Performance Prediction of Gel Water Shutoff in Horizontal Wells Using a Newly Coupled Reservoir–Wellbore Model

Abstract

Water shutojf is a commonly used method to mitigate the early breakthrough in horizontal wells. Gel is frequently used as an effective water shutoff agent in mature fields, especially for horizontal wells in recent years. However, the relevant water shutoff prediction model lacks the accurate physical description of the gelation phenomenon. Using the conventional model, which simply accounts for the gelation mechanisms, does not allow us to predict the horizontal wells performance correctly. In this paper, a newly coupled reservoir-wellbore model for horizontal wells gel water shutoff prediction is presented. A conventional gel simulator is used to simulate the gel injection process in the reservoir and then modified to predict the horizontal well performance after the treatment. The time-varying residual resistance factor model and viscosity model is developed to simulate the gel degradation process. Especially, the wellbore pressure drop calculation takes account for the non-Newtonian behavior during and after the get injection. An explicit modular coupled scheme, which consists of reservoir modular and wellbore modular, is adopted to numerically predict the horizontal wells performance. The newly presented method not only simulates the gel injection process but also predict the water shut off performance in horizontal wells. A field horizontal water shutoff case prediction shows that the coupled modeling method can give satisfactory results to guide the water shutoff treatment.

Controlling excess water production in fractured carbonate reservoirs: chemical zonal protection design

“…Though the techniques found merits in theory and laboratory tests, in field trials, most of them are found to be either ineffective or damaging. It is believed that, since gels are water-based solutions, they would preferentially enter high water-saturated zones (Chauveteau 2004;Xianchao et al 2014). However, in detail analysis, it is seen that the gelant penetration distances were not much different in high oil and high water-saturated zones (Liang et al 1993).…”

A Review of Recent Developments in Nanomaterial Agents for Water Shutoff in Hydrocarbon Wells

“…The existing coupled models simplify the gel blocking effects and do not capture the complete dynamic interactions involved. 153,157,158 Despite the availability of numerical simulation tools for designing water shutoff treatments, there exists a gap between prediction accuracy and field performance due to inadequate consideration of fluid composition and reservoir properties during the design and optimization stage. Consequently, this can significantly impact the efficiency of the treatment and, eventually, the project's economic viability.…”

“…The current state-of-the-art in coupled modeling does not fully address or integrate these two key aspects. The existing coupled models simplify the gel blocking effects and do not capture the complete dynamic interactions involved. ,, …”

“…Xianchao 153 et al predicted the water shutoff performance in horizontal wells utilizing the gel flow physics during and after gel treatment by modifying the personal computer gel (PCGEL) simulator that involves black oil and in situ gel models. The degradation process of the gel was considered using viscosity and time-varying residual resistance factor (RRF) models.…”

“…The existing coupled models simplify the gel blocking effects and do not capture the complete dynamic interactions involved. 153 , 157 , 158 …”