Examining the following figure
and frontal advance equation v = dx S w = qt df w
Aφ dS w
S
Sw Sw
reveals: dt
1. Intermediate saturations
are faster
f t than
th smallll
saturations 8
2. Faster saturations 7
6
must catch up small 5
fw'
4
saturations and must 3
2
overcome them 1
0
3. Result should be 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Sw
formation of a saturation Fig. x. Derivatives of the fractional flow curve for example 3.5
in textbook
di
discontinuity
ti it
Thus the expected saturation profile is as follows :
1-Sor
S wf
Sw
xf x
[[After Whillhite]]
The figure shows when water enters the reservoir
water saturation in the invaded area builds up to Swf
b f
before moving
i fforward.
d In
I essence, water
t moves as a
bank whose front is always maintained at Swf called
as front saturation.
In the invaded area, water saturation is equal to

(1-S
(1 Sor) at the inlet and decreases in flow direction
down to Swf at the front. The small and slows
saturations ranging Swi to Swf merged into Swf .
The positions of saturations from Swf to (1-Sor) is

determined from the frontal advance equation and
fractional flow curve.
How to determine this Swf in the fractional flow curve?
The answer is much easier to describe mechanically but quite

involved to explain mathematically.
The mechanical description is that you have to draw

a tangent to the fw curve through the point (Swi, fwi).
1
1
0.9
0.8
0.7 fwf
0.6
(Swii,fwii) fw 05
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1 Swf
0 0
0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
0.24 Sw 0.7
An elegant method for the determination of the flood
front saturation and is based on the mathematical
construction of Welge which will not be repeated
here. But several other useful relations from Welge’s
work will be utilized.
utilized
The Welge’s equation for the average water saturation

f the
for th interval
i t l x1<x<x2 is,
i
x 2 S w 2 − x1 S w 1 ⎛ q t t ⎞ f w 2 − f w 1
Sw = −⎜ ⎟
x 2 − x1 ⎝ A φ ⎠ x 2 − x1
Welge’s equation is general. But we mostly used it
by setting x1=0 (inlet) and x2=L (outlet) unless
otherwise
th i stated.
t t d
⎛ qt t ⎞ S w = S w 2 + Qi 2 f 02
S w = S w2 + ⎜ ⎟(1 − f w 2 )
A 2φ ⎠
⎝ Ax
The Welge’s equation relates three factors of prime
interest in waterflooding;
1. The the average water saturation and hence the

oil
il recovery,
2. Cumulative injected pore volume,
3. Oil cut and hence producing WOR.
The two important contributions from Welge’s work
are:
the flood front values ( S wf ; f wf)are determined by

d
drawing
i a tangent
t t line
li tot the th fractional
f ti l curve that
th t
originates from the point ( S wi ; f wi ).
In addition intersection of that tangent line with

f wf = 1 axis will give us a very valuable parameter
namely, S wff (i.e the average saturation within the
invaded area by the injected water).
We can also show that:
The intersection of a tangent line of any point Sw ; f w

with f wf = 1 axis will give us, Sw (i.e the average
saturation
t ti behind
b hi d the
th location
l ti off that
th t saturation).
t ti )
Also:
df x df
xD =
x
= Qi w Sw
= w Sw
L dSw Q i L dSw
The inverse of the slope gives the pore volume

injection wrt pore volume of reservoir behind the
location of that saturation.
saturation
Estimating the displacement performance
for a linear waterflood at constant rate
In simulating the displacement performance we are
i t
interested
t d in
i determining;
d t i i
1. Volume oil displaced , Np
2. The rate of oil p
production, qo
q
3. The volume of water that must be handled per
volume of oil after water production begins, i.e.
WOR;
4. And we want to determine them as a function of
time.
U
Usually
ll we divide
di id the
th analysis
l i as prior
i to
t BT and d
post BT performance estimation.
Performance prior to BT
The computation of performance prior to BT is
quite straight
q g forward. Prior to BT all injected
j
water is retained in the reservoir. Since the fluid
are considered incompressible prior to BT the
production of oil must equal injected water if the
initial water is immobile:
N p =W i f w 2 = f wii qw 2 = f w 2qt
f o 2 = 1 − f wi qo 2 = (1 − f wi )qt W OR =
fw 2 f
= w2
f o 2 1− f w 2
qt t ' W x D df w
x swf = f wf = i f wf' = for any Sw between Swf and 1 − Sor
φA φA Q i dSw
Sw
Example Project
A waterflood is under consideration for a

