НЕФТЯНАЯ ПРОВИНЦИЯ

Abstract

 

The paper reviews the 65 years’ experience of progress of the contour waterflooding technology to increase production from the Russian super-giant Romashkinskoye field. The technology has come a long way having witnessed the emergence of different scientific schools competing with each other and offering their solutions, having overcome a lot of doubts and fears as to feasibility of water injection and, finally, having matured to its current status of an efficient world-class technology, maximizing oil production, yet at reasonable costs. Waterflooding systems, in and of themselves, and, importantly, a wide-scale and universal application of the technology at early production stages resulted in unprecedented flow rates and high production performances of oil fields in the former Soviet Union. Owing to the grand-scale implementation of water-injection projects, the USSR was able to attain one of the highest annual oil production levels in the world, about 625 million tonnes, which was 1.56 times higher than in the USA with the total well count 6 times less, at that. However despite the evident advantages of the waterflooding technology, in many cases being the single option whatever, some authors have persisted in criticizing the waterflooding process basing their arguments on the alleged destruction of subsurface formations because of water injection. The author dispels these myths, and shows the groundlessness and even noxiousness of such assertions. Quite the contrary, the waterflooding technology has a high potential for further improvement and application. Technology development and improvement opportunities in the light of the newly-discovered phenomena characteristic of the advanced stage of reserves production (re-forming of deposits and hydrocarbon charge from deeper sediments) are discussed.

Key words:

 

contour waterflooding, waterflooded development, modern waterflooding methods, waterflood as secondary EOR, man-induced damage to oil fields, destruction of formations, forced production, cyclic waterflooding, irregular displacement, poor conformance, water fingering, hard-to-recover reserves, re-forming of deposits, hydrocarbon charge, crystalline basement.

References

 

1. Schelkachev V.N. Vazhnejshie principy nefterazrabotki. 75 let opyta [The most important principles of oil and gas production. 75 years of experience]. Moscow: Neft i Gas Publ., The Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, 2004. 608 p. (in Russian)

2. Muslimov R.Kh. Vliyanie osobennostej geologicheskogo stroeniya na effektivnost' razrabotki Romashkinskogo mestorozhdeniya [Effect of geological structure on the Romashkinskoye field production performance]. Kazan: Kazan State Univ. Publ., 1979.

3. Muslimov R.Kh., Shavaliev A.M., Khisamov R.B., Yusupov I.G. Geologiya, razrabotka i ekspluataciya Romashkinskogo neftyanogo mestorozhdeniya [Geology, development, and production of the Romashkinskoye oil field]. (in Russian)

4. Muslimov R.Kh. Negativnoe vliyanie processa «stareniya» zalezhej na potencial'nye vozmozhnosti neftedobychi i puti povysheniya effektivnosti razrabotki na pozdnej stadii [Negative influence of oil deposits’ ageing on oil production potential and ways to improve production performance at the late stage]. Proc. of the 5 th International Conference Novye idei v geologii i geohimii nefti i gaza [New ideas in petroleum geology and geochemistry]. Part II. Moscow: Moscow State Univ. Publ., 2001. (in Russian)

5. Yusupova T.N., Petrova L.M., Mukhametshin R.Z. et.al. Osobennosti sostava ostatochnoj nefti v zavodnennyh terrigennyh kollektorah [Composition of residual oil in waterflooded sandstone reservoirs] Proc. of International Conference Problemy kompleksnogo osvoeniya trudnoizvlekaemyh zapasov nefti i prirodnyh bitumov (dobycha i pererabotka) [Problems of integrated development of hard-to-recover oil reserves and natural bitumen (Upstream and downstream)]. Kazan, 1994. (in Russian)

6. Neprimerov N.N., Sharagin A.G. Vnutrikonturnaya vyrabotka neftyanyh plastov [Contour development of oil formations]. Kazan: Kazan State Univ. Publ., 1961. (in Russian)

7. Dobrynin v.M. Deformacii i izmenenie fizicheskih svojstv kollektorov nefti i gaza [Damage and change of physical properties of oil and gas reservoirs]. Moscow: Nedra Publ., 1970. (in Russian)

8. Slavin V.I., Khimich V.F. Geodinamicheskie modeli formirovaniya AVPD i ih prakticheskoe znachenie [Geological and flow models of abnormally high reservoir pressure emergence and their practical importance]. Proc. of VNIGRI Izuchenie geologicheskogo razreza i prognozirovanie AVPD [Study of geological cross-section and forecast of AHRP]. Leningrad, 1987. (in Russian)

