Final stage of natural gas field development

V. Podyuk, OAO Gazprom, Russia, R. Ter-Sarkisov, OOO VNIIGAZ, Russia, A. Gritsenko, OAO Stroitransgaz, Russia, A. Zakharov, OOO Severgazprom, Russia. Abstract
Production of residual reserves (1 1.5 billion m3) under low formation pressures in West Siberia as well as withdrawal of a strained gas from watered areas is always a trouble. Traditional methods used today to develop such fields are characterized by low hydrocarbons (including stained gas) extraction efficiency and production cost rise that even affects the reliability of a gas producing company operating performance. Herein, results of theoretical researches and laboratory tests on the displacement of natural gas through the injection of nitrogen into the formation are presented. Qualitative and quantitative data demonstrating the in-situ injection of nitrogen at the Medvezhye field are also shown.

Introduction
At the final stage of gas field production there is a time when the pressure of residual gas in the productive layer is about 5 MPa, not more. In the case of bottom water intrusion the rate of pressure reduction slows down, that compensates partly the negative subsequences of the water drive process. So, some or less significant zones of the residual gas resources could be trapped behind the gas-water front. But, in many cases the share of trapped gas and low pressure gas could be such significant (tens of percents from the gas-saturated portion of reservoir), that it is necessary to apply some additional arrangements for those losses reduction. According to VNIIGAZ estimation, the residual low-pressure gas resources at the biggest gas fields in Western Siberia (Medveje, Urengoy, Yamburg) in the case of those fields just depletion will exceed 1.5 billion m3 and trapped gas makes the most part of those losses 75 %. One of the way to increase the gas fields development efficiency is the reduction of hydrocarbons losses including those from trapped and low pressure gas in the productive layer. This is important task both from scientific and practical point of view. The results of seam inundation process investigations at the conditions of noncompensible hydrocarbons production, made in VNIIGAZ, evidence that even in homogeneous porous medium trapped gas is distributed not uniformly. For example, the data obtained with topographical methods, evidence that at Medveje field, where the average gas saturation is about 15-20 %, there are zones where the real gas saturation is much more and could exceed the hydrodynamic mobility edge. These data obtained stimulate further investigations for the method development, which could provide the residual trapped gas resources involvement into their active production. We had the intentions to develop the method, which is not based at the both big bulk of associated water and gas itself production (the correspondent information could be taken from the literature). Evidently, the only way to make trapped gas movable is to increase gas permeability inside the watered field area. That could be done by displacing just the minimum water bulk with gas, dividing the areas with high permeability. The results of subsequent experiments evidence, that this is realizable. We could provide the gas saturation increase of the watered field area pore space with injection of non hydrocarbon gas (nitrogen) into the layer. Nitrogen is quite broadly used for the hydrocarbons extraction ratio increase both in the oil and in the gas industries. The results of the experiment, where the trapped gas-methane was displaced with nitrogen at the conditions of Medveje gas field model, are presented at the Fig. 1. The conditions of the experiment were the following: residual strata pressure 3 MPa, temperature 20 (in the layer-prototype 30 ), trapped gas volume 15 % of pore volume. By the way, both in this and in the other subsequent cases during the modeling the all requirements, concerning the conformity of the relevant experimental conditions to the conditions of real field were maintained. Fig. 1 shows, that soon after the nitrogen injection beginning, the water displacement process is quite active, but water-gas factor decreases fast down to very insignificant values and total amount of produced water is about some % of pore volume only. At the same time nitrogen displaces trapped methane very actively. The experimental results of the trapped methane displacement with nitrogen from the reservoir

models are represented at the Fig. 2. The permeability of the reservoir models was set up from 13.10-15 up to 570.10-15 2. So, the permeability different values represented in some way the possible cases of reservoir properties distribution in the conditions of gas field Medveje. Its shown at the figure, that porous medium permeability value doesnt influence significantly at the trapped methane displacement efficiency. At the initial porous medium gas saturation of 15 19 % gas recovery factor (for methane) during the displacement process was about 60 %, but there was no any correlation with porous medium permeability.

Fig. 1. Components content change in the production during the nitrogen injection (K= 308.10-15 m2)

Fig. 2. Trapped gas extraction ratio during the nitrogen injection The filtration channel creation schema during the nitrogen injection into the watered gas layer is represented at the Fig. 3. This schema demonstrates the effect of methane displacement with non hydrocarbon gas and points to the quite insignificant associated water capture during this process. In the case of water-gas

mixture piston displacement with nitrogen, the filtration process corresponds to the marked at the right side area of saturations and phase permeabilities (Fig. 4). Virtually, because of the filtration channel creation, the displacement process corresponds to the area marked at the left side of the figure. The physical nature of filtration channels creation in the watered layer is understandable. Nitrogen injected has the viscosity which is extremely small compared to the water viscosity. That is why the additional pressure gradient, which is created with nitrogen injection, provides the fluid movement throw the filtration channels, where, from the one hand, the porous medium absolute permeability is more, and, from the other hand, there is trapped gas, which has, as well as nitrogen, extremely small viscosity compared to the water.

