Study on Sustainable Development of Carbonate Reservoir Based on 3D Printing Technology

Abstract

With its abundant reserves in the world, carbonate reservoir has become one of the main targets for future oil and gas development. Accelerating the research and development of carbonate reservoirs is thus significant to enhance the world’s energy supply capacity. However, there have been some problems in the evaluation of carbonate reservoirs for a long time, such as low description accuracy of fractured-vuggy bodies, diverse flow patterns, and difficult reservoir simulation and prediction. Compared with traditional manufacturing methods, 3D printing is an advanced manufacturing technology of rapid prototyping. It has the characteristics of short manufacturing cycle, not limited by the complexity of parts, material saving and energy saving, and thus has unparalleled advantages in reservoir rock analysis. In this paper, the carbonate core of Yingmaili region in Tarim Basin was taken as the research object, and the uniaxial compression mechanical properties of three small cores printed with different materials were designed and tested by using KINGS-600 3D photocuring printer and photosensitive resin materials. After that, UV-9400S white resin with the highest strength is selected as the printing material of the full diameter core model of the karst cave. Combined with the CT scanning of the formed samples, the control accuracy concerning the cave morphology of the 3D printed samples was tested which adequately proves that flow experiments can be carried out with 3D printed core samples. At last, the article also analyzes the shortcomings of 3D printing technology, and points out the direction for its large-scale application in the field of oil and gas exploitation. This study can especially provide a reference for the application of 3D printing technology in the field of carbonate reservoir development, and ultimately promote the sustainable supply of oil and gas resources.