shoestring reservoir that is 300 ft wide
“shoestring” wide, 20 ft thick
and 1000 ft long. The reservoir is horizontal and has
a porosity of 0.15 and an initial water saturation of
0.363, which is considered immobile. It is proposed
to drill a row of injection wells at the one end of the
reservoir and flood the reservoir by y injecting
j g water at
a rate of 338 B/D. viscosities of oil and water are 2.0
and 1.0 cp respectively.
Example Project
Relative permeability data corresponding to the
p
displacement of oil by
y water are given
g by
y the
following equations.
S w − Siw
k ro = (1 − S wD ) 2.56
k rw = 0.78( S wD ) 3.72 S wD =
1 − S or − Siw
The residual
Th id l oil
il saturation
t ti isi 0.205.
0 205 Base
B
permeability is the effective permeability to oil at
interstitial saturation which is assumed to be equal
q
to the absolute permeability. Oil and water FVF’s
are 1.0.
Fractional flow curve plotted
Swff = 0.7
07
1
1
0.9
0.8 fwf=0.899
0 899
0.7
06
0.6 ff’wff=2
2.698
698
fw 0.5
04
0.4
0.3
0.2 Swf=0.665
0.1
0 0
0 3 0.35
0.3 0 35 0.4
0 4 0.45
0 45 0.5
0 5 0.55
0 55 0.6
0 6 0.65
0 65 0.7
0 7 0.75
0 75 0.8
08
0.363 Sw 0.78
Example project
From frontal advance equation:
qt t ' W 40e 3*5.615
x swf = f wf = i f wf' = 2 967 = 740
2.967 740.44 ft
f
φA φA 0.15*900000
That means BT has not occurred yet, since fluid are
assumed incompressible Np=Wp=40000 bbl
Verifying by:
Oil displaced=V
displaced Vp of invaded area
area*reduction
reduction in average
So in invaded
part
Reduction in average
g So=Increase in avearge
g Sw
S oi − S of = Swf − Swi = 0.70 − 0.363 = 0.337
740.43*300*20*0.15
N p =W i = 40000bbl = *(0.71 − 0.363)
5 615
5.615
Example project
For 80000 bbl injection BT occurs as calculated xSwf
would be twice of previous case which is greater
th reservoir
than i length
l th off 1000 ft.
ft
At the moment of BT the performance parameters

will jump to those of front saturation Swf.
And beyond BT Sw22 begins to increase causing fw22

to increase as well. This means a corresponding
increase in qw and decrease in qo.
The main problem is how to determine average

saturations within the reservoir to calculate Np.
Post BT Performance Analysis
Cumulative oil displaced, Np
Since the fluids are considered to be incompressible, Np is
equal to change in the volume of water in the system; and the
cumulative
l ti displacement
di l t is
i calculated
l l t d as:
Np
N p = V p ( S w 2 − S wi ) or V = ( S w 2 − S wi )
p
Where the average saturation value is obtained from the
intersection of the tangent line to the fractional curve with
f = 1.0 (again from Welge
w
Welge’ss work).
Production rates
The fractional flow of water is determined from the frontal
advance solution for every value of Sw2. Thus qw2 and qo2 are
given by q
w 2 = f w 2qt
qo 2 = (1 − f w 2 )qt
and
WOR the water oil ratio
WOR is a measure of the efficiency of the

displacement process at a point in the process. It
represents the volume of water that must be
represents,
handled to produce a unit volume of oil and is
expressed as: fw 2 fw 2
W OR = =
fo2 1− f w 2
Time required for displacement
Since the injection rate is assumed constant, the

time required to inject Qi PV’s of fluid is:
Qi
t= AφL
qt
Possible Questions Regarding Applications of
F
Frontal
l advance
d Th
Theory
Consider fractional flow curve below
0.8
0.6
fw
w
0.4
0.2
0
0.2 0.4 Sw 0.6 0.8
Fig.1 Fractional flow curve

