Abstract
The relative partitioning of CO2 during and after CO2 injection in a CO2-EOR process is affected by several parameters. While many geological properties cannot be changed in a specific hydrocarbon (HC) reservoir, it could be shown that an intelligent selection of CO2 injection strategy improves both the incremental oil recovery and CO2 storage capacity and security. Therefore, we investigated and discussed the partitioning of CO2 among different phases (oil, gas, and brine) after two well-known CO2 inejction schemes using field-scale compositional reservoir flow modeling in the SACROC (Scurry Area Canyon Reef Operators Committee) unit, Permian Basin. First, we used a high-resolution geocellular model, which was constructed from wireline logs, seismic surveys, core data, and stratigraphic interpretation. As the initial distribution of fluids plays an important role in CO2 partitioning, a comprehensive pressure-production history matching of primary, secondary, and tertiary recovery was completed. The hysteresis model was used to calculate the amount of CO2 trapped as residual. CO2 solubility into brine was verified based on previous experiments. The model results showed a new understanding of relative CO2 partitioning in porous media after a CO2-EOR process. We compared the contribution of CO2 trapping mechanisms and the sweep efficiency of Walter-Alternating-Gas (WAG) and Continous-Gas-Injection (CGI). We found that WAG injection showed a significantly superior behaviour over CGI. WAG not only decreased the amount of mobile CO2 (structural trapping), but also resulted in a competitive incremental oil recovery in comparison with CGI. Thus, clearly WAG injection ispreferred as it strongly enhances CO2 storage efficiency and containment security. The present work provides valuable insights for optimizing oil production and CO2 storage in carbonate reservoirs like SACROC unit. In other words, this work helps decision makers to set storage goals based on optimized project risks.
