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Res Eng CH 11
Res Eng CH 11
Drive Mechanisms
CONTENTS
1 DEFINITION
2 NATURAL DRIVE MECHANISM TYPE
2.1 Depletion Drive Reservoirs
2.2 Water Drive
2.3 Compaction Drive
2.4 Gravity Drainage
2.5 Depletion Type Reservoirs
2.5.1 Solution Gas Drive
2.5.2 Gas Cap Drive
2.6 Water Drive Reservoirs
2.7 Combination Drives
3 RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT
DRIVE SYSTEMS
3.1 Solution Gas Drive
3.1.1 Solution Gas Drive, Oil Production
3.1.2 Solution Gas Drive, Gas / Oil Ratio
3.1.3 Pressure
3.1.4 Water Production, Well Behaviour, Expected
Oil Recovery and Well Location
3.2 Gas Cap Drive
3.2.1 Oil Production
3.2.2 Pressure
3.2.3 Gas / Oil Ratio
3.2.4 Water Production, Well Behaviour, Expected
Oil Recovery and Well Locations
3.3 Water Drive
3.3.1 Rate Sensitity
3.3.2 Water Production, Oil Recovery
3.3.3 History Matching Aquifer Characteristics
3.3.4 Well Locations
4 SUMMARY
4.1 Pressure and Recovery
4.2 Gas / Oil Ratio
1
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Having worked through this chapter the Student will be able to:
Describe briefly with the aid of sketches solution gas drive distinguishing
behaviour both above and below the bubble point.
Describe briefly with the aid of sketches the reservoir performance characteristics
of a solution gas drive reservoir.
Describe briefly with the aid of sketches the reservoir performance characteristics
of a gas drive reservoir.
Describe briefly with the aid of sketches the reservoir performance characteristics
of water drive reservoir.
Describe briefly with the aid of sketches the rate sensitivity aspect of water
drive reservoir.
Summarise the characteristics of solution gas drive, gas cap drive and water
drive reservoirs.
11
Drive Mechanisms
1 DEFINITION
A reservoir drive mechanism is a source of energy for driving the fluids out through
the wellbore. It is not necessarily the energy lifting the fluids to the surface, although
in many cases, the same energy is capable of lifting the fluids to the surface.
Gas
Oil
Water
Gas
Oil
Water
Figure 1
Depletion reservoir:
No aquifer. Isolated sand
lenses
Figure 2
Depletion reservoir:
Aquifer limited by faults
11
Drive Mechanisms
Gas
Oil
Water
Figure 3
Water drive:
Active aquifer
A water drive reservoir is one in which the hydrocarbons are in contact with a large
volume of water bearing sand. There are two types of water drive reservoirs. There
are those where the driving energy comes primarily from the expansion of water as
the reservoir is produced, as shown in figure 3 The key issue here is the relative size
and mobility of the water of the supporting aquifer relative to the size of the
hydrocarbon accumulation.
Water drive may also be a result of artesian flow from an outcrop of the reservoir
formation, figure 4. In this situation either surface water or seawater feeds into the
outcrop and replenishes the water as it moves into the reservoir to replace the oil. The
key issues here are the mobility of the water in the aquifer and barriers to flow from
the outcrop to the reservoir. It is not often encountered, and the water drive arising
from the compressibility of an aquifer, figure 3, is the more common.
Outcrop
of sand
Oil well
Figure 4
Reservoir having artesian
water drive.
Water flow
1
2.3 Compaction Drive
Figure 5 illustrates another drive mechanism, compaction drive. Although not a
common drive energy, the characteristics of its occurance can be dramatic. Compaction
drive occurs when the hydrocarbon formation is compacted as a result of the increase
in the net overburden stress as the reservoir pore pressure is reduced during prodcution.
The nature of the rock or its degree of consolidation can give rise to the mechanism.