9. Muslimov R.Kh. Osvoenie supergigantskogo Romashkinskogo mestorozhdeniya - vydayushchijsya vklad uchenyh i specialistov Rossii v mirovuyu neftyanuyu nauku i praktiku razrabotki neftyanyh mestorozhdenij [Development of the super-giant Romashkinskoye oil field: outstanding contribution of Russian scientists and engineers into the world petroleum science and reservoir engineering practice]. Georesursy, No.4, 2008, pp. 2-6. (in Russian)

10. Muslimov R.Kh. Sovremennye metody upravleniya razrabotkoj neftyanyh mestorozhdenij s primeneniem zavodneniya [Modern reservoir management methods using waterflooding]. Kazan: Kazan State Univ. Publ., 2003. 596 p. (in Russian)

11. Mustafin I.A. Geologo-tekhnologicheskie rezul'taty gidrodinamicheskogo metoda razrabotki mestorozhdenij nefti v RF na primere supergigantov Romashkino i Samotlor [Geological and production outcome of waterflooding methods of development of Russian oil fields by examples of super-giants Romashkino and Samotlor]. Kazan: Foliant Publ., 2018. 88 p. (in Russian)

12. Mustafin I.A., Shaikhutdinov R.S. Gidrodinamicheskie etapy razrabotki neftyanyh mestorozhdenij [Hydrodynamic stages of oil fields development]. Proc. of International Research to Practice Conference Osobennosti razvedki i razrabotki mestorozhdenij netradicionnyh uglevodorodov [Challenges of exploration and production of nonconventional hydrocarbon reserves]. Kazan, 2-3 September, 2015. pp. 229-230. (in Russian)

13. Mustafin I.A., Mustafin G.M. Geologo-tekhnologicheskie usloviya primeneniya metodov uvelicheniya nefteotdachi plastov [Geological and production conditions of application of enhanced oil recovery methods]. Proc. of International Research to Practice Conference Innovacii v razvedke i razrabotke neftyanyh i gazovyh mestorozhdenij [Innovations in exploration and production of oil and gas fields]. Kazan, 7-8 September, 2016. Vol. II. pp. 56-58. (in Russian)

14. Mustafin I.A. K proektirovaniyu gorizontal'nyh skvazhin na obvodnennyh mestorozhdeniyah nefti [On planning of horizontal well in watered-out fields]. Proc. of International Research to Practice Conference Gorizontal'nye skvazhiny i GRP v povyshenii effektivnosti razrabotki neftyanyh mestorozhdenij [Role of horizontal wells and hydrofrac treatment in increase of oil fields’ development efficiency]. Kazan, 6-7 September, 2017. pp. 230-231. (in Russian)

15. Mustafin I.A. Nekotorye rezul'taty vnutrikonturnogo zavodneniya neftyanyh mestorozhdenij [Some results of contour waterflooding of oil fields]. Proc. of International Research to Practice Conference Innovacionnye tekhnologii v geologii i razrabotke uglevodorodov [Innovative technologies in exploration and production of hydrocarbons]. Kazan, 9-11 September, 2009. pp. 294-295. (in Russian)

16. Muslimov R.Kh. Nefteotdacha; proshloe, nastoyashchee, budushchee (optimizaciya dobychi, maksimizaciya KIN) [Oil recovery: the past, the present, and the future (optimization of production, maximization of oil recovery] FAN Publ., Acad. of Sc. of Republic of Tatarstan, 2014. 750 p. (in Russian)

17. Muslimov R.Kh., Plotnikova I.N. Al'ternativnye podhody – zalog sozdaniya proryvnyh tekhnologij v oblasti poiska, razvedki i razrabotki neftyanyh i gazovyh mestorozhdenij [Alternative approaches as a basis of emergence of game-changing technologies for exploration and production of oil and gas fields]. Neft. Gas. Novatsii, No. 9 (214), 2018. pp.14-17. (in Russian)

18. D'yachuk I.A. K voprosu pereformirovaniya neftyanyh mestorozhdenij i plastov [On reforming of oil fields and deposits] Georesursy, No. 1 (60), 2015. pp. 39-46. (in Russian)

​

Authors

 

Muslimov R.Kh., Dr. Sc., Professor of Oil and Gas Geology Chair at Kazan Federal University, Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the Academy of Mining Sciences, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation E-mail: davkaeva@mail.ru

​

For citation:

 

R.Kh. Muslimov Metody zavodnenija na dolgoe vremja ostajutsja osnovoj razrabotki bol'shinstva neftjanyh mestorozhdenij Rossii [Waterflooding as the basis of oil fields development in Russia]. Neftyanaya Provintsiya, No. 1(17), 2019. pp. 1-30. DOI https://doi.org/10.25689/NP.2019.1.1-30 (in Russian)