Possible Questions Regarding Applications
off F
Frontall advance
d Th
Theory
1 What is the value of irreducible water saturation
1.
2. If the connate water saturation is 0.25 at the start

off the
th flood
fl d what
h t is
i the
th average water
t saturation
t ti
at the breakthrough?
3. What will be the water saturation at the

production end at the time of 1.5 PV injection
4. What will be the PV injected at the breakthrough

and the average water saturation at the
b kth
breakthrough?
h?
Possible Questions Regarding Applications
off F
Frontall advance
d Th
Theory
6. How many PV must be injected to recover 80% of
OOIP
7. What is the distance of front at 0.5 PV injection

j
8. Given PV and qt How long you need to inject to

recover 0.6
0 6 OOIP?
9. When do you produce the water you inject for the

fi t time
first ti ?
10. What is the fractional flow of water at the

breakthrough? and so on.
Example Project
You are asked to estimate the oil displacement rate
and cumulative oil displaced as function of time
for the shostring reservoir described previously.
a. P
Prepare a fractional
f ti l flow
fl curve and
d determine
d t i the
th
breakthrough saturation.
a. Prepare a graph of water saturation versus

distance at the instant of time when the flood
front (Swf) is 500 ft [152.4 m] from injection wells.
Example Project
c Determine oil production rate as a function of

c.
PV’s injected to a WOR of 100:1. Plot the oil rate
(bbl/D) versus PV’s injected.
d. Determine cumulative oil displaced (Np in bbl’s)

as a function of PV’s injected (Qi) to a WOR of
100:1. Plot Np vs Qi, with Np as the ordinate.
e. Plot the WOR vs Np on semilog paper. Use

semilog scale for WOR on the ordinate.
Sw =
SOLUTION: a. Prepare a fractional flow
curve and determine the breakthrough 0.363
saturation. First set Sw values: 0.392
Sor := 0.205 Siw := 0.363
0.421
0 449
0.449
0.478
α 1 := 1.0 α 2 := 0.78 0.507
0 536
0.536
0.565
n := 3.72 m := 2.56 0.593
0 622
0.622
μ w := 1.0 cp μ o := 2.0 cp 0.651

0.68
0 709
0.709
α 1 ⋅ μw 1 0.737
B :=
A := 1 − Sor − Siw
0.766
α 2 ⋅ μo 0 795
0.795
Relative permeability and fractional flow equations in
closed
l d form
f functions.
f ti
Sw − Siw
i
SwD :=
i 1 − Sor − Siw
kro := ⎡⎢ α 1 ⋅ ⎛ 1 − SwD ⎞ ⎥⎤ ( )
m n
krw := α 2 ⋅ SwD
i ⎣ ⎝ i ⎠ ⎦ i i
fw :=
( )
SwD
i
n
( )
m
SwD + A ⋅ ⎛ 1 − SwD ⎞
i n
i ⎝ i⎠
⎡ m−1 ⎤
( ) ( )
n −1 m
A ⋅ B ⋅ ⎢ n ⋅ SwD ⋅ ⎛ 1 − SwD ⎞ + m ⋅ SwD ⋅ ⎛ 1 − SwD ⎞ ⎥
n
f'w :=
⎣ i ⎝ i⎠ i ⎝ i⎠ ⎦
i 2
( )
⎡ S m⎤
⎢ wD + A ⋅ ⎛ 1 − SwD ⎞ ⎥
n
⎣ i ⎝ i⎠ ⎦
Sw = SwD = krw = kro = fw = f'w =
i i i i i i
0.363 0 0 1 0 0
0.38 0.039 0 0.902 0 0.002
0.405 0.097 0 0.77 0 0.033
0.43 0.155 0.001 0.65 0.002 0.146
0.455 0.213 0.002 0.542 0.009 0.43
0.48 0.271 0.006 0.445 0.026 1.028
0.505 0.329 0.012 0.36 0.065 2.114
0 53
0.53 0 387
0.387 0 023
0.023 0 286
0.286 0 137
0.137 3 777
3.777
0.555 0.444 0.038 0.222 0.256 5.721
0.58 0.502 0.06 0.168 0.418 7.068
0.605 0.56 0.09 0.122 0.597 6.942
0.63 0.618 0.13 0.085 0.754 5.466
0.655 0.676 0.182 0.056 0.867 3.584
0.68 0.734 0.247 0.034 0.936 2.039
0.705 0.792 0.327 0.018 0.973 1.026
0.73 0.85 0.425 0.008 0.991 0.448
0.755 0.907 0.543 0.002 0.998 0.152
0 78
0.78 0 965
0.965 0 684
0.684 0 1 0 024
0.024
Fractional flow curve plotted
1
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
06
0.6
fw 0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0 0
0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8
0 363
0.363 Sw 0 78
0.78
Determination the flood front mathematically not
graphically
hi ll
Swf := 0.7
Swf − Siw
SwfD :=
1 − Sor − Siw
i
kroff := ⎡ α 1 ⋅ 1 − SwfD
m⎤
⎣ ( )
fD ⎦ (
krwff := α 2 ⋅ SwfD
fD ) n
Subtract
S bt t the
th derivative
d i ti in i functional
f ti l form
f from
f that
th t
obtained by slope of the graph.
Solve by a root finding method for SWfD and then

