The National IOR Centre provides solutions for improved oil recovery on the Norwegian continental shelf through academic excellence and close cooperation with the industry.
Deliverable of an Unbeatable Core Scale Simulator
The purpose of this project is to develop a numerical tool, IORCoreSim, to interpret all kinds of special core analyst lab experiments. By using IORCoreSim, the key parameters needed to simulate water flooding and EOR processes at pilot and sector scale are extracted from the lab experiments.
Core plug preparation procedures
The purpose of this project is to check how the core preparation procedures can influence results when investigating the potential for EOR in the lab.
Understanding the initial wettability of reservoirs
The purpose of this project is to link reservoir wettability to the properties of the crude oil, rock mineralogy and formation water composition.
1.1.14
Mineralogical influence on reservoir wetting and Smart Water EOR processes
The purpose of this project is to study the effects of sandstone mineralogy and mineral properties on the initial reservoir wetting and on wettability alteration by water-based EOR methods.
Upscaling of polymer and Smart Water processes
The purpose of this postdoc project is to develop further polymer and smart water models in IORCoreSim, and to investigate how they can be upscaled for use in large-scale reservoir simulation tools, such as IORSim and OPM.
Applying the analytical tool box to specific EOR related experiments to enhance oil recovery and to assist upscaling
This project will deepen the understanding of textural alterations of the rock samples (mainly chalk) during EOR related injection experiments.
One research focus will be «fractured» chalk samples, a second would be the investigation of the role of dolomite and dolomite-calcite mixtures to match reservoir conditions, as well as non-carbonate minerals (e.g. clays). A third approach would be to study specific geomechanical and geological key areas like the «zone» of increased porosity in chalk which seems to be progressing through a core during flooding with MgCl2, the comparison of reservoir and on-shore chalk including an in-depth study of chalk using state-of-the-art methodologies, completing the necessary knowledge of chalk for EOR purposes.
Pore scale simulation of multi-phase flow in an evolving pore scale
Injecting water into an oil reservoir leads to chemical interactions that alter the geometry of the pore space and the wettability of the mineral surfaces.
A distance away from the injection point, the injected water reach equilibrium with the formation. How far away from the injector are the chemical interaction active, and how fast are the mineralogical alterations in the active region? How is oil release affected by wettability changes on the pore scale? What are the dominating mechanisms? These questions are particularly important when low salinity or optimized brines are injected in order to improve the microscopic sweep.
1.3.3
Micro-scale simulation of viscoelastic polymer solutions
The projects will study how the distribution of stress in a viscoelastic polymer solution will affect the interaction between the water and oil phases.
The effect of having non-Newtonian stress com-ponents, due to the presence of polymer, has been hypothesized to be a contributing factor to in-creased oil recovery in polymer-flooding. We will have an increased focus on boundary conditions for the polymers. In addition, we want to simulate a pure polymer flooding in a porous media, to assist in interpreting the polymer-flooding experiments conducted under Task 1.
1.3.6
Simulation of complex non-Newtonian flow
The purpose of this project is to investigate non-Newtonian flow in micro channels. Non-Newtonian effects such as normal forces will be investigated in various pore geometries.
One of the aims is to determine when the viscoelastic effects are important for oil displacement, and if they could contribute significantly to oil recovery.
Development and calibration of IORSim
The purpose of this project is to develop a simulator, IORSim, which improves the capabilities of industry standard reservoir simulators to simulate IOR processes.
This is done in a modular way by letting the industry standard reservoir simulator carry out the fluid flow predictions, while IORSim simulates the transportation of chemicals, interactions and effects on the flow parameters (relative permeability and capillary pressure). This allows us to take advantage of the improved pore- and core-scale models developed in tasks 1, 2 and 3 directly in realistic field cases.
Large scale yard test and supporting lab activities
This project aims to fill the gap between lab scale and pilot scale. It is important to study EOR chemicals not only at cm scale cores, but also in several m scale porous media.
In longer (and larger) systems it is possible to investigate the interplay between matrix flow and fracture flow. Furthermore the temperature profile can be varied along these systems, allowing to study the interplay between temperature and different flow regimes. Supporting lab experiments will be performed to quality assure the larger scale tests, and to investigate if it is possible to reproduce part (or all) of the observation in the large scale tests in smaller core samples.
Polymer rheology at micro- and Darcy scale
The purpose of this project is to investigate polymer rheology in porous media through thorough experimental investigation at different scales, accompanied by modelling.
The goal is to determine what governs the onset of shear thinning, shear thickening and mechanical degradation, and if possible, propose methods of mitigating mechanical degradation.
1.4.6
Risk Management/ERA
The purpose of this project is to develop and implement risk analysis methods and models in support of the IOR Centre efforts to assess and evaluate overall environmental impacts and risks associated with different IOR solutions (products or processes) resulting from the IOR Centre research activities.
The aim is to use the concrete risk analysis results in the decision-making process regarding R&D priorities at the Centre, and more broadly to contribute to the general development of methods, models and the foundations of environmental risk assessment (ERA).
Improve IOR models in IORSim
The research partners in the IOR Centre has developed a simulator, IORSim, which improves the capabilities of industry standard reservoir simulators for simulating IOR processes.
This is done in a modular way by letting a reservoir simulator (for example Eclipse) compute the fluid flow, while IORSim simulates the transportation of chemicals, interactions and effects on flow parameters like relative permeability and capillary pressure.
Coordinating Upscaling Workflow
The project will coordinate the upscaling efforts within the IOR Centre themes. The different themes and tasks have throughout the Centre work used and developed models including the effects relevant for the different scales with some initiatives on upscaling.
The current project will merge and unify these procedures into an upscaling workflow. This will assist the further work in uncovering unresolved effects / knowledge gaps on the different scales. And it will be the task of this project to initiate appropriate actions to investigate and fill these gaps.
