The Enhanced Oil Recovery Effect of Nitrogen-Assisted Gravity Drainage in Karst Reservoirs with Different Genesis: A Case Study of the Tahe Oilfield

Abstract

For the Tahe Oilfield, there are multiple sets of karst reservoirs with different genesis developed in carbonate fracture-vuggy reservoirs and the varying karst reservoir type has a considerable influence on the distribution of residual oil. The complex characteristics of different karst reservoirs and the difficulty in producing the remaining oil in the middle and lower part of the reservoir greatly restrict the recovery effects. This work managed to comprehensively investigate the action mechanism of nitrogen-assisted gravity drainage (NAGD) on remaining oil in reservoirs with different karst genesis through modeling and experiments. Based on geological characteristics and modeling results, a reservoir-profile model considering reservoir type, fracture distribution, and the fracture–cave combination was established, the displacement experiments of main reservoirs such as the epikarst zone, underground river, and fault karst were carried out, and the oil–gas–water multiphase flow was visually analyzed. The remaining oil state before and after NAGD was studied, and the difference in recovery enhancement in different genetic karst reservoirs was quantitatively compared. The results show that NAGD was helpful in enhancing oil recovery (EOR) for reservoirs with different karst genesis. NAGD technique has the greatest increasing effect on the sweep efficiency of the fault-karst reservoir, followed by the epikarst zone reservoir, and the smallest in the underground river reservoir. The results of this research will facilitate an understanding of the EOR effect of karst-reservoir types on NAGD and provide theory and technical support for the high-efficiency development in varying karst reservoirs in the Tahe Oilfield.