computet Swf from
f
b. Preparation of a graph of water saturation versus distance at
the instant of time when the flood front (Swf) is 500 ft [152.4 m]
from injection wells. Discretize the saturation range for plotting
Swf to 1-Sor
Then calculate Qibt as follows:
Determine number of PV injected when

dimensionless front distance is 500/1000
and position of each saturation value for Qi=0.185

Plot the saturations vs dimensionless distance
c. Determine oil production rate as a function of PV’s injected
to a WOR of 100:1. Plot the oil rate (bbl/D) versus PV’s
injected.
WORa := 100
WORa
fwa :=
WORa + 1
fwa = 0.99
From a root finding algorithm we obtain Swa=0.728
Then compute
Th t f’w
f’ for
f a series
i off saturations
t ti b t
between
Swf and Swa.
Plot the results
d. Determine cumulative oil displaced (Np in bbl’s) as a
function of PV’s injected (Qi) to a WOR of 100:1. Plot Np vs
Qi, with Np as the ordinate.
i i i (
Sw_av := Sw2 + Qi ⋅ 1 − fw2
i )
Np := Sw_av − Siw
i i
e. Plot the WOR vs Np on semilog paper. Use
semilog scale for WOR on the ordinate.
f w2
i
WORi :=
1 − f w22
i
Appendix D- Derivation of frontal theory
relations for applications
The fractional flow of water is defined as
qw qw
fw = =
qt qw + qo
substituting the Darcy’s law
ko A ⎡ ∂Pc g ⎤
1+
μ o qt ⎢ ∂x + ( ρ o − ρ w ) g Sinα ⎥
fw = ⎣ c ⎦
k ro μ w
1+
k rw μ o
3.1 . Fractional flow equation
This gradient can be expressed as

∂Pc ∂Pc ∂S w
=
∂x ∂S w ∂x
∂Pc
although the value of can be determined from the
∂S w
appropriate
pp p ( given
g the knowledge g whether it is
imbibition or drainage) oil water capillary
pressure curve, the ∂S w values are not available.
∂x
So in practice the capillary pressure term is neglected
but not forgotten
forgotten.
3.1 . Fractional flow equation
As for the effect capillary pressure gradient, we know

f
from the
h capillary
ill h ∂∂SP is
pressure curves that c
i always
l
w
negative. That is capillary pressure decreases with
increasing water saturation.
saturation
Since the water saturation must decrease with distance

∂S
in the direction of flow, we can deduce that ∂xw
is always negative as well.

∂Pc
Thus the capillary pressure gradient has a positive
∂x
sign and its effect is to increase the value of fw.
3.2 Frontal advance theory
Using the following assumptions:

1 Incompressible
1. I ibl flow
fl
2. fw is a function of saturations only
3 No mass transfer between phases
3.
In its differential form; the frontal advance equation is
derived as:
dx S w
qt df w
v Sw = = Eq.3.4
Aφ dS w
Sw
dt
The frontal advance equation states that the rate of

advance
d (i.e.
( velocity)
l ) off a plane
l off a specified
f d water
saturation is equal to
the total fluid velocity
multiplied by
the change
g in composition
p off the flowing
f g stream
caused by
a change in the saturation of the displacing fluid.
In other words the frontal advance equation states that

eachh water saturation,
i Sw,S travelsl through
h h system at a
constant velocity that can be computed from the
derivative of the fractional flow curve with respect to
Sw.
It also states that as the total rate increases the

velocity of the plane of saturation increases
correspondingly and vice versa.
The location of a particular saturation is found by

