Events

Below are the details for the Claude R. Hocott Lectureship in Petroleum Engineering for this coming Monday: 

Speakers:  

Pengpeng Qi, Graduate Student & SPE International Contest Presenter (MS Division) – SPE ATCE 2016 (Dubai, UAE)

Yifei Xu, Graduate Student & SPE International Contest Presenter (PhD Division) – SPE ATCE 2016 (Dubai, UAE)

Abstract of Talks

Pengpeng Qi - “Reduction of Residual Oil Saturation in Sandstone Cores using Viscoelastic Polymers”

Water-based polymers are often used to improve oil recovery by increasing sweep efficiency. However, recent laboratory and field work has suggested these polymers, which are often viscoelastic, may also reduce residual oil saturation. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of viscoelastic polymers on residual oil saturation in Bentheimer sandstones and identify conditions and mechanisms for the improved recovery. Bentheimer sandstones were saturated with a heavy oil (120cP) and then waterflooded to residual oil saturation using brine followed by an inelastic Newtonian fluid (diluted glycerin). These floods were followed by injection of a viscoelastic polymer, hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). Significant reduction in residual oil was observed for all core floods performed at constant pressure drop when the polymer had significant elasticity (determined by the dimensionless Deborah number, NDe). All experiments at constant pressure drop indicate polymer viscoelasticity reduces the residual oil saturation. Results from CT scans further support these observations. A correlation between Deborah number and residual oil saturation is also presented.

 Yifei Xu -  “Discrete Fracture Modeling of Complex Hydraulic Fracture Geometries in Reservoir Simulators”

Hydraulic fracturing is a dominant technology in unconventional resources development. Recent advances in fracture diagnostic tools and fracture propagation models make it necessary to model fractures with complex geometries in reservoir simulation studies. In this talk, we present an efficient method to model fractures with complex geometries in reservoir simulators. Through non-neighboring connections (NNCs), an embedded discrete fracture modeling (EDFM) formulation is developed in order that fractures with complex geometries such as fracture networks and nonplanar hydraulic fractures be modeled properly in the simulator. We demonstrate the accuracy of the approach by performing several case studies using a commercial reservoir simulator and comparing the results with those of a local grid refinement model and a semi-analytical solution. In addition, the results show the computational efficiency of the developed method as the complexity of fractures increases. We also present a numerical case study to demonstrate the applicability of the method in simulation of naturally fractured reservoirs.