Well-pattern optimization of CH4 transport associated with supercritical CO2 flooding

Abstract

Injecting supercritical CO2 into depleted gas reservoirs enables additional CH4 to be extracted, a process known as CO2 enhanced gas recovery (CO2-EGR). Optimization of the well pattern is another method used to enhance gas reservoir exploitation. The focus of the present work is to address the arrangement of the well pattern when using CO2-EGR. For this purpose, mathematical models with five-spot and seven-spot well patterns are established in steady and unsteady conditions, and their results are validated against previously published models. For the first time, equipotential and streamline charts of the well pattern in CO2-EGR are derived from these models. As a result, the main flow channel of the well pattern is clarified, and the distributions of formation pressure and seepage velocity are determined. Moreover, the relationships between the gas production rate and well pattern parameters such as the producing pressure drop, permeability, formation pressure, temperature, and well spacing are investigated and the factors that influence the recovery ratio are examined. Finally, an optimization strategy for the well pattern parameters in CO2-EGR is proposed to enhance the gas production rate and recovery factor.