Fluid flow with compaction and sand production in unconsolidated sandstone reservoir

Abstract

The fluid flow of unconsolidated sandstone reservoir can be affected by compaction and sand production which will damage the reservoir and affect oil well productivity. This study aims to measure how the two factors affect the fluid flow. Firstly, single-phase displacement test was applied to investigate how the permeability changed with compaction. Then two-phase displacement test assessed the influence of compaction on oil production. Finally, the characteristics of fluid flow with compaction and sand production were studied under different water content. The results demonstrate that the reduction of permeability with compaction is irreversible, which will result in lower productivity. In contrast, sand production can increase the permeability at mid and high water content, which slows down the decline of oil production. Generally, the oil well productivity is reduced because of compaction even with sand production, especially when the formation pressure drop varies from 2 MPa to 4 MPa. Consequently, advance water injection is necessary to keep the formation pressure and oil production during oilfield development of unconsolidated sandstone reservoir. Simultaneously, the study can provide theoretical basis and references for the similar reservoirs.

Keywords

Compaction / Sand production / Seepage / Unconsolidated sandstone

Acknowledgements

The project was Supported by the China Important National Science and Technology Specific Projects (2011ZX05024-002-005) and the China Important National Science and Technology Specific Projects (2016ZX05025-001-004) and the National Natural Science foundation of China (Grant No. 51534006).

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