Study on the Production Mode of Horizontal Well from Water Huff and Puff to Segmented Injection and Production in Tight Reservoir

Abstract

Water huff and puff in horizontal wells in tight reservoirs has achieved good results in replenishing formation energy. However, after multiple rounds of treatment, a rapid decrease in formation pressure takes place making it difficult to maintain stable production. To improve the oil recovery rate of tight reservoirs, it is imminent to change the development mode. In this work, the stress distribution characteristics at fracture tips were analyzed based on Irwin theory and elastic theory. A model of propagation and closure length of fractures was established based on the propagation mechanism of water injection-induced natural fracture and the energy balance principle of fracture mechanics. Surfactant imbibition experiments were carried out according to the imbibition principle of surfactant system, and the propagation law of natural fractures was described with numerical simulation to analyze the seepage characteristics of dynamic fracture network. On the basis of the above works, alternating water huff and puff into segmented injection and production was proposed according to the distribution law of dynamic fracture network. The developing process of an actual well case by these two developing modes was simulated to predict 18 years of cumulative recovery, pressure distribution, and recovery rate. Results showed that when stress intensity factor exceeds the fracture toughness, the natural fractures will extend along their original directions and get connected, forming an irregular fracture network. The lengths of fractures after propagation and closure will not bring about water channeling for they are far shorter than well and interval spacing. Surfactant could diminish the resistance of boundary layer by reducing the wetting contact angle, ending up with an improvement in imbibition efficiency. Radial displacement and dynamic imbibition occur simultaneously in a dynamic fracture network during the early stage of water injection, while static imbibition mainly occurs during injection shutdown period and well soaking. According to comparison, the swept area of segmented injection and production was larger, ending up with a continuous increase of simulated recovery rate and cumulative recovery. The findings of this study show alternating water huff and puff after to segmented injection and production in fractured tight reservoir can allow full play of dynamic fracture network’s potential and achieve effective enhancement in oil recovery rate.