For example a shallow sand deposit which has not reached its minimum porosity level
due to consolidation can consolidate further as the net overburden stresses increase as
fluids are withdrawn. The impact of the further consolidation can give rise to
subsidence at the surface. This phenomena of compaction with increasing net
overburden stress is not restricted to unconsolidated sands, since chalk also demonstrates
this phenomena. One of the spectacular occurances of compaction drive is that
associated with the Ekofisk Field, in the Norwegan sector of the North Sea. This is a
very undersaturated chalk reservoir. The field was developed on the basis of using
depletion drive down to near the bubble point and then to inject sea water to maintain
pressure above the bubble point. During this period of considerable pressure decline,
the net overburden stress was increasing, causing the formation to compact to an
extent that subsidence occurred at the seabed. In an offshore environment such
uniform subsidence can go undetected, as was the case for Ekofisk. The magnitude of
the subsidence has been such that major jacking up of the structures has been required.
Old land
surface
New land
surface
Oil
Figure 5
Compaction drive
11
Drive Mechanisms
with the later stages of drive for reservoirs where other drive mechanisms have been
the more dominant energy in earlier years. Gravity drainage can be significant and
effective in steeply dipping reservoirs which are fractured.
Of the drive mechanisms mentioned the major drive mechanisms are depletion drive,
which are further classified into solution gas drive and gas cap drive and water drive.
Gravity Drive typically is active during the final stages of a depletion reservoir.
Closed in
1000
Initial
GOC
Present
GOC
WC
Gas
Oil
Water
Figure 6
Gravity drive
Inactive aquifer
1
compared to liquid and therefore the pressure decline is reduced. Solution gas drive
only occurs once the bubble point pressure has been reached.
Figure 7
Solution gas drive reservoir
(2)
Gas cap
Oil
Figure 8
Gas cap drive reservoir
11
Drive Mechanisms
Edge water
Figure 9
Edge water drive reservoir
Bottom water
Water coning
Figure 10
Bottom water drive
reservoir
Gas Cap
Oil zone
Water
Original condition
Water
Gas Cap
Oil zone
Water
50 % Depleted
Water
Sometimes it may be only water drive in the above situations. If the hydrocarbons are
taken out at a rate such that for every volume of oil removed water readily moves in
to replace the oil, then the reservoir is driven completely by water. On the other hand
there may be only depletion drive. If the water does not move in to replace the oil, then
only the gas cap would expand to provide the drive.
Figure 11
Combination water and gas
- cap drive
11
Drive Mechanisms
permeabilties move in the same directions giving rise to reduced well productivity to
oil and increased productivity to gas, figure 12. That is the oil relative permeability
decreases and the gas relative permeability increases. The gas although providing the
displacing medium is effectively leaking out of the system. Not only does the gas
progress to the wellbore, depending on vertical permeability characteristics it will
move vertically and may form a secondary gas cap. If this occurs it can contribute to
the drive energy. Well location and rate of production can be used to encourage gas
to migrate to form such a gas cap as against being lost through production from the
wellbore.
Vertical gas
migration
<
Rs Rsi
Figure 12
Schematic of solution gas
drive.
<
Rs Rsi
<
Rs Rsi
We will now review the various production profiles, specific to the drive mechanisms
but before doing so we will review the various phases of production.
Production
Plateau phase
Figure 13
Phases in production.
Decline phase
Production
build up
Abandonment
0
Time
11
1
cost onshore field 5% might be acceptable. Governments will also impose their
considerations on this aspect as well.
A time will come when the reservoir is no longer able to deliver fluids to match the
facilities capacity and the field goes into the decline phase. This phase can be delayed
by methods to increase production. Such methods could include artificial lift, where
the effort required to lift the fluids from the reservoir is carried out by a downhole
pump or by using gas lift to reduce the density of the fluid system in the well.
There comes a time when the productivity of the reservoir is no longer able to generate
revenues to cover the costs of running the field, This abandonment time again is
influenced by the size and nature of the operation. Clearly a single, stripper well,
carrying very little operational costs, can be allowed to produce down to very low
rates. A well, as part of a very high cost offshore environment however, could be
abandoned at a relatively high rate when perhaps the water proportion becomes too
high or the productivity in relation to all production is not sufficient to meet the
associated well and production costs.
