A Comparative Study of Enhanced Oil Recovery for the Depleted Oil field in Iraq: A Simulation Modes Using Eclipse software

Abstract

Reservoir simulation is the combination of physics, mathematics, reservoir engineering and computer programming that can predict hydrocarbon reservoir performances under various operating conditions. History matching is one of the most important activities during the development and management of petroleum reservoirs. Matched models are fundamental to ensure reliable future forecasts, and give an idea of the level of understanding of the geological and reservoir model. This research is a simulation study to improve total oil production using water and polymer flooding method based on simulation model of the Thi-Qar field. A simulation study was performed on a recently discovered the Thi-Qar field oil field. Thi-Qar Field/ Uruk-1 reservoir was chosen as a model for the Iraqi oil fields to experience experiment with enhanced oil recovery methods and choosing the best possible way to produce crude from these reservoir. The best Enhanced oil recovery methods available in Uruk-1 reservoir were chosen. Five different cases of production were created using a (Eclipse simulator program) and then compared against each other. These cases included the change in permeability, Increased cross-sectional area away from wells, kv/kh , Barriers preventing vertical flow and the injection Polymer. The objectives of this study are choosing the best enhanced oil recovery methods are applied in the Iraqi oil fields By using a small reservoir of the field model, three layers with a different permeability layer with 15 layers of grid cells, distributed over 3 geological layers were studied with one injector and one producer. The first four case 3 studies based to research optimal distance within them in hydrocarbon production, water breakthrough and possible sweep area. The location of the area was varied relatively. The results showed that in regions where in optimal distance i reservoirs are chacterized with relatively equal permeability, but this distance is some times affected by barriers like shale and faults. But, permeability variations resulted less effect than expected. The fifth case study is polymer flooding has shown a better outcome in comparison with water flooding project. The light crude oil has a slight effect on the increase in production energy because the viscosity of oil is neutral so the polymer is not impact on the total of oil field production. The viscosity of oil five times to whiten the effect of the polymer as they are in different properties and through this that the polymer has a high impact in the case of a reservoir containing high viscosity oil.