Life Cycle Optimization of CO2 Huff ’n’ Puff in Shale Oil Reservoir Coupling Carbon Tax and Embedded Discrete Fracture Model

Abstract

Summary Amidst escalating environmental pressures, energy-intensive industries, particularly the oil and gas sector, are compelled to transition toward sustainable and low-carbon operations, adhering to the constraints of the environmental economy. While conventional reservoirs have been extensively developed, unconventional reservoirs, such as shale reservoirs, are poised to be the focal point in the future. Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR), a potent development tool proven effective in shale reservoirs, offers substantial carbon storage potential while significantly augmenting production. However, prior studies have solely optimized shale oil CO2-EOR production based on a singular optimization algorithm with net present value (NPV) as the objective function. In this study, we propose a novel NPV concept incorporating a carbon tax, which incorporates carbon taxes regulated by governments or organizations, thereby guiding carbon offsetting in oil reservoirs. We employ the embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) approach to strike a balance between the accuracy of shale reservoir fracture simulation and computational efficiency, thereby enhancing timely technical guidance in the field. Subsequently, we compare the existing mainstream reservoir optimization algorithms and introduce a novel life cycle CO2 huff ’n’ puff (HnP) optimization workflow based on low-carbon NPV. The optimized NPV of the target reservoir witnessed an increase of 116.30%, while the optimization time was reduced by 89.47%, and the CO2 storage capacity was augmented by 12.58%. The workflow accelerates the simulation of the CO2 HnP in shale reservoirs, optimizing the production efficiency and CO2 storage capacity of shale reservoirs, and facilitating comprehensive and efficient production guidance for the production site.