We will now review the performance characteristics of the various mechanisms in
light of the forgoing production phases.
Reservoir
Pressure
Oil
G.O.R Prod
Oil
Prod
G.O.R
Reservoir
Pressure
Time-Year
12
Figure 14
Production for solution gas
drive
11
Drive Mechanisms
A good analogy for this type of reservoir is the champagne bottle opened by a
champion to spray the contents over enthusiastic supporters - a short lived high
production senario followed by rapid decline!
Figure 15
Producing GOR for
solution gas drive reservoir
Producing GOR.
As the pressure continues to decline the productivity of the well continues to decline
from the combined impact of reducing relative permeability and drop in bottom hole
pressure. The production GOR goes though a maximum as oil eventually is produced
into the well bore with a low solution GOR and the associated gas which has come out
of solution has progressed much faster to the well and contributed to earlier gas
production 4-5 in figure 15.
GOR constant
above bubble
point pressure
Rsi
1
Pb
Pressure
When the pressure drops below the bubble point throughout the reservoir a secondary
gas cap may be produced and some wells have the potential of becoming gas
producers.
3.1.3 Pressure
At first the pressure is high but as production continues the pressure makes a rapid
decline.
Department of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University
13
1
3.1.4 Water Production, Well Behaviour , Expected Oil Recovery and Well Location
Since by definition there is little water present in the reservoir there should be no water
production to speak of. Because of the rapid pressure drop artificial lift will be
required at an early stage in the life of the reservoir. The expected oil recovery from
these types of reservoirs is low and could be between 5 and 30% of the original oilin-place. Abandonment of the reservoir will depend on the level of the GOR and the
lack of reservoir pressure to enable production. Well locations for this drive mechanism are chosen to encourage vertical migration of the gas, therefore the wells
producing zones are located structurally low, but not too close to any water contact
which might generate water through water coning. Figure16
Secondary
gas cap
Figure 16
Well location for solution
gas drive reservoir.
Gas Cap
Water
Oil zone
Original condition
Water
Gas Cap
Oil zone
Water
14
50 % Depleted
Water
Figure 17
Gas-cap drive
11
Drive Mechanisms
3.2.2 Pressure
500
Pressure
G.O.R
With an associated gas cap a loss of volume of fluids from the reservoir is associated
with a relatively low drop in pressure because of the high compressibility of the gas.
In solution gas drive much of the driving gas is produced, but with a gas cap the fluid
remains till later in the life of the reservoir. The pressure drop for a gas cap system
therefore declines slowly over the years. The decline will depend on the relative size
of the gas cap to the oil accumulation. A small gas cap would be 10% of the oil volume
whereas a large gas cap would be 50% of the volume.
5000
10
Gas Break
through
Pressure
Oil
Prod
Rate
250
2500
G.O.R
BSW %
20
10
Figure 18
Reservoir performance gas
- cap drive.
0
0
Time-Year
15
1
3.2.4 Water Production, Well Behaviour, Expected Oil Recovery and Well
Locations
Like solution gas drive there should be negligible water production. The life of the
reservoir is largely a function of the size of gas cap but it is likely to be a long flowing
life. The expected oil recovery for such a system is of the order of 20 to 40% of the
original oil-in-place. The well locations, similar to solution gas drive, are such that
the production interval for the wells should be situated away from the gas oil contact
but not too close to the water oil contact to risk water coning.
16
11
Drive Mechanisms
Outcrop
of sand
Oil well
Water flow
Reservoir pressure
Pi
Production
GOR
Rsi
Water production
Figure 19
Producing characteristics
for artesian water drive.
