Foam-EOR method in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs: Mechanism analysis and injection parameter study

Fractured vuggy carbonate reservoirs in the Tahe Oilfield, China, have many diverse and unevenly distributed reservoir spaces. These spaces mainly consist of corrosion pores, high-density fractures, and large vugs. Reservoir development began with natural energy and pressure maintenance methods. However, a rapid rise of the water cut always led to poor oil production. Gas enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has shown notable improvement in the Tahe Oilfield; however, the recovery efficiency was limited by gas channeling. In this paper, a two-dimensional (2D) physical model was developed for a more detailed visual of the flow characteristics and the effect of the injection parameters (i.e., the injection rate, the injection slug size, the injection timing and the injection position) were evaluated. Water flooding can produce a certain amount of oil; however, the remaining oil types are the same as those found during the bottom water invasion period, that is, attic oil, bypass oil, and oil films. A better approach is N2 flooding, which can replace the attic oil at the top of the vug by gravitational differentiation. An even better method is N2 foam flooding. When the injection volume of N2 foam reached a certain level, foams accumulated in the flow channels, decreased fluid mobility, inhibited the gas channeling, and expanded sweep efficiency. Moreover, the N2 foam had excellent effects on oil film stripping, crude oil emulsification, and carrying oil droplets, thereby improving the microscopic displacement efficiency. In addition, the results of injection parameter effect can help researchers and reservoir engineers better understand and implement the foam-EOR method in the fractured vuggy carbonate reservoirs.