Application of foamy mineral oil flow under solution gas drive to a field crude oil

Heavy oil Flow in the form of foamy oil under solution gas drive is widely observed in many Canadian reservoirs. Despite the importance of such phenomenon, complexity involved in foamy oil flow in porous media is not well understood. Series of numerical simulations were performed to model experiments that were carried out in a two meter long Sand pack to investigate the conditions required to increase oil production under solution gas drive mechanism. Through these experiments the solution gas drive performance at different depletion rates were analyzed. Creation of foamy heavy oil is thought to be responsible for higher recovery factors compared to what is expected from the conventional solution gas drive theory. However, the complex nature of foamy oil and different transport parameters are yet to be understood. The results of this study can be used to numerically model foamy-oil mechanism in heavy oil reservoirs. Furthermore, the results can be applied for reservoir production optimization as well as management. A new model has been developed using commercial numerical simulator, computer modeling group, (CMG-STARSTM). By using the experimental data, different experimental production histories have been matched. Effect of different parameters such as fluid and reservoir properties and depletion rate on foamy oil recovery have been evaluated. The results reveal that despite many difficulties, foamy oil flow through porous media can be numerically modeled. However these models will strongly depend on a good understanding of many different parameters including rock-fluid interaction, as well as the depletion rates. Given the complex nature of such systems, this numerical model can be used to simulate and predict the oil and gas production from heavy oil reservoirs under foamy oil conditions.