Abstract
This research was conducted on five oilfields in the Mishrif reservoir, southern Iraq, to illustrate the effects of permeability on the damage caused by the injection of river water into the oilfield. Oilfield flooding has dramatically changed the pH and brine chemistry of the reservoir and resulted in the deposition of carbonates and native sulfur. The air permeability test and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis revealed how the precipitated minerals and materials (e.g., residual heavy oil, asphaltene, wax, native sulfur and authigenic and diagenetic clay minerals) reduced the permeability by lining the pore necks. The PHREEQC software and saturation index (SI) model revealed several types of pore-lining scales formed in a porous matrix. The SI model indicates that barite, celestite, calcite and pyrite are common scales lining the pore spaces, which precipitated in response to the injection of sulfate- and carbonate-rich river water into an oil well. This research generated useful findings that can be taken into consideration for future oil production worldwide. Additionally, the permeability values were used as evidence for discrimination of sedimentary environment, particularly reef and non-reef facies.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
1 bbl (barrel) = 0.16 cubic meter.
1 cP = 0.001 Pas.
1 md (millidarcy) = 1/1000 darcy; 1 darcy = 0.9869233 µm2.
1 atm = 101,325 Pa.
References
Al-Mimar, H. S., Awadh, S. M., Al-Yaseri, A. A., & Yaseen, Z. M. (2018). Sedimentary units-layering system and depositional model of the carbonate Mishrif reservoir in Rumaila oilfield, Southern Iraq. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 4(4), 1449–1465.
Amaefule, J. O., Kersey, D. G., Norman, D. K., & Shannon, P. M. (1988). Advances in formation damage assessment and control strategies. In Annual Technical Meeting. Petroleum Society of Canada. https://doi.org/10.2118/88-39-65
Atkinson, G., & Mecik, M. (1997). The chemistry of scale prediction. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 17(1–2), 113–121.
Awadh, S M, & Al-Yaseri, A. (2015). The Influence of Kaolinite and pH on Permeability in the Zubair Reservoir in the North Rumaila Oilfield, Southern Iraq. In Third EAGE Workshop on Iraq. EAGE Publications BV. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.201414374
Awadh, S. M., Ali, K. K., & Alazzawi, A. T. (2013). Geochemical exploration using surveys of spring water, hydrocarbon and gas seepage, and geobotany for determining the surface extension of Abu-Jir Fault Zone in Iraq: A new way for determining geometrical shapes of computational simulation models. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 124, 218–229.
Awadh, S. M., Al-Yaseri, A. A., & Hussein, A. R. (2014). The influence of Kaolinite and pH on permeability in the Zubair reservoir in the North Rumaila Oilfield, Southern Iraq. Iraqi Journal of Science, 55(2B), 780–789.
Awadh, S. M., Al-Auweidy, M. R., & Al-Yaseri, A. A. (2019). Hydrochemistry as a tool for interpreting brine origin and chemical equilibrium in oilfields: Zubair reservoir southern Iraq case study. Applied Water Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-019-0944-6
Azizi, J., Shadizadeh, S. R., Khaksar Manshad, A., & Mohammadi, A. H. (2019). A dynamic method for experimental assessment of scale inhibitor efficiency in oil recovery process by water flooding. Petroleum, 5(3), 303–314.
Boschetti, T., Awadh, S. M., Al-Mimar, H. S., Iacumin, P., Toscani, L., Selmo, E., & Yaseen, Z. M. (2020). Chemical and isotope composition of the oilfield brines from Mishrif Formation (southern Iraq): Diagenesis and geothermometry. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 122, 104637.
Braun, G., & Boles, J. L. (1992). Characterization and removal of amorphous aluminosilicate scales. In SPE Western Regional Meeting. Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/24068-ms
Civan, F. (1999). Predictive models for filter cake buildup and filtrate invasion with non-darcy effects. In SPE Mid-Continent Operations Symposium. OnePetro.
Civan, F. (2015). Reservoir Formation Damage: Fundamentals, Modeling, Assessment, and Mitigation. Reservoir Formation Damage: Fundamentals, Modeling, Assessment, and Mitigation: Third Edition. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2014-0-01087-8
Collins, I. R., & Jordan, M. M. (2003). Occurrence, prediction, and prevention of zinc sulfide scale within gulf coast and north sea high-temperature and high-salinity fields. SPE Production & Facilities, 18(03), 200–209.
DeFarge, C., Trichet, J., Jaunet, A. M., Robert, M., Tribble, J., & Sansone, F. J. (1996). Texture of microbial sediments revealed by cryo-scanning electron microscopy. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 66(5), 935–947.
Ditmar, V., & Team, I.-S. (1971). Geological conditions and hydrocarbon prospects of the Republic of Iraq (Northern and Central parts). Manuscript report, INOC Library, Baghdad.
Ezzat, A. M. (1990). Completion fluids design criteria and current technology weaknesses. In SPE Formation Damage Control Symposium. Society of Petroleum Engineers
Ferguson, R. J., & Ferguson, B. R. (2009). Model Makeover for Reverse Osmosis Chemistry Modeling Software. Ultrapure Water.
Hamzah, A. F., Al-Mossawy, M. I., Al-Tamimi, W. H., Al-Najm, F. M., & Hameed, Z. M. (2020). Enhancing the spontaneous imbibition process using biosurfactants produced from bacteria isolated from Al-Rafidiya oil field for improved oil recovery. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 10(8), 3767–3777.
Jasim, S., & Goff, J. (2006). Geology of Iraq, Published by Dolin, Prague & Moravian Museum Brno. Printed in (Zech. Repub.).
