RELATIVE PERMEABILITIES FOR TWO- AND THREE
PHASE FLOW PROCESSES RELEVANT TO THE
DEPRESSURIZATION OF THE STATFJORD FIELD

This paper presents an extensive experimental study of relative permeability functions of two- and three-phase displacement processes relevant to the depressurisation of the Statfjord Field. The measurements were performed on reservoir core material and under full reservoir conditions to ensure representative wettability and spreading conditions. A total of five two-phase and six three-phase steady state relative permeability data sets are reported. Three-phase relative permeabilities were measured for both drainage dominated (increasingSg) and imbibition dominated (decreasingSg) three-phase flow.

All of the three-phase flow experiments were successfully history matched using a steady state core flood simulator. Independently measured capillary pressure functions were used to properly account for capillary pressure effects in the experiments. The results show that commonly used empirical models that predict three-phase relative permeabilities from two- phase data (e.g. Stone 1 and saturation weighted interpolation) are not able to accurately describe the three-phase experiments. This confirms that phase saturation and saturation history are major factors in determining three-phase relative permeabilities.

Depressurisation of the Statfjord Field is considered to be an option to increase the oil and gas reserves from the field and to extend field life. The depletion of reservoir pressure below bubble point allows solution gas to liberate from the remaining oil in the reservoirs. The liberated gas will then segregate towards structural highs and create secondary gas caps, which can further be produced. To accurately model these processes, knowledge of three-phase relative permeabilities and the critical gas saturation for mobilization of gas are of paramount importance [1].

On the core-scale, three-phase relative permeabilities can be obtained from laboratory measurements. However, these experiments are often time consuming and technically difficult to perform, especially under reservoir conditions. In addition, it is impractical to measure three-phase relative permeabilities for all possible three-phase displacement paths that can occur in the reservoir. As a result, three-phase relative permeabilities are almost always estimated from two-phase data on the basis of empirical models. The empirical nature of these models constitutes a major deficiency in the theory of three-phase flow in porous media and limits our ability to accurately predict three-phase flow in the reservoir.

Many of the most frequently used empirical models were developed for water wet media. Furthermore, available experimental data sets used for testing and validation of these models typically stem from measurements on water wet outcrop rocks [2-6]. However, reservoir rocks are rarely water wet and empirical models often fail to accurately predict three-phase relative permeability for reservoir rocks.

Empirical models fail because they do not fully account for the physics of three-phase flow. Depending on wettability and spreading conditions, the pore occupancy and phase continuity in three-phase flow can be significantly different than that represented by the corresponding two-phase experiments. True prediction of three-phase relative permeability from two-phase data can thus not be assured, regardless of how sophisticated the model is.

In this paper we present a series of two-phase and three-phase steady state relative permeability measurements performed under reservoir conditions and at representative mixed wettability conditions. The measured data are interpreted using a simulator that utilizes independently determined capillary pressure functions to account for capillary end effects. The history matched three-phase relative permeabilities are compared with those predicted from two-phase data on the basis of empirical models. This work provides important new data for developing and testing models of three-phase relative permeability for reservoir rocks.

The schematic of the flow apparatus is shown in Figure 1. It consists of a pumping system, a three-phase separator, a core holder and an X-ray system for in-situ saturation measurements. Each of these components is described below. For further details on the experimental set-up, see Ebeltoft et al. [2].

The pumping system consists of eight computer-controlled cylinders that have the capability of recycling three phases simultaneously through a core sample. The cylinders are paired, and three cylinder pairs are used for recycling water, oil and gas through the core sample. The seventh cylinder is working in a constant pressure mode, and acts as a back pressure regulator within 7 kPa accuracy. This cylinder is connected to the water return line, but is in contact with the other phases indirectly through the separator.

The core holder is placed inside the heated cabinet with possibilities of tilting either in horizontal position or in vertical position with the inlet at the top. The core sample is placed between two distribution plugs. Both plugs have ports for monitoring the differential pressure between the end faces of the core sample. Several rubber washers are placed behind each distribution plug to transmit an axial stress proportional to the confinement pressure.

Water, oil and gas productions were measured with a three-phase acoustic separator. Two pressure transmitters with range 0-0.3 bar and 0-7 bar, respectively, were used to measure the differential pressure across the core. The pressure ports are placed directly at the inlet and the outlet ends of the core. The X-ray system was not used during experimentation.

In this study, a total of six steady-state measurement series, with two or three phases flowing, have been performed in a composite core at relevant reservoir conditions, 200 bar and 91\u00b0C. To obtain a representative reservoir fluid, separator oil and gas were sampled at the platform test separator. The brine used is synthetic formation water. Core and fluid properties measured at test conditions are given in Tables 1 and 2. The steady-state series were designed to cover two main processes relevant for the field during depressurisation below bubble point pressure and in alternating gas-water injection. Five of the series contain a hysteresis cycle with increasingSg in the first part and decreasingSg in the second part. The first reservoir process covered represents a secondary displacement with gas conducted after a primary water flood. This process is denotedD DI indicating

InitialSwi was established by porous plate and 5 barPcow, and later before each newDDI series, approximately re-established by viscous flooding using STO to remove free gas. Initial conditions for eachDD I series is then established by injecting water/oil at a fixed ratio. A list of all the measurements series is given in Table 3.

Figure 2 shows the saturation trajectories from all the series plotted in a ternary diagram. The points represent the average saturations in the core after steady-state conditions are reached (SS-points). In the series with two phases injected the third phase is termed

cannot increase. From the figure we see that in theC DI+CID series (gas/oil flood atSwi) the water saturation remained constant, while inDC I+ICD (gas/water flood atSorw) additional oil is produced at both increasing and decreasingSg. The computations of the relative permeability functions are described in the next section.

All the three-phase relative permeability experiments have been simulated with the steady- state core-flood simulator Coreflow [7, 8]. This is done to correct the computed relative permeabilities for the presence of capillary forces. The result is compared against the relative permeability computed from Darcy's law, neglecting capillary effects.

The Coreflow simulator requires explicit input of the capillary pressure together with experimental data obtained at steady state (saturations and pressure drops). Relative permeability functions are then computed by minimizing the difference between computed and measured saturations and pressure drops. The relative permeability is represented by single-argument functions (krj(Sj),j=w,o,g) of either Corey type or on tabular form using linear interpolation or quadratic splines. In this study we typically use quadratic splines to represent d(log(krj))/dSj at four fixed saturation points and a fixedkrj-value at the lowest saturation. With three phases, the total number of matching parameters is then twelve.