Probabilistic numerical simulation of fields subjected to water injection processes in Ecuador

Abstract

The study is a descriptive-experimental analysis that evaluates studies the waterflooding processes implemented in the fields of Ecuador, executed to maintain the reservoir pressure and/or generate the sweeping of oil banks. In the study, an evaluation of the secondary processes was implemented with the static and dynamic properties of the reservoirs, which allowed the construction of a statistical analysis, where it was determined that there are 53 projects implemented in 39 different fields, evaluated in 13 reservoirs of Ecuador. In this work, four conceptual numerical simulation models were built based on Waterflooding processes for the reservoirs: Basal Tena, M1, U inferior, and T inferior, which represent 75.47% of all the projects executed in the country, to generate a sensitivity analysis that allowed evaluating the increase in the recovery factor through simulation. Probabilistic numerical simulation results identify that the interaction between low injection flow rates and viscosity produces a greater increase in the recovery factor in water injection processes, where the M1 and lower T reservoirs generate the highest incremental oil recovery factor with a value of 25.4% and 25.5% respectively. The economic evaluation was based on financial indicators such as sales price, cost per barrel produced, and cost per incremental barrel. The parameters that generate the greatest impact on the net present value (NPV) are viscosity and injection flow.