Khalifa University of Science and Technology

Enhanced Oil Recovery (PEEG 632)

EOR Field Project - ASP

Dr. Emad Walid Al-Shalabi

Mursal Zeynalli (100053580)
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................3

LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................5
GEOLOGY ......................................................................................................................................5

WELL PATTERN ...........................................................................................................................5

IMPLEMENTATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION ..................................................6

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................6
TABLES AND FIGURES ...............................................................................................................7
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................8

2
 LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Pu I 33 Permeability Distribution...................................................................................... 7

3
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Remaining Oil Distribution. ............................................................................................ 7
Figure 2: Well Pattern and Location ............................................................................................... 7
Figure 3: Actual Injection Scheme ................................................................................................. 8

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 Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) Flooding Field Test Using Horizontal Wells:
Commented [EWAS1]: You should have included here
Design, Implementation and Evaluation more details on the paper, authors, year, type of paper
(conference vs. Journal), and even conference or journal
name.

Introduction I have noticed later that you included that in the references
list!
Being one of the most promising types of Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (CEOR) techniques, Alkali-
Commented [EWAS2]: You should have provided a 10-
surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding may improve both volumetric and displacement efficiencies as a result years literature review on the field applications of ASP!

of the integrated synergy of particular components of the injected fluid. In addition to higher incremental
oil recovery, it is also accepted that the retention of chemicals in porous media during ASP flooding is
considerably reduced. Considering all the advantages, it is not surprising that this EOR method has recently
become one of the recommended techniques for field application. Daqing oilfield in China is an example
where the ASP flooding has been widely tested and implemented at a commercial scale. Furthermore,
besides the conventional vertical well ASP (VASP), in Daqing field, ASP technique has also been tested in
horizontal wells (HASP) to estimate the combined effect from EOR technology and well geometry. This
field study characterizes the ASP flooding in a horizontal type of wells and reveals that the Incremental oil
recovery factor (IORF) for HASP is 10% higher than that of VASP. Moreover, the water cut decrease is
thought to be also improved and reduced by about 3.7% from VASP. One of the main factors increasing
the recovery factor for HASP is considered the production of gravity caused remaining oil in the upper
layers. Commented [EWAS3]: This is not clear and has not been
explained later in the description.

Geology Commented [EWAS4]: Is it sandstone or carbonate in

terms of lithology?
Xinshugang field in Daqing where HASP has been conducted is mostly flat with more than 200 faults. The
primary layers are Pu I 1-3 that have superior petrophysical properties suitable for ASP application. The
cumulative original oil in place (OOIP) for all Pu I 1-3 is about 19 millions of barrels, and Pu I 33 accounting
for half of this OOIP is considered as the key target for HASP. Moreover, the Pu I 33 section is related to
the sedimentation of the high-curvature diversion channel that consists of multiple interbeds, according to
infill drilling data. Table 1 shows the permeability of the target layer. Average porosity is about 27%,
reservoir temperature is 40 °C, the oil density and viscosity are 0.8519 g/ml cc and 10 cpP, respectively.

Well Pattern

According to the coring data collected from various wells, only about 5% of the average layer thickness in
Pu I 1-3 was not flooded by water. Figure 1 illustrates that remaining bypassed oil in the upper sections of

5
the layers. In order to figure out the most efficient well pattern, the numerical and simulation studies have
been conducted before the field trial HASP. Consequently, horizontal well injection-horizontal well
production (HIHP) was selected among other five well combinations as the case with the highest final oil
recovery and water cut reduction, eventually leading to better economics. Horizontal well ASP (HASP)
was implemented in the block that was already developed with infill drilling of vertical wells. Figure 2
represents five horizontal (2 injectors and 3 producers) and vertical wells in the area. HWs and pink VWs
on the figure were drilled for Pu I 33, while green VWs represent ASP wells for Pu I 1-2. The well spacing
between a horizontal producer and horizontal injector was limited to 200 m.

Implementation and Performance Evaluation

Figure 3 comprehensively describes the actual injection scheme for HASP. It comprises of four stages:
pre-slug, main ASP slug, vice ASP slug, and post-slug. HASP started in May 2008 and resulted in 29.66% Commented [EWAS5]: What are the types of surfactant,
polymer, and alkali used?
of incremental oil recovery factor (IORF). Moreover, the breakthrough of chemicals was observed Also, this design is different from that covered in class! Why
comparatively later in HASP than in VASP, in addition to higher injectivity index. Although polymer did they start with polymer as pre-slug, then two ASP slugs,
and lastly polymer post-slug!
viscosity and concentration during HASP were higher than in VASP, the difference between the injection
Commented [EWAS6]: It was in the tertiary right?
pressures was negligible. It was kept 1 MPa lower than formation partition pressure; however, it did not How much did they recover from waterflooding?

guarantee that no fractures would appear during injection due to sedimentation heterogeneity. Commented [EWAS7]: Why did they change the polymer
viscosity in the horizontal design compared to the vertical
design?

Conclusion

Overall, the horizontal well alkali-surfactant-polymer (HASP) flooding is reported to have 10% higher oil
recovery than most of the conventional vertical ASP wells in the same field. It also results in higher water
cut decrease, improved injection and production capacity. However, geological uncertainties should be first
analyzed and overcome to implement the HASP project successfully, especially in this type of high-
curvature fluvial facies sedimentation that incorporates multiple interbeds.

The authors of this study mostly rely on the results from previous studies. There are some parts of
this particular work that contradict each other. Moreover, it would be better if the figures would be more Commented [EWAS8]: Give me examples of that!!
precise and with better quality. In order to confirm the effectiveness of this method with horizontal wells
(HASP), more field tests should be conducted in the same area, as a thorough economic assessment of this
technique was not reported in this study. Although the study does not contain very detailed information, the
data reported still might be useful for future studies, both experimental and numerical.

6
Tables and Figures

Table 1: Pu I 33 Permeability Distribution (Guo et al., 2020).

Figure 1: Remaining Oil Distribution (Guo et al., 2020).

Figure 2: Well Pattern and Location (Guo et al., 2020).

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 Figure 3: Actual Injection Scheme (modified after Guo et al., 2020). Commented [EWAS9]: This is a table and not a figure!

References
Guo, H., D., Jiang, G., Zhang, J., Hou, J., Song, K., and Song, Q., 2020 Alkali-Surfactant-
Polymer ASP Flooding Field Test Using Horizontal Wells: Design, Implementation and
Evaluation. Paper SPE-200323-MS, SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference, virtual due to
COVID-19.