i
integrating
i Eq.3.4
E 3 4 with
i h respect to time
i as follows:
f ll
qt t df w
xSw =
Aφ dS w
Sw
It is more convenient to work with dimensionless

variables hence dividing both sides by the total
system length L;
df w
xSw
=
qt t df w or x D = Qi Sw
L ALφ dS w
Sw
dS w
In the previous equation Qi ( or dimensionless time

tD ) is
i defined
d fi d as pore volume
l injection.
i j i
df w
Provided that we a formula for dS w or we can
Sw
determine it accurately from a plot of fw vs Sw;

we can determine x Sw for each Sw, and hence the
location of all saturations in the system (i.e the
saturation profile in the system at a particular time, )
We can also determine saturation history at a
particular distance as well.
Since the term ∂∂Px is difficult to evaluate, we expect

c
df
w
to have
h problems
bl in
i determining
d i i dS .
w
Sw
∂Pc
However, whenever
However ≅0
, then fw can be computed
∂x
directly from the relative permeability data.
The question is then, is there a water saturation

range for which that assumption holds ?
and
Can we determine that portion of the saturation
values?
Examining the following figure dx S w qt df w
q
and frontal advance equation v Sw = =
Aφ dS w
Sw
dt
reveals several important
points.
1. Intermediate saturations
are faster than small 8
7
saturations 6
5
2. Faster saturations
fw'
4
3
must catch up small 2
1
saturations
t ti and
d mustt 0
overcome them 0 0.2 0.4

Sw
0.6 0.8 1
3. Result should be Fig. x. Derivatives of the fractional flow curve for example 3.5
in textbook
formation of a saturation
discontinuity
Is the previous conclusion supported by experiments?
Y ( see nextt figure

Yes. fi )
The experimental observations of Terwilliger indicated that

lower range of saturations all moved at the same velocity.
i.e. The shape of the saturation distribution over this range
of saturations was constant with time.
time This zone was called
STABILIZED ZONE.
They also
Th l observed
b d that
th t in
i the
th higher
hi h range off saturations
t ti
called NONSTABILIZED ZONE, saturations will move at
different speeds and hence will continuously get separated
apart.
E
Experimental
i l observations
b i off Terwilliger
T illi Fig.
Fi
Supported by the above experimental observations, it was

rationalized
ti li d that
th t the
th frontal
f t l advance
d
solution is characterized by a saturation discontinuity at the
flood front where the water saturation jumps from Swi, initial
saturation to Swf, flood front saturation.
In conclusion we represented the stabilized zone where

all saturations moves at a constant speed as a line
discontinuity i.e. the front
Thus the expected saturation profile is as follows from

frontal advance equation.
In this figure, let’s represent the saturation at the front as

S f
Swf.
S wf
Sw
xf x
Remember that frontal advance equation assumes Sw is

continuous
ti and d differentiable
diff ti bl along
l x.
Therefore, it is inappropriate to describe the situation at
the front itself. Now we have an half of the answer for
the appropriate portion of the fractional flow curve:
The saturation range from Swii to Swff of the fractional

flow curve constitutes the portion where frontal advance
equation does not apply,
andd
the saturations from Swf to (1-Sor) constitute the region
of applicability for the frontal advance equation.
How to determine this Swf ?

The answer is much easier to describe mechanically but

quite involved to explain
q p mathematically.
y
The mechanical description is that you have to draw a
tangent to the fw curve through the point (Swi, fwi) such as
the one in the following figure
figure.
1
1
0.9 fwf
0.8
0.7
(Swi,fwi) 0.6
fw 0.5
0.4
03
0.3
0.2
0.1 Swf
0 0
0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65
0.24 Sw 0.7
An elegant method for the determination of the flood

f
front saturation
i andd is
i based
b d on the
h mathematical
h i l
construction of Welge.
The Welge’s equation for the average water saturation

for the interval x1<x<x2 is,,
x 2 S w 2 − x1 S w 1 ⎛ q t t ⎞ f w 2 − f w 1
Sw = −⎜ ⎟
x 2 − x1 ⎝ A φ ⎠ x 2 − x1
Welge’s equation is quite general and the point 2 can

b at any distance
be di from
f the
h inlet,
i l x=00 andd Qi2 is
i the
h
pore volume injection in the portion of the system
from the the inlet to the point 2.
2
⎛ qt t ⎞
S w = S w2 + ⎜ ⎟(1 − f w 2 )
⎝ Ax2φ ⎠
S w = S w 2 + Qi 2 f 02
The Welge’s
Th W l ’ equation i relates
l three
h factors
f off prime
i
interest in waterflooding;
1. The the average water saturation and hence the oil

recovery,
2. Cumulative injected pore volume,
3. Oil cut and thus water cut and producing WOR.
Coming back to determining the flood front equation,

l ’ consider
let’s id theh following
f ll i three
h equations.
i
1 a material balance from the inlet to flood front

