Abstract
Festoon crossbedding is a typical sedimentary structure in sandstone reservoirs. It is especially common in fluvial deposits. The important elements are the foreset laminae, which vary in permeability, and the bottomsets of lower permeability.
To understand the complex, direction-dependent displacement characteristics of a crossbedded reservoir zone, we first conducted numerical simulations on a centimeter scale in a small part of a water-wet crossbedded reservoir zone. The simulations indicate that, during water/oil displacement, considerable amounts of movable oil initially are left behind in the higher-permeability foreset laminae with fluid flow perpendicular to the foreset laminae, while with flow parallel to the foreset laminae the displacement efficiency is good.
To describe the displacement characteristics on a reservoir scale, we developed a procedure for calculating direction-dependent pseudo relative-permeability and capillary-pressure curves to be used as input for the simulations of water/oil displacement in a crossbedded reservoir zone. On a reservoir scale, the displacement characteristics in a water-wet crossbedded reservoir zone are slightly more favorable with the main fluid flow perpendicular to the foreset laminae.
In addition, the sensitivity of the displacement characteristics to moderate reductions in interfacial tensions (IFT's) and to increases in water viscosity was investigated, both on a centimeter scale and on a reservoir scale. The simulations indicate the potential for substantial improvement in recovery from crossbedded reservoir zones if diluted surfactant or polymer is added to the drive water.