Fig. 3. Scheme of trapped with water gas displacement with nitrogen

Fig. 4. Dependence of phase permeabilities and saturations of porous medium of uncemented sand As the contour water takes significant volume of the layer initial gas saturated part during the displacement, even at the low pressure of the production final stage, quite significant amount of natural gas is dissolved in the water. We estimated the influence of gas dissolved on the gas recovery during the nitrogen injection. Simulated gas saturated layer had the following conditions: pressure 3 MPa, temperature 20o C. Methane was applied for the trapped gas simulation in the first experiment (water for displacement was saturated with the methane too), nitrogen was used as a injected agent. In the second experiment nitrogen

simulated the trapped gas (water was saturated with nitrogen too), methane was taken as an injected agent. The rate of gases mutual displacement was about 3 meter/sec, that is close to the filtration rate real values during the real gas fields developing. There was fixed that water saturations for both experiments were close to their critical values by the moment of 1.5 gaseous agent injection into the porous medium. At the bases of accomplished investigations the following conclusions were made: there was no hysteresis phenomena observed during water saturated with gas filtration throw the porous medium; water saturation critical values during the water saturated with gas displacement with nitrogen and methane were pretty the same (54 2 % of pore volume for the system investigated); in the case of more dissoluble in water gas displacement (methane) with less dissoluble gas (nitrogen) some gas attenuated in the water could be transmitted to the filterable gaseous phase and could be extracted from the layer; at the same time in the case of less dissoluble in water gas displacement (nitrogen) there was no similar effect observed; because partial involvement of the dissolved gas into filtration process, the displacement coefficient during the displacement of methane with nitrogen (82 %) was significantly more than that at the displacement of nitrogen with methane (70 % from trapped gas reserves on the beginning moment of external gaseous agent injection).

The dynamics of one gas with another gas displacement process is represented at the Fig. 5. The experimental results obtained confirm that nitrogen could be successfully applied as a working agent for the influence to the watered layer, which has significant residual gas resources and provide the gas recovery increase.

Fig. 5. Nitrogen and methane extraction ration dynamics during their mutual displacement from porous medium at the pressure 3 MPa and temperature 20o C. For the investigation results adaptation to the conditions of Medveje field it was accomplished the thermodynamical simulation of the effecting process to the layer, downstream zone of which is watered, but there is low pressure gas in the upstream zone. During the investigations the calculations were accomplished. Those calculations were made at the bases of two-dimensional two-phase multicomponent filtrational model with special software The Petroleum WorkBench from Scientific Software - Intercomp, Inc. This software has the correspondent certification. During the simulation the both reservoir properties and pressure/temperature were set up as close as possible to Medveje field real conditions. Productive layer was simulated with fragment of length 1000 and width 100 m with net pay of 200 m. The pay section conditionally divided by two parts: gas saturated zone with capacity of 50 m with bound water, which

