New Waterflooding Characteristic Curves Based on Cumulative Water Injection

Abstract

When a conventional waterflooding characteristic curve (WFCC) is used to predict cumulative oil production at a certain stage, the curve depends on the predicted water cut at the predicted cutoff point, but forecasting the water cut is very difficult. For the reservoirs whose pressure is maintained by water injection, based on the water-oil phase seepage theory and the principle of material balance, the equations relating the cumulative oil production and cumulative water injection at the moderately high water cut stage and the ultrahigh water cut stage are derived and termed the Yuan-A and Yuan-B curves, respectively. And then, we theoretically analyze the causes of the prediction errors of cumulative oil production by the Yuan-A curve and give suggestions. In addition, at the ultrahigh water cut stage, the Yuan-B water cut prediction formula is established, which can predict the water cut according to the cumulative water injection and solve the difficult problem of water cut prediction. The application results show Yuan-A and Yuan-B curves are applied to forecast oil production based on cumulative water injection data obtained by the balance of injection and production, avoiding reliance on the water cut forecast and solving the problems of predicting the cumulative oil production of producers or reservoirs that have not yet shown the decline rule. Furthermore, the formulas are simple and convenient, providing certain guiding significance for the prediction of cumulative oil production and water cut for the same reservoir types.