Kleven, R., & Alstad, J. (1996). Interaction of alkali, alkaline-earth and sulphate ions with clay minerals and sedimentary rocks. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 15(2–4), 181–200.
Labrid, J., & Bazin, B. (1993). Flow modeling of alkaline dissolution by a thermodynamic or by a kinetic approach. SPE Reservoir Engineering, 8(02), 151–159.
Lehmann, C., Gardner, J., Totton, K., Fuchs, M., Holden, A., & Olatoke, O. J. (2015). Sequence Stratigraphy and Reservoir Heterogeneity Related to the Mishrif Formation, Rumaila Field, Southern Iraq. In Third EAGE Workshop on Iraq. EAGE Publications BV. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.201414349
Lichtner, P. C. (1985). Continuum model for simultaneous chemical reactions and mass transport in hydrothermal systems. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 49(3), 779–800.
McDougall, S. R., & Sorbie, K. S. (1995). The impact of wettability on waterflooding: Pore-scale simulation. SPE Reservoir Engineering, 10(03), 208–213.
Merdhah, A. B. B., & Yassin, A. A. M. (2008). Low-sulfate seawater injection into oil reservoir to avoid scaling problem. Journal of Applied Sciences, 8(7), 1169–1178.
Minssieux, L. (1997). Core damage from crude asphaltene deposition. In International Symposium on Oilfield Chemistry. Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/37250-ms
Moghadasi, J., Jamialahmadi, M., Müller-Steinhagen, H., & Sharif, A. (2004). Formation Damage Due to Scale Formation in Porous Media Resulting From Water Injection. In SPE International Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control. Society of Petroleum Engineers. https://doi.org/10.2118/86524-ms
O’Brien, N. R., Brett, C. E., & Taylor, W. L. (1994). Microfabric and taphonomic analysis in determining sedimentary processes in marine mudstones; example from Silurian of New York. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 64(4a), 847–852.
Obeidavi, A., Alattabi, A. N., & Salemi, E. (2020). Investigation and study of hydraulic fracturing and the efficiency of this in oil reservoirs naturally fractured and caven. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 928, p. 22155). IOP Publishing.
Oddo, J. E., & Tomson, M. B. (1994). Why scale forms in the oil field and methods to predict it. SPE Production & Facilities, 9(01), 47–54.
Patton, C. C. (1977). Oilfield water systems.
Ring, J. N., Wattenbarger, R. A., Keating, J. F., & Peddibhotla, S. (1994). Simulation of paraffin deposition in reservoirs. SPE Production & Facilities, 9(01), 36–42.
Sadooni, F. N., & Aqawi, A. A. M. (2000). Cretaceous sequence stratigraphy and petroleum potential of the mesopotamian Basin, Iraq. In Middle East Models of Jurassic/Cretaceous Carbonate System. SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology). https://doi.org/10.2110/pec.00.69.0315
Salim, B., Almond, K., Van Den Ham, R., & Zongfa, L. (2013). Water Flood Management of the Mishrif Reservoir, Rumaila Field, Southern Iraq. InSecond EAGE workshop on Iraq. EAGE Publications BV. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.20131445
Schmidt Mumm, A., Brugger, J., Zhao, C., & Schacht, U. (2010). Fluids in geological processes—The present state and future outlook. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 106(1–3), 1–7.
Tian, J., Qi, C., Sun, Y., & Yaseen, Z. M. (2020a). Surrogate permeability modelling of low-permeable rocks using convolutional neural networks. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 366, 113103.
Tian, J., Qi, C., Sun, Y., Yaseen, Z. M., & Pham, B. T. (2020b). Permeability prediction of porous media using a combination of computational fluid dynamics and hybrid machine learning methods. Engineering with Computers, 1–17.
Ucan, S., Civan, F., & Evans, R. D. (1997). Uniqueness and simultaneous predictability of relative permeability and capillary pressure by discrete and continuous means. Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology. https://doi.org/10.2118/97-04-05
Winters, G. V., & Buckley, D. E. (1986). The influence of dissolved FeSi3O3(OH)08 on chemical equilibria in pore waters from deep sea sediments. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 50(2), 277–288.
Yaseen, Z. M., Sihag, P., Yusuf, B., & Al-Janabi, A. M. S. (2021). Modelling infiltration rates in permeable stormwater channels using soft computing techniques. Irrigation and Drainage, 70(1), 117–130.
Zaffaroni, R., Ripepi, D., Middelkoop, J., & Mulder, F. M. (2020). Gas chromatographic method for in situ ammonia quantification at parts per billion levels. ACS Energy Letters, 5(12), 3773–3777.
Zhang, Y., Cha, S., Feng, W., & Xu, G. (2017). Energy sources for road transport in the future. ACS Energy Letters, 2(6), 1334–1336.
Zhianmanesh, M., Varmazyar, M., & Montazerian, H. (2019). Fluid permeability of graded porosity scaffolds architectured with minimal surfaces. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, 5(3), 1228–1237.
Acknowledgements
The authors sincerely thank the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and Basra Oil Company (BOC) for agreeing to provide us with the required core samples and relevant information. Our thanks also go to the staff of the Petroleum and Mining Engineering, College of Engineering, The University of Baghdad, for their help on permeability measurements.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Awadh, S.M., Al-Mimar, H.S. & Yaseen, Z.M. Effect of Water Flooding on Oil Reservoir Permeability: Saturation Index Prediction Model for Giant Oil Reservoirs, Southern Iraq. Nat Resour Res 30, 4403–4415 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09923-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09923-4