Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Chemical Coreflood Simulation Study Workflow

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and program product may generate and/or utilize a three-dimensional computer simulation model of a core plug suitable for use in a computer-implemented general purpose reservoir simulator. Simulation studies may be performed on the simulation model to establish a water base case for the simulation model, and to establish one or more Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) chemical properties and further validate the simulation model.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of generating a coreflood simulation model, the method comprising:
 generating a three-dimensional computer simulation model of a core plug used in a coreflood experiment in a computer-implemented general purpose reservoir simulator;   performing one or more simulation studies on the simulation model to establish a water base case for the simulation model; and   after performing the one or more simulation studies on the simulation model, performing an additional simulation study on the simulation model to establish one or more Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) chemical properties and to further validate the simulation model by simulating an EOR chemical flood at a plurality of incremental flow rates.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein performing the one or more simulation studies includes performing a first simulation study on the simulation model to validate the simulation model by simulating a water flood at a constant injection rate. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein performing the first simulation study further includes comparing a result of the simulation of the water flood at the constant injection rate against experimental data from the coreflood experiment. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein performing the one or more simulation studies includes performing a second simulation study on the simulation model to validate one or more relative permeability curves and modeling of an observed reduction in residual oil saturation by simulating a water flood at a plurality of incremental flow rates. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein performing the second simulation study further includes comparing a result of the simulation of the water flood at the plurality of incremental flow rates against experimental data from the coreflood experiment. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising performing data quality analysis and quality control on experimental data from the coreflood experiment to identify uncertainty and/or potential errors therein, wherein performing the data quality analysis and quality control is performed iteratively with the first, second and additional simulation studies. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein performing the additional simulation study further includes comparing a result of the simulation of the EOR chemical flood at the plurality of incremental flow rates against experimental data from the coreflood experiment. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein performing the additional simulation study further includes modeling of an observed reduction in residual oil saturation as a result of the EOR chemical flood. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the additional simulation study is performed on the core plug after performing the one or more simulation studies on the core plug to reduce oil saturation beyond a residual oil saturation achieved in the one or more simulation studies. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the additional simulation study is performed on the core plug after re-saturating the core plug with oil after performing the one or more simulation studies on the core plug. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the EOR chemical flood comprises a polymer flood, and wherein the EOR properties include one or more of a solution viscosity as a function of solution concentration, a polymer solution shear rheology, an adsorption property, an inaccessible pore volume fraction, or an apparent viscosity. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the three-dimensional computer simulation model, performing the one or more simulation studies on the simulation model to establish the water base case, and performing the additional simulation study on the simulation model to establish one or more EOR chemical properties and to further validate the simulation model are performed using a graphical pre/post-processor in communication with the general purpose reservoir simulator. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising inputting data into the reservoir simulator, examining experimental data to check validity, and examining simulation results for comparison with the experimental data using the graphical pre/post-processor. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising running a simulation using the three-dimensional computer simulation model of the core plug in the computer-implemented general purpose reservoir simulator. 
     
     
         15 . A method of simulating a coreflood, the method comprising:
 loading a three dimensional computer simulation model of a core plug used in a coreflood experiment and validated by performing one or more simulation studies on the simulation model to establish a water base case for the simulation model and by performing an additional simulation study on the simulation model to establish one or more Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) chemical properties from simulation of an EOR chemical flood at a plurality of incremental flow rates; and   running a simulation using the three-dimensional computer simulation model of the core plug in the computer-implemented general purpose reservoir simulator.   
     
     
         16 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a memory, the memory storing a three dimensional computer simulation model of a core plug used in a coreflood experiment and validated by performing one or more simulation studies on the simulation model to establish a water base case for the simulation model and by performing an additional simulation study on the simulation model to establish one or more Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) chemical properties from simulation of an EOR chemical flood at a plurality of incremental flow rates;   at least one processing unit; and   program code configured upon execution by the at least one processing unit to run the three dimensional computer simulation model in a computer-implemented general purpose reservoir simulator.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising program code configured upon execution by the at least one processing unit to perform a first simulation study on the simulation model to validate the simulation model by simulating a water flood at a constant injection rate. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the program code is configured to perform the first simulation study by comparing a result of the simulation of the water flood at the constant injection rate against experimental data from the coreflood experiment. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , further comprising program code configured upon execution by the at least one processing unit to perform a second simulation study on the simulation model to validate one or more relative permeability curves and model an observed reduction in residual oil saturation by simulating a water flood at a plurality of incremental flow rates. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the program code is configured to perform the second simulation study by comparing a result of the simulation of the water flood at the plurality of incremental flow rates against experimental data from the coreflood experiment. 
     
     
         21 . A program product, comprising:
 a non-transitory computer readable medium; and   program code stored on the computer readable medium and configured upon execution by at least one processing unit to run a three dimensional computer simulation model of a core plug used in a coreflood experiment in a computer-implemented general purpose reservoir simulator, wherein the three dimensional computer simulation model is validated by performing one or more simulation studies on the simulation model to establish a water base case for the simulation model and by performing an additional simulation study on the simulation model to establish one or more Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) chemical properties from simulation of an EOR chemical flood at a plurality of incremental flow rates.