Nanoparticle tracers for petroleum reservoir studies
The aim of this research is to examine the usefulness of nanoparticles as tracers for fracture detection in interwell operation (ITT) and for use as tracer carriers in single-well huff-and-puff operation in dedicated laboratory and small-scale field experiments.
Successful outcome will offer completely new classes of tracer tools for reservoir and production management.
Lanthanide ester complexes for SWCTT: focus on their partitioning behaviour, quantification procedure and dynamic performances
This research aims to improve existing technology and develop new technology for measuring Sor in reservoirs, based on the use of tracers for the flow of injected fluids.
The application of this technology will help define the best IOR strategy for selected reservoirs by examining the near-well zone.
Dynamic flooding properties of new PITT tracers
The aim is to examine the dynamic flooding properties of new water-oil partitioning tracer com-pounds (PITT-tracers). Such tracers are used for Sor-determination in water- or gas-flooded volumes between wells.
These new potential tracer compounds have been proposed and studied in a recent PhD-project. The dynamic testing will be done in flooding experiments with cores or packed porous media under known residual oil saturation. Size of the flooding equipment will be varied from bench-top setups to several meter scale. Does the technology hold its promises over varying flooding distances?
Adding more physics, chemistry and geological realism into the reservoir simulator
This project addresses forward simulation of IOR methods. It also aims to contribute towards providing a tailor-made simulator that includes the necessary modelling methodologies and simulation capabilities to simulate increased oil recovery pilots on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Advanced Numerical Methods for Compositional Flow Applied to Field Scale Reservoir Models
This project addresses the forward simulation of IOR methods, and particularly investigates different numerical methods that can be applied to implement a compositional flow module for modeling the IOR/EOR.
In the end, the project contributes to pilot simulations by providing a «full field simulation tool» for water based IOR/EOR methods.
Upscaling of chemo-mechanical compaction to field scale models
The purpose of this project is to extend the simulation capabilities of OPM through coupling with an open-source multiphysics code to model reservoir compaction in connection with oil recovery.
Moreover, we aim to integrate the effect of geochemical processes on mechanical deformation (Theme 1) and the resulting feedback on the flow simulation (Theme 2).
Production optimization
The economic feasibility of implementing new IOR methods on a field needs to be evaluated, preferably taking the uncertainty in the reservoir description into account.
This project will develop and demonstrate methodology to optimize future production for evaluating the economic potential of the reservoirs. We aim for a flexible approach that can also consider environmental constraints.
Data assimilation using 4D seismic data
This project is the main project addressing history matching at the IOR Centre. The project focuses on being able to meet the target of full field history matching using 4D seismic and tracer data.
The first demonstration case was to history match the Norne field using production and 4D seismic data. Further on we will add tracer data into the workflow. We will also further develop the methodology to strengthen the work flow’s robustness with regards to different field types.
Interpretation of 4D seismic for compacting reservoirs
The project aims to improve history matching using 4D seismic data for compacting reservoirs. To achieve this, we further develop methods for better usage of 4D seismic data to interpret and decouple the compaction and production related effects.
This is also important for monitoring gas, water and pressure fronts in compacting reservoirs.
4D seismic for high-resolution sector models
This project is investigating fluid flow monitoring and history matching using 4D seismic data.
The project brings high-resolution simulation models into the history matching picture with the purpose of understanding and improving reservoir sweep efficiency.
Elastic full-waveform inversion
This project aims to improve the interpretation of seismic data through full-waveform inversion. The methodology proposed provides valuable information for both the exploration and production stages of the petroleum value chain.
IOR Pilot Projects – Learning by Doing
The purpose of this project is to study the impact of uncertainty about the benefits of a technology on adoption and information gathering decisions related to IOR projects.
We will develop and implement a decision and data analytics framework for the purpose of generating decision supporting information for IOR projects with a particular focus on the IOR pilot project decisions.
The Value of Data and Data Analytics for IOR Operations
The purpose of this project is to use decision and data analytic approaches in probabilistic models to identify and value relevant and material data in IOR contexts.
Value-of-Information (VOI) analysis will be used to evaluate the benefits of collecting additional information (such as seismic data and pilot test data) before actually acquiring it. Such information gathering may be worthwhile if it holds the possibility of changing the decision (e.g., a production strategy or IOR method) that would be made without further information.
Data assimilation using 4D seismic and tracer data
This is a PhD project which aims to assimilate both 4D seismic and tracer data, in addition to the conventional production data, for improved reservoir characterization.
This project involves tailored strategies to handle different types of field data, and improved workflow for more coherent assimilation of these field data into reservoir models.
Reservoir Optimization and Model Evaluation
This project will study optimization and modelling of EOR injection strategies with the aim of increased total oil recovered, maximum economic benefit and minimal environmental impact.
The planned research and implementation will significantly improve prediction of EOR effects and thus improve decision making for the Norwegian Continental Shelf. An important part is also to educate a PhD student.
4D seismic frequency-dependent AVO inversion to predict saturation-pressure changes
This research project deals with the problem of seismic reservoir characterization and improved recovery.
It focuses on the development of an appropriate theoretical background and workflow, for including frequency dependence into the 4D (time-lapse) seismic AVO inversion and analysis to estimate viscoelastic properties, pressure and fluid saturation changes. The project is split in several phases.
Integrated geological, geophysical, reservoir, and decision analysis of the Edvard Grieg Field, Utsira High, North Sea
This project applies geological (sedimentology and structural geology), geophysical, reservoir modelling, and decision analysis methods to the Edvard Grieg Field, with the purpose of improving reservoir characterization in the field and assessing how this improved model affects production forecasts and recovery.
