Estimation of Local Equilibrium Model Parameters for Simulation of the Laboratory Foam-Enhanced Oil Recovery Process Using a Commercial Reservoir Simulator
在模拟多孔介质中的泡沫流动过程中，准确确定泡沫模拟参数至关重要。本研究提出了一种整合的工作流程，通过在油藏条件下（温度131°F，压力1500 psi）对Estaillades石灰岩进行一系列实验，并使用商业油藏模拟器进行历史拟合，以获取局部平衡泡沫模型中的参数。首先通过与非稳态油藏实验历史拟合来验证气-水和水-油相对渗透率曲线。然后，通过历史拟合与不同泡沫质量和注入速率的气/表面活性剂共注实验，得出了用于建模泡沫生成和泡沫干燥效应的参数。
此外，通过与实验室泡沫增油过程和油分层流实验的历史拟合，得到了建模油对泡沫的破坏效应和泡沫的剪切稀释效应的参数。计算结果与实验结果相当吻合。此外，还对泡沫模拟参数进行了敏感性分析，以确定在多孔介质中准确模拟泡沫增油过程的关键参数。这项研究从可靠的泡沫注入实验数据中开发了一种高效的参数估计方法，该方法可以进一步应用到矿场规模的模拟中。此外，该模拟方法还可以用于解释复杂实验室泡沫注入结果。
An accurate determination of the foam simulation parameters is crucial in modeling foam flow in porous media. In this paper, we present an integrated workflow to obtain the parameters in the local equilibrium foam model by history matching a series of laboratory experiments performed at reservoir conditions (131 F and 1500 psi) on Estaillades limestone using a commercial reservoir simulator. The gas–water and water–oil relative permeability curves were first validated after history matching with the unsteady-state flooding experiments. The modeling parameters for foam generation and foam dry-out effect were obtained by history matching with the gas/surfactant coinjection experiments at varying foam quality and injection rates. Moreover, the modeling parameters for the destabilizing effect of oil on foam and foam shear thinning effect were derived after history matching with the foam-enhanced oil recovery process and oil fractional flow experiments in the laboratory.
In practice, the calculated results reproduce the experimental outputs reasonably well. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis of foam modeling parameters is investigated to determine the most dominating parameters for accurate simulation of foam-enhanced oil recovery process in porous media. In this work, an efficient parameter estimation approach is developed from reliable foam flooding experimental data, which may be further applied to field-scale simulation. Moreover, the simulation approach can also be utilized to facilitate our interpretation of complex lab foam flooding results.