Time
Figure 20 illustrates a more typical water drive reservoir where the drive energy comes
from the compressibility of the aquifer system. In this case if the oil withdrawal rate
is less then the rate of water encroachment from the aquifer then the reservoir pressure
will slowly decline, reflecting the decompression of the total system , the oil reservoir
and the aquifer. Clearly this pressure decline is related to the size of the aquifer. The
larger the aquifer the slower the pressure decline. As with all water drive reservoirs
productivity of the wells remains high resulting from the maintained pressure,
however the productivity of the well to oil reduces as water breakthrough occurs. So
a characteristic of water drive reservoirs is the increasing water production alongside
decreasing oil production.
Pi
Rsi
Figure 20
Producing characteristics
for water drive (confined
aquifer).
Reservoir
pressure
Production
GOR
Water production
Time
17
1
Figure 21 illustrates the rate sensitive aspect of water drive reservoirs. If the oil
withdrawal rate is higher than the water influx rate from the aquifer then the oil
reservoir pressure will drop at a rate greater than would be the case with aquifer
support alone, as the compressibility of the oil reservoirs supports the flow. If this
pressure drops below the bubble point then solution gas drive will occur, as evidenced
by an increase in the gas-oil ratio. Cutting back oil production to a rate to less than the
water encroachment rate restores the system to water drive, with the gas-oil ratio going
back to its undersaturated level.
When two drive mechanisms function as above then we have what is termed
combination drive ( water drive and solution gas drive).
Water drive reservoirs have good pressure support. The decline in oil production is
related to increasing water production as against pressure decline.
2000 10000
BSW
GOR
500
50
250
Reservoir pressure
ratio
Reservoir pressure
0
Oil pressure
GOR
25
Bsw
Water
0
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
PROD
1000 5000
Water production
B/d
psi
Ps
Figure 21
Reservoir performance Water drive.
11
Drive Mechanisms
not available during the exploration and development phase, the characteristics of the
aquifer are only determined once production has been operational and the support
from the aquifer can be calculated from production and pressure data. (History
Matching). Getting such information may require producing a significant proportion
of the formation say 5% of the STOIIP. RFT surveys have provided a very effective
way of determining the aquifer strength as well as the communicating layers of the
formation. Pressure depth surveys taken in an open hole development well after
production has started will give indications of pressure support in the formation
Because water drive, through pressure maintenance provides the most optimistic
recoveries, artificial water drive is often part of the development strategy because of
the uncertainties of the pressure support from the associated aquifer. In the North Sea
for example many reservoirs have associated aquifers. The risk of not knowing either
the extent or activity of the aquifers is such that many operators are using artificial
water drive systems to maintain pressure so that solution gas drive does not occur with
the consequent loss of oil production.
4 SUMMARY
The following summaries and tables give the main features associated with the various
drive mechanisms.
19
1
SOLUTION GAS DRIVE RESERVOIRS
Characteristics
1. Reservoir Pressure
2. Gas/Oil Ratio
3. Production Rate
4. Water Production
5. Well Behaviour
6. Expected Oil Recovery
Trend
Declines rapidly and continuously
First low then rises to a maximum and then
drops
First high, then decreases rapidly and continues
to decline
None
Requires artificial lift at early stages
5-30% of original oil-in-place
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Characteristics
Trend
Reservoir Pressure
Gas/oil ratio
Production Rate
Water Production
Well Behaviour Cap
Expected Oil Recovery
Trend
Remains high
Remains steady
Starts early and increases to appreciable
amounts
Flow until water production gets excessive
up to 60% original oil-in-place.
Figures 22 and 23 give the pressure and gas-oil ratio trends for various drive
mechanism types
20
11
Drive Mechanisms
100
80
Water drive
60
Gas cap drive
40
20
Dissolved
gas drive
0
Figure 22
20
40
60
80
Oil produced - percent of original oil in place
100
Reservoir gas - oil ratio trends for reservoirs under various drives.
5
4 Dissolved
gas drive
1
Water drive
0
Figure 23
20
40
60
80
Oil produced - percent of original oil in place
100
21