1.
In-Out=Accumulation
qt t − f wi qt t = ( S wf − S wi ) Aφx f Eq.3.9
qt t S wf − S wi
=
Aφx f 1 − f wi Eq.3.10
2. frontal advance solution written for flood front

position
qt t 1
=
Aφx f ∂f w
∂S w S wf
3. Welge’s equation written for the flood front

position
qt t Eq 3 12
Eq.3.12
S wf = S wf + (1 − f wf )
Aφx f
Rearranging Eq 3.12
qt t S wf − S wf
=
Aφx f (1 − f wf )
Then comparing
p g the above three equations
q we see;;
∂f w (1 − f wff ) (1 − f wi )
= =
∂S w S wf
S wf − S wf S wf − S wi
Now, number 1:
∂f w (1 − f wf )
=
∂S w Swf
S wf − S wf
Derivative means slope of the tangent line to the
curve of the function at the point where derivative
is calculated. The above relation dictates that the
tangent
g line to the fractional curve at the flood
front values ( S wf ; f wf ) must pass through the point
(Swf ; f w = 1)
Number 2:
(1 − f wf ) (1 − f wi )
=
S wff − S wff S wff − S wii
The above relation implies p that the line connecting

g the
points (S wi ; f wi) and ( S wf ;1 ) will also have the same
slope of the tangent at ( S wf ; f wf )
Number 3: If two lines are required
1. to pass from the same point and
2 to
2. t have
h the
th same slope
l
They have to be identical lines.
In other words you cannot pass two different lines

ffrom the same point
p and require
q them to have
different slopes.
Therefore the line originating from ( S wi ; f wi) and

tangent to the fractional curve fixes the location of
the front.
front This is the mathematical proof.
proof
As a result we can state that we can determine the

fl d front
flood f values
l ( S wf ; f wf ) by
b drawing
d a tangent
line to the fractional curve that originates from the
point ( S wi ; f wi ).
)
In addition intersection off that tangent

g line with
f wf = 1 axis will give us a very valuable parameter
namely, S wf (i.e the average saturation behind the
front).
3.3 Estimating the displacement performance for a linear
waterflood at constant rate
I simulating
In i l i the h displacement
di l performance
f we are
interested in three quantities;
1. Volume oil displaced

2. The rate of oil production,
p ,
3. The volume of water that must be handled per
volume of oil after water production begins;
4. And we want to determine them as a function of
time.
3.3.1 Cumulative oil displaced, Np
By definition, N p = V p ( S w − S wi )
and again by definition the pore volume injection for

the
h totall length
l h is
i qt t
Qi =
AφL
Let’s revisit Welge’s equation expressed for the

interval x=0 to x2 which is applicable
pp at all times to
calculate the average water saturation.
S w = S w 2 + Qi 2 f 02
R
Rearranging
i Welge’s
W l ’ equation
i
S w2 − S w2
Qi 2 =
1 − f w2
Also from the frontal advance equation
q
1
Qi 2 =
∂f w ⎞
⎟⎟
∂S w ⎠ S
w2
Equating the above two equations, one obtains

∂f w ⎞ 1 − f w2
⎟⎟ = Eq.3.19
∂S w ⎠ S w 2 S w 2 − S w 2
Let’s also see the ggraphical

p form of the derivative
In the following figure
Fig (3.11) shows
tangent drawn to the
fractional flow curve
at a saturation Sw2.
From (fig 3.11)

∂f w ⎞ 1 − f w2
⎟⎟ =
∂S w ⎠ S w 2 S e − S w 2
Eq 3 20
Eq.3.20
Comparing Eq 3.19 and 3.20, one can see that

S e = S w2
Hence, average water saturation in the region from

x=0 to x=xSw2 can be obtained by finding the
intersection of the tangent to the fractional flow
ith f w = 1.0 line.
curve with li
Note XSw2
S 2 is the position of the saturation Sw2
2.
The above relation has an implication of great value.

