Title: New correlation to predict CO2 gas saturation and gas front velocity

Authors: Fathi Boukadi; Amir Pishahang; Racha Trabelsi; Ahmed Temani; Bilel Boukadi; Haithem Trabelsi

Addresses: Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, USA ' BPR Enterprises, Inc., Lafayette, LA, USA ' Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, USA ' Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, USA ' Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, USA ' Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, USA

Abstract: Compositional reservoir simulation sensitivity runs were performed to develop correlations that can be used to predict CO2 gas saturation and gas front velocity in oil reservoirs. These correlations are accurate (with average error of less than 5%) and are easy to use. The correlations can also be applied to a diverse range of reservoir types with different fluid properties, producing under different flow regimes. Eclipse 300 was used to build the simulation models. The models were later tuned to investigate different CO2 and flue gas injection scenarios. Parameters like reservoir shape, injected gas and original fluid in place properties, injection and production rates and pressures among others have been used to develop these correlations. More than 400 different simulation sensitivity runs have been performed. This study showed that the gas saturation in different locations of a reservoir can be predicted accurately. Also, it has been observed that every point of the gas front is moving at a constant velocity and was time independent. Velocity, however, was variable along the gas front.

Keywords: correlation; CO2; carbon dioxide; gas saturation prediction; gas front velocity; compositional reservoir simulation; petroleum engineering; oil reservoirs; fluid flow; modelling; flue gas injection.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPE.2014.064791

International Journal of Petroleum Engineering, 2014 Vol.1 No.2, pp.157 - 176

Received: 23 Sep 2013
Accepted: 23 Jun 2014

Published online: 30 Sep 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article