Fluid, petroleum flow modelling

Fluid flow modelling was performed assuming two-phase flow (petroleum and water) based on the Darcy flow equation. This simplification is assumed valid as the petroleum phase encountered in Snorre field is undersaturated. 

Ross (R2) measured liquid-phase holdup and residence-time distribution by a tracer-pulse technique. Experiments were carried out for cocurrent flow in model columns of 2- and 4-in. diameter with air and water as fluid media, as well as in pilot-scale and industrial-scale reactors of 2-in. and 6.5-ft diameters used for the catalytic hydrogenation of petroleum fractions. The columns were packed with commercial cylindrical catalyst pellets of -in. diameter and length. The liquid holdup was from 40 to 50% of total bed volume for nominal liquid velocities from 8 to 200 ft/hr in the model reactors, from 26 to 32% of volume for nominal liquid velocities from 6 to 10.5 ft/hr in the pilot unit, and from 20 to 27 % for nominal liquid velocities from 27.9 to 68.6 ft/hr in the industrial unit. In that work, a few sets of results of residence-time distribution experiments are reported in graphical form, as tracer-response curves. 

In part II of the present report the nature and molecular characteristics of asphaltene and wax deposits from petroleum crudes are discussed. The field experiences with asphaltene and wax deposition and their related problems are discussed in part III. In order to predict the phenomena of asphaltene deposition one has to consider the use of the molecular thermodynamics of fluid phase equilibria and the theory of colloidal suspensions. In part IV of this report predictive approaches of the behavior of reservoir fluids and asphaltene depositions are reviewed from a fundamental point of view. This includes correlation and prediction of the effects of temperature, pressure, composition and flow characteristics of the miscible gas and crude on (i) Onset of asphaltene deposition (ii) Mechanism of asphaltene flocculation. The in situ precipitation and flocculation of asphaltene is expected to be quite different from the controlled laboratory experiments. This is primarily due to the multiphase flow through the reservoir porous media, streaming potential effects in pipes and conduits, and the interactions of the precipitates and the other in situ material presnet. In part V of the present report the conclusions are stated and the requirements for the development of successful predictive models for the asphaltene deposition and flocculation are discussed. 

Weber, K. J., 1982, Influence of Common Sedimentary Structures on Fluid Flow in Reservoir Models Journal of Petroleum Technology, March, 1982, pp. 665-672. 

This revolution will spread to all chemical and petroleum processes that are large enough in scale to justify the investment in model building and experimental verification. Further progress needs better chemical kinetic data. The most deficient area remains in predicting the fluid mechanical and solid flow behaviors in reactors, where progress is sorely needed to round out the science of reaction engineering. 

A comprehensive review of the important factors that affect the flow of emulsions in porous media is presented with particular emphasis on petroleum emulsions. The nature, characteristics, and properties of porous media are discussed. Darcy s law for the flow of a single fluid through a homogeneous porous medium is introduced and then extended for multiphase flow. The concepts of relative permeability and wettability and their influence on fluid flow are discussed. The flow of oil-in-water (OfW) and water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions in porous media and the mechanisms involved are presented. The effects of emulsion characteristics, porous medium characteristics, and the flow velocity are examined. Finally, the mathematical models of emulsion flow in porous media are also reviewed. 

As explained above, cocurrent gas-liquid flow in packed beds, packing being either catalytic or inert, is advantageously employed in the petroleum and chemical industries. Successful modeling of mass transfer in packed-bed reactors requires careful study of the three-phase hydrodynamics— fluid flow patterns, pressure drops, and liquid holdup. 

Ungerer, P., Burrus, J., Doligez, B., Ch net, P.Y. and F. Bessis, 1990. Basin evaluation by integrated two-dimensional modeling of heat transfer, fluid flow, hydrocarbon generation, and migration, The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, Vol. 74, no. 3, pp. 309-335... 

Watts, N.L., 1987. Theoretical aspects of cap-rock and fault seals for single- and two-phase hydrocarbon columns. Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 4, November 1987, pp. 274-307 Weber, K.J., 1982. Influence of common sedimentary structures on fluid flow in reservoir models. Journal of Petroleum Technology, March 1982, pp. 665-672 Weber, K.J., 1987. Hydrocarbon distribution patterns in Nigerian growth fault structures controlled by structural style and stratigraphy. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 1, pp. 91-104... 

Sverdrup, E. and Bjprlykke, K. 1992. Small faults in sandstones from Spitsbergen and Haltenbanken. A study of diagenetic and defor-mational structures and their relation to fluid flow. In R.M. Larsen, H. Brekke, B.T. Larsen and E. Talleraas (Editors), Structural and Tectonic Modelling and its Application to Petroleum Geology. NPF Special Publication I. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. SOT-SIS. 

Combining the results from the fluid flow, kinetic modelling and the accepted geochemical petroleum populations in the area, this study concludes there are evidences pointing towards kitchen 34/5 as uniquely responsible for the Snorre accumulation. 

Nakayama, K. Lerche, I. 1987. Basin analysis by model simulation—effects of geologic parameters on one-dimensional and two-dimensional fluid-flow systems, with application to an oil-field. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 71, 1120. 

In this model the reduced permeability at faults is caused by advanced quartz diagenesis which is exponential in temperature (cf. Fig. 9), leading to constrained fluid flow and thereby overpressure development. Traps which earlier contained oil will, in the normal case of continued communication with a subsiding basin, eventually receive high GOR petroleum in the form of a condensate, i.e. a gas phase, from the subsiding deep source rocks. The replacement of the oil with the low density gas phase, in shallower... 

Wang Z and Du Z. 2001. Mathematical models and numerical simulations of multiphase fluid flow and solid deformation processes under non-isothermal conditions for elastoplastic oil reservoir formations. Petroleum Exploration and Development, 28(6), pp. 68-72. 

E.g. in the so-called "pseudo-equilibrium model, developed by Sylvester [53-56], the same design procedure is used as in a single phase catalytic gas phase reaction, where the mass transfer resistance is replaced by a suitable overall term. Bulk flow and dispersion of the liquid phase are neglected and the whole transport mechanisms are lumped into the equilibrium of the reactant concentrations between gas-, liquid- and particle phase. It is an application of the same principle used successfully in fluid/fluid reactions [57], But the necessary precondition is that the rate of reaction is slow compared to the transfer rate across the phase boundaries, so that equilibrium can really by assured. This might be justified in some of the hydrotreating processes, but certainly not in case of an aqueous liquid phase, existing in waste water treating. Earlier models used in petroleum industry have taken in-... 