value was 30 % from selected fragment pore volume, and subjacent water saturated zone with capacity of 150 m with trapped gas value 25 % from that zone total volume. The average pressure in the layer was set up about 3 MPa. So, there was simulated gas layer, which is watered during the field depletion process in conditions of elastic water drive. Gas production and injection was realized with production well and injection well galleries, which are situated at the left and the right boundaries of the filtration area. Production wells cut gas returning intervals only, but working agent injection was realized into the watered layer zone. Layer permeability in the horizontal direction was set up 650,10-15 m2, vertical 3,25-15 2. The average porosity 29,5 %. So, the anisotropy factor during the layer reservoir properties distribution simulation about gas column was 200. Viscosity and water compressibility factor under the current pressure and temperature were correspondingly 0,8 centipoise and 4,35 . 10-7 1/kilopascal. At the simulation the native gas consisted of 100 % of methane. Averaged curves of gas relative permeabilities dependencies and water from water saturation, used under simulation, were taken from the results of Medveje field cores investigations. For the watered gas layer overdeveloping efficiency estimation three cases were taken into consideretion: deplition (1), the developing with two pore volume of nitrogen injection (2), 0.6 pore volume of nitrogen injection (3) with the subsequent overdepletion. For the cases pointed the rate of developing was 5 % from the initial gas resources per year. The different modes comparison of the layer exploitation at the bases of trapped gas extraction dynamics shown, that the basic part of the trapped gas is extracted by the time, when about 0,5 pore volume of layer watered zone is injected, but further exploitation by depletion is reasonable. The share of trapped gas displaced from the layer watered zone and final gas recovery at the third case of developing are pretty close about their values to the correspondent indexes for the second case, but in the same time its necessary to inject to the layer significantly less amount of nitrogen (63 million m3 and 202 million m3 correspondingly). Pretty high physical efficiency of trapped gas displacement by nitrogen could be explained with fractal nature of the gas phase filtration process. The results of mathematical simulation confirm the availability of the layer influence method application, based at the nitrogen injection into the layer zone situated beneath gas-water contact, for the gas recovery increase. So, nitrogen injection into the layer result in the conditions, which are much more favorable compared to conditions of depletion and which could provide gas recovery increase due to both trapped gas and low pressure gas displacement; pressure is supporting, field developing time is prolonging, unrecoverable reserves of gas is decreases. The investigated method implementation result in gas recovery increase up to 5 %. Calculating results obtained confirmed that under the influence with nitrogen at the watered layer, basically, methane strains but water strains in significantly lower degree. Low rate of water filtration evidences that nitrogen injection beneath of gas-water contact at the real gas fields will not result in a significant shift of that contact position and drowning. At the basis of physical and mathematical simulation results the calculations were accomplished. They demonstrated the expected technological indexes dynamics for the real gas field (Medveje) testing zones. On the beginning of nitrogen injection into the layer the total gas production was the same as under the traditional technology of overdeveloping at depletion 181,0 billion m3 or 64,5 % from the initial geological reserves. So, the residual low pressure gas reserves (at the pressure of 4,97 MPa) were 100 billion m3 (35,5 % from the initial geological reserves), including the trapped gas volume 5,9 billion m3. Prognosis calculations of low pressure gas production were accomplished under the similar annual gas production, but with simultaneous nitrogen injection for the first 13 years of overdeveloping at depletion, then nitrogen injection was stopped and further calculations continued before the total deposit inundation. Summary technological indexes of the testing district are presented in the table. The reality of proposed pilot project realization is guaranteed with possibility of mouth pressure creation at the injection wells, which could exceed the layer pressure by 2,4 2,9 MPa. That could provide output of pumping for some separate wells up to 500 thousands of m3 and totally apply the maximum output for nitrogen production equipment. The nitrogen injection pilot experiment will provide the following results obtaining: 10,5 billion m3 of gas will be produced for three years and 9 months in addition (3,7 % from the initial gas reserves). Strata pressure decline will be suspended in the testing areas for almost 4 years. For 4 years of nitrogen injection strata pressure in testing area will match to other areas pressure of Medveje field. It is expected that nitrogen will occupy the low zone of the layer watered part and it wouldnt be produced for the all period of its injection to the processed area. In the totally watered zones of testing areas it will be possible to observe the gravitational raising rate of injected nitrogen from the lower zones of productive layer, which will carry along gas-methane. In the case when gravitational division will take some years it will be possible to organize the additional extraction of

gas-methane with nitrogen. During the nitrogen injection the macroheterogeneity influence to the spatial vision of water and gas displacement with nitrogen will be studied. Testing Area Combined technological indexes of developing Table ## Basic indexes Unit Billion m
3 3

Value 281,0 181,0 64,5 100,0 95,5 13 5 2,4 13,3 10 100-350 0,7-10 6-3,2 92,6 33,0 64,1 22,8 28,5 10,2

1. Initial geological gas reserves, total 2. Total gas production on the moment of nitrogen injection start Residual low pressure gas reserves (at the pressure lower then 5 MP) 4. Period of nitrogen injection into the layer 3. Pressure decrease for the period of nitrogen injection: 5. 1 year 13 years 6. Total volume of nitrogen injected 7. Injection wells amount Injection wells parameters: Average injection output 8. Repression on the layer Pressure of injection Production of hard for extraction residual low pressure gas reserves (with new technology application), including: 9. for the period of nitrogen injection into the layer (1-13years) for the period of overdeveloping (14-27 years)

Billion m % from reserves Billion m3 % from reserves Years MPa Billion m3 unit Thousands m3 /day MP MP Billion m3 % from reserves Billion m3 % from reserves Billion m3 % from reserves

Nitrogen content in the low pressure gas produced: for the period of nitrogen injection into layer (1-13 years) 10 for the period of overdeveloping (14-27 )

0-13 13

References
1. Ter Sarkisov, R.M., The development of natural gas fields, Moscow, Nedra, 1999. 2. Vyakchirev, R.I., Gritsenko, A.I., Ter Sarkisov, R.M., The development and exploitation of gas fields, Moscow, Nedra, 2002. 3. Ter Sarkisov, R.M., Podyuk, V.G., Nikolaev, V.A., The scientific foundations for increase in efficiency of gas condensate fields exploitations, Moscow, Nedra, 1998.