Huff-N-Puff Gas Injection for Enhanced Condensate Recovery in Eagle Ford

Ganjdanesh, Reza; Yu, Wei; Fiallos-Torres, Mauricio; Sepehrnoori, Kamy; Kerr, Erich; Ambrose, Raymond

doi:10.2118/195996-ms

Cited by 12 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 24 publications

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“…Most studies [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] on huff-n-puff simulation in shale reservoirs are focused on operational parameters control during huff-n-puff, including injection rate, injection time, injection pressure, soaking time, production time, flowing bottom-hole pressure (BHP), and number of huff-n-puff cycles. Chen et al [21] studied the effect of reservoir heterogeneity on CO 2 huff-n-puff in shale oil reservoirs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compositional Simulation of Geological and Engineering Controls on Gas Huff-n-Puff in Duvernay Shale Volatile Oil Reservoirs, Canada

Kong

Wang

et al. 2021

Energies

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Duvernay shale is a world class shale deposit with a total resource of 440 billion barrels oil equivalent in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). The volatile oil recovery factors achieved from primary production are much lower than those from the gas-condensate window, typically 5–10% of original oil in place (OOIP). The previous study has indicated that huff-n-puff gas injection is one of the most promising enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods in shale oil reservoirs. In this paper, we built a comprehensive numerical compositional model in combination with the embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) method to evaluate geological and engineering controls on gas huff-n-puff in Duvernay shale volatile oil reservoirs. Multiple scenarios of compositional simulations of huff-n-puff gas injection for the proposed twelve parameters have been conducted and effects of reservoir, completion and depletion development parameters on huff-n-puff are evaluated. We concluded that fracture conductivity, natural fracture density, period of primary depletion, and natural fracture permeability are the most sensitive parameters for incremental oil recovery from gas huff-n-puff. Low fracture conductivity and a short period of primary depletion could significantly increase the gas usage ratio and result in poor economical efficiency of the gas huff-n-puff process. Sensitivity analysis indicates that due to the increase of the matrix-surface area during gas huff-n-puff process, natural fractures associated with hydraulic fractures are the key controlling factors for gas huff-n-puff in Duvernay shale oil reservoirs. The range for the oil recovery increase over the primary recovery for one gas huff-n-puff cycle (nearly 2300 days of production) in Duvernay shale volatile oil reservoir is between 0.23 and 0.87%. Finally, we proposed screening criteria for gas huff-n-puff potential areas in volatile oil reservoirs from Duvernay shale. This study is highly meaningful and can give valuable reference to practical works conducting the huff-n-puff gas injection in both Duvernay and other shale oil reservoirs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compositional Simulation of Geological and Engineering Controls on Gas Huff-n-Puff in Duvernay Shale Volatile Oil Reservoirs, Canada

Kong

Wang

et al. 2021

Energies

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Phase Behavior in Nanopores and Its Indication for Cyclic Gas Injection in a Volatile Oil Reservoir from Duvernay Shale

Kong

Wang

et al. 2022

Lithosphere

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Duvernay shale spans over 6 million acres with a total resource of 440 billion barrels’ oil equivalent in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). The oil recovery factors typically decrease with the decreasing of gas-oil ratio (GOR) in oil window of Duvernay shale. The volatile oil recovery factors are typically 5–10%. Enhanced oil recovery technologies should be applied to improve the economics of the reservoirs. In this paper, the volatile oil from the Duvernay shale was taken as an example for phase behavior study. We analyzed the nanopore confinement on phase behavior and physical properties of Duvernay shale oil. The shift of critical properties was quantified within nanopores. With the confinement of nanopores, the viscosity, density, and bubble point pressure of the oil decrease with the shrinking of the pore size. Minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) was calculated for different injected gases. The MMP from high to low is N2>CH4>lean gas>rich gas>CO2. In the case of injecting the same gas component, the MMP decreases as the pore size decreases. The wellhead rich gas is suggested to be the main gas source for gas injection in Duvernay shale. The formation pressure should be rapidly increased to the MMP and maintained close to it, which would help to improve the effect of gas injection and enhance shale oil recovery. This paper can provide critical insights for the research of shale oil gas injection for enhanced oil recovery.

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Optimization of Recovery by Huff ‘n’ Puff Gas Injection in Shale-Oil Reservoirs Using the Climbing-Swarm Derivative-Free Algorithm

Olusola

Orozco

Aguilera

2020

SPE Reservoir Evaluation &Amp; Engineering

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Summary Recent improved-oil-recovery and enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) methods in shale reservoirs use huff ‘n’ puff gas injection (H&P). Investigating the technical and economic impact of this technology for one well is challenging and time consuming, and even more so when the petroleum company is planning H&P and refracturing (RF) jobs in multiple wells. Thus, in this paper we present an original methodology to learn how to perform these tasks faster and at lower cost to improve oil recovery. The procedure is explained with the use of an actual H&P gas-injection pilot horizontal well in the Eagle Ford Shale, the performance of which is matched using the methodology developed in this paper. The methodology includes use of an original climbing-swarm (CS) derivative-free algorithm that drives, without human intervention, desktop computer or laptop material-balance (MatBal) and net-present-value (NPV) calculations. The code was written in open-source Python programming language. Following history match, the methodology demonstrates that significant improvements in oil recovery can be obtained by injecting gas at larger rates during shorter periods of time (as opposed to injecting gas at lower rates during longer periods of time). Once oil-recovery improvement in a pilot horizontal well is demonstrated, the methodology is extended to the analysis of H&P gas injection and RF in horizontal wells and shale reservoirs that have not yet been developed or are in initial stages of development; this provides a preliminary assessment of H&P and RF potential. Results indicate that oil recovery and NPV from multiple wells can be improved significantly by a strategic combination of H&P gas injection and RF. A combination of derivative-free optimization algorithms, MatBal calculations, and NPVs permits optimizing when to start the H&P gas-injection project, the optimum gas-injection rates (GIRs) and time span of injection, the reservoir pressure at which gas injection should be started in each cycle, and the time span during which the well should produce oil, before starting a new cycle of gas injection. The development strategy of shale-oil reservoirs could be improved significantly if the possibility of H&P gas injection is considered before field development. This could be the case of the Eagle Ford Shale in Mexico, La Luna Shale in Colombia and Venezuela, Vaca Muerta Shale in Argentina, and other shale-oil reservoirs worldwide. The paper contributes the development of an original methodology, which includes use of a derivative-free algorithm we call CS. CS drives the desktop computer or laptop to perform MatBal and NPV calculations, without human intervention, once the optimization process is started. The methodology improves oil recovery and NPV from a single horizontal well or from multiple horizontal wells operating under H&P gas injection.

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Huff-N-Puff Gas Injection for Enhanced Condensate Recovery in Eagle Ford

Cited by 12 publications

References 24 publications

Compositional Simulation of Geological and Engineering Controls on Gas Huff-n-Puff in Duvernay Shale Volatile Oil Reservoirs, Canada

Compositional Simulation of Geological and Engineering Controls on Gas Huff-n-Puff in Duvernay Shale Volatile Oil Reservoirs, Canada

Phase Behavior in Nanopores and Its Indication for Cyclic Gas Injection in a Volatile Oil Reservoir from Duvernay Shale

Optimization of Recovery by Huff ‘n’ Puff Gas Injection in Shale-Oil Reservoirs Using the Climbing-Swarm Derivative-Free Algorithm

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