Numerical simulation of oil production with simultaneous ground subsidence

Journal Article · Wed Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1975 · Soc. Pet. Eng. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2118/4847-PA· OSTI ID:7360312

Finol, A ^[1]; Farouq Ali, S M

---

1. Univ. of Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela

A two-phase, two-dimensional black oil simulator was developed for simulating reservoir production behavior with simultaneously occurring reservoir formation compaction and ground subsidence at the surface. The flow equations were solved by both alternating direction implicit procedure and strongly implicit procedure. Reservoir compaction was described on the basis of the experimental data reported. The magnitude of areal subsidence at the surface was calculated using reservoir compacon, utilizing the recently developed theory of poroelasticity. Computer runs were used to generate a variety of data, such as reservoir pressure variation with oil production, for different reservoir compaction coefficients. It was found that the average reservoir pressure increased with the compaction coefficient for a given cumulative oil production. The model was used for generating the reservoir formation profiles, as well as the ground subsidence bowls for a variety of conditions. It was found that the subsidence behavior strongly depends on the depth of burial. For example, with an increase in the depth, the reservoir bottom surface may actually uplift, while the top surface subsides. The model was also used for studying the effect of subsidence on pressure buildup behavior. The calculated reservoir pressure was highter in a compacting that in a noncompacting reservoir, taking into account the variation of permeability with compaction. Another phase studied was the effect of rebound on reservoir performance when gas is injected into the formation. Even though rebound is small in practice (on the order of 10 percent of subsidence), the effect was clearly evident in the reservoir pressure-production behavior. However, when there was no rebound, gas injection simply inhibited compaction.Finally, the model was used for simulating the reported oil production and subsidence history of one of the Bolivar Coast oil fields in the Western Venezuela.

• OSTI ID: 7360312
• Journal Information: Soc. Pet. Eng. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Soc. Pet. Eng. J.; (United States) Vol. 15:5; ISSN SPTJA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300 -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
020900* -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GROUND SUBSIDENCE
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
PRODUCTION
SIMULATION
WELLS