Kwame Nkrumah University of

Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

PRINCIPLES OF WATER FLOODING

BOTCHWAY DOE
 DRIVE MECHANISMS

PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY (EOR)

• PRIMARY DRIVE INNEFICIENT

• SUPPLEMENT WITH SECONDARY DRIVE WATERFLOODING

• PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DRIVE CAN BE PERFORMED

CONCURRENTLY
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 FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN WATERFLOODING
 Reservoir geometry

 Fluid properties

 Reservoir depth

 Lithology and rock properties

 Fluid saturations

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 FLOOD PATTERNS
In general, the selection of a suitable flooding pattern for the reservoir
depends on the number and location of existing wells.

 Irregular injection patterns

 Peripheral injection patterns

 Regular injection patterns

 Crestal and basal injection patterns

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PERIPHERAL INJECTION PATTERN

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REGULAR FLOOD PATTERNS

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CRESTAL AND BASAL INJECTIONS

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 OVERALL RECOVERY EFFICIENCY
X X
RF = Recovery Factor
= Displacement Efficiency
= Areal Sweep Efficiency
= Vertical Sweep Efficiency

 The displacement efficiency is the fraction of movable oil that has been displaced from
the swept zone at any given time or pore volume injected

 The areal sweep efficiency is the fractional area of the pattern that is swept by the
displacing fluid.

 The vertical sweep efficiency is the fraction of the vertical section of the pay zone that is
contacted by injected fluids
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 DISPLACEMENT EFFICIENCY

The displacement efficiency reaches its maximum when the average oil saturation in the
area of the flood pattern is reduced to the residual oil saturation Sor or, equivalently, when
Sw = 1 – Sor.

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 DISPLACEMENT EFFICIENCY
 The displacement Efficiency will continually increase with increasing
water saturation in the reservoir. The problem lies with developing an
approach for determining the increase in the average water
saturation in the swept area as a function of cumulative water
injected (or injection time).

 Buckley and Leverett (1942) developed a well established theory, called

the frontal displacement theory, which provides the basis for
establishing such a relationship. This classic theory consists of two
equations:
 Fractional flow equation
 Frontal advance equation
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 FRACTIONAL FLOW EQUATION
FOR TWO IMMISCIBLE FLUIDS;

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FRACTIONAL FLOW EQUATION

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FRACTIONAL FLOW EQUATION

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 FRACTIONAL FLOW EQUATION
 In general, any influences that cause the fractional flow curve to shift upward will result in a less
efficient displacement process.
 for any two immiscible fluids, e.g., water and oil, the fraction of the oil (oil cut) fo flowing at any
point in the reservoir is given by:

 The above expression indicates that during the displacement of oil by waterflood, an increase in fw
at any point in the reservoir will cause a proportional decrease in fo and oil mobility.
 Therefore, the objective is to select the proper injection scheme that could possibly reduce the water
fractional flow.
 This can be achieved by investigating the effect of the injected water viscosity, formation dip angle,
and water-injection rate on the water cut. www.knust.edu.gh
EFFECTS OF WATER AND OIL VISCOSITES

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EFFECTS OF DIP ANGLE AND INJECTION RATE

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EFFECTS OF DIP ANGLE AND INJECTION RATE

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 EFFECTS OF DIP ANGLE AND INJECTION RATE

The above expression shows that the possibility exists that the water cut fw could reach a value greater
than unity (fw > 1) if:

 This could only occur when displacing the oil downdip at a low waterinjection rate.
 The resulting effect of this possibility is called a counterflow, where the oil phase is moving in a
direction opposite to that of the water (i.e., oil is moving upward and the water downward).
 When the water injection wells are located at the top of a tilted formation, the injection rate must be
high to avoid oil migration to the top of the formation.

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 FRONTAL ADVANCE EQUATION
 The fractional flow equation is used to determine the water cut fw at any point in the
reservoir, assuming that the water saturation at the point is known.

 The frontal advance equation is designed to determine the water saturation profile in the
reservoir at any given time during water injection.

 Buckley and Leverett (1942) presented what is recognized as the basic equation for
describing two-phase, immiscible displacement in a linear system.

 The equation is derived based on developing a material balance for the displacing fluid as
it flows through any given element in the porous media

 Volume entering the element – Volume leaving the element = change in fluid volume

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 FRONTAL ADVANCE EQUATION
 Consider a differential element of porous media having a differential length dx, an area A,
and a porosity φ. During a differential time period dt
 Volume of water entering the element = qt fw dt
 Volume of water leaving the element = qt (fw – dfw) dt

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 FRONTAL ADVANCE EQUATION
Subtracting the above two expressions gives the accumulation of the water volume within the
element in terms of the differential changes of the saturation dfw:
qt fw dt – qt (fw – dfw) dt = Aφ (dx) (dSw)/5.615

The above relationship suggests that the velocity of any specific water saturation Sw is
directly proportional to the value of the slope of the fw vs. Sw curve, evaluated at Sw.

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FRONTAL ADVANCE EQUATION

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