When XSw2=L,L, it allows us to determine:
the average water saturation, S w after the
breakthrough.
In other words, finding the intersection of the tangent

t the
to th fractional
f ti l flowfl curve att any Sw2 value
l
between (Swf and (1-Sor) with f w = 1.0 line will
give us the average saturation in the system when
that production end saturation is equal to that
pparticular saturation where we draw the tangent.
g
Remember that Sw2 can also be Swf and for that

special case we have arrived at the same
intercept conclusion earlier about the intersection
of tangent with f w = 1.0
Since the fluids are considered to be incompressible, Np is

equal to change in the volume of water in the system; and
the cumulative displacement is calculated as:
Np
N p = V p ( S w 2 − S wi ) or = ( S w 2 − S wi )
Vp
Where the average saturation value is obtained from the
intersection of the tangent line to the fractional
curve with f w = 1.0
3.3.2 Production rates
The fractional flow of water is determined from the frontal
advance solution for every value of Sw2. Thus qw2 and qo2 are
f w 2 qt (1 − f w 2 )qt
given by qw2 = and qo 2 =
Bw Bo
3.3.3 WOR the water oil ratio
WOR is a measure of the efficiency of the displacement

process at a point in the process. It represents, the volume
of water that must be handled to produce a unit volume of
oil and is expressed as:
f w 2 Bo
Fwo =
f o 2 Bw
3.3.4 Time required for displacement
Since the
Si th injection
i j ti ratet is
i assumedd constant,
t t the
th time
ti required
i d
to inject Qi PV’s of fluid is Qi
t= AφL
qt

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CHAPTER III

Learning Objectives of Lecture 13

 Macroscopic displacement efficiency

• Macroscopic efficiency is used to describe the

• In other words the term refers to the portion of the oil

• To discuss and quantify how water displaces oil from a

Fig.1 Fractional flow curve

• If both fluids are flowing the fraction of water in

• If Sw varies with location fw varies accordingly

• It is therefore possible to have only water flowing

Variation of fw with location

Variation of Sw vary with location

• rock wettability changes

0.8 Wettability increases

• With continued flooding more oil will be displaced

• Initial reduction in So (increase in Sw) depends on

• In the extreme case, all mobile may be displaced

• When water is injected in such a rock water is imbibed into

• Such imbibition of water expels oil out of all invaded pores

• With more water injection only water advances into new

• This mode of displacement results in near total flushing of

Piston Like Displacement: Reservoir Conditions

sw ≈1-Sor Sw≈ swi

• With continued water injection water imbibes into larger

• Sw within the invaded area decreases in the direction of flow,

• This mode of displacement oil recovery depends on how

Frontal Displacement: Reservoir

invaded area uninvaded area

• In modeling the immiscible displacement both

• In addition one has to be consistent in using a

• For the p pistonlike displacement

Unsteady state flow

The immiscible displacement of one fluid by another

Next Figure shows four representative stages of a

The model is a valuable tool for insight into

Using assumptions of (1) incompressible flow

The frontal advance equation states that the rate of

Within the invaded area by the injected water, the

In terms of dimensionless variables:

determine the location x Sw of that Sw, and

We can also determine saturation history at a

Setting XD=1 in Eq3, states that the required pore

Thus the expected saturation profile is as follows :

In the invaded area, water saturation is equal to

The positions of saturations from Swf to (1-Sor) is

The answer is much easier to describe mechanically but quite

The mechanical description is that you have to draw

The Welge’s equation for the average water saturation

1. The the average water saturation and hence the

the flood front values ( S wf ; f wf)are determined by

In addition intersection of that tangent line with

The intersection of a tangent line of any point Sw ; f w

The inverse of the slope gives the pore volume

A waterflood is under consideration for a

At the moment of BT the performance parameters

And beyond BT Sw22 begins to increase causing fw22

The main problem is how to determine average

WOR is a measure of the efficiency of the

Time required for displacement

Since the injection rate is assumed constant, the

Fig.1 Fractional flow curve

2. If the connate water saturation is 0.25 at the start

Macroscopic displacement efficiency