Selection and Justification of Technologies for Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods Using Inter-Well Tracer Survey

Abstract

Justified application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods is one of the key tasks of oil operating companies for the effective development of not only brown oil fields at a mature stage of production, but also for green fields. The selection and justification of one or another method of enhanced oil recovery for certain geological conditions often requires not only looking for worldwide experience, conducting laboratory tests on a core, but also performing pilot tests at a polygon area. The subsequent full-field implementation of EOR method requires confirmation of its effectiveness based on the increase in oil recovery factor. This article describes both the experience of using interwell tracer studies to substantiate the effectiveness of EOR technologies in pilot areas, and the experience of evaluating the effectiveness of EOR technologies with full-field implementation in various fields. The work carried out on the integrated use of tracer studies makes it possible to apply a scientific and engineering approach to the selection of an enhanced oil recovery method by assessing the sweep efficiency before and after the application of the EOR technology. Examples of the use of this integrated approach for different oil fields are given. The presented technologies and experience of the work performed will significantly speed up the choice of the EOR technology for certain geological conditions and verify the effectiveness of the selected EOR method.