Modeling of the effect of oil viscosity on cyclic flooding of oil reservoirs

The depletion of low-viscosity and light oils forces producers to increase the development of heavy and highly viscous oils. However, traditional steady waterflooding often prove ineffective for reservoirs containing such oils. Therefore, there is a need to find inexpensive and efficient methods to improve oil recovery from these reservoirs. Cyclic waterflooding method has two main benefits: almost zero implementation cost and ease of application. This method has been widely utilized since the late 1950s in oil fields globally, including regions in Russia (Western Siberia, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Samara region, and Perm Territory), China, the United States, and the Czech Republic.This study examines the effectiveness of two variants of cyclic waterflooding for developing reservoirs with oils of different viscosities.The aim of this paper is to understand how oil viscosity affects oil saturation distribution within the reservoir and the overall efficiency of cyclic waterflooding.The results of the study include an analysis of oil viscosity effects on development strategies for a two-dimensional synthetic reservoir model. These results are crucial for selecting suitable sites for cyclic waterflooding in specific oil fields.The study shows that combining cyclic water injection with injection wells and periodic forced liquid withdrawal from production wells is the most effective modification of cyclic waterflooding. This modification facilitates the efficient development of reservoirs containing highly viscous oil.

cyclic water flooding, oil saturation, oil viscosity, asynchronous cyclic flooding, stationary water flooding, capillary water retention