Numerical Simulation of the Effect of Reservoir Properties on Oil Production from the Low-Permeability Formation by Extended Reach Wells

Abstract

At present, extended reach wells (ERWs) are widely applied on oil and gas exploitation in numerous reservoirs around the globe, and this is attributed to their superiority in the development of marginal oil and gas fields and cost-effectiveness. Identifying the effects of reservoir properties on production is significant to the operation of ERWs for oil and gas extraction. This work utilizes numerical modeling techniques to simulate the application of ERWs in low-permeability formations. The impacts of low permeability on the oil production and the pressure distribution of the reservoirs with different formation properties are analyzed, and the simulation results of the oil exploitation by ERWs are compared with the oil production and pressure distribution of that by horizontal wells (HWs). A test scheme is designed to analyze the effect of reservoir properties on oil extraction through ERWs and quantify the sensitivity of oil production to reservoir properties. The reservoir properties of formation rock compressibility, formation fluid compressibility, initial reservoir pressure, reservoir saturation pressure, formation porosity, and absolute permeability are studied through 66 ERW cases. The results illustrate that low permeability leads to a fast decrease of oil production rates and significantly uneven pressure distribution. The pressure is lower at the center of the ERW but is higher at both ends of the ERW, while the pressure is evenly distributed along the horizontal well in the HW cases. In addition, the oil production is in direct proportion with the initial reservoir pressure, formation rock compressibility, formation porosity, and formation fluid compressibility but is in an inverse ratio with the reservoir saturation pressure. Furthermore, the initial reservoir pressure has the largest impact on both the total cumulative oil production driven out by natural energy and the cumulative oil production after the development of ten years by natural energy; on the contrary, the absolute permeability has no effect on the total cumulative oil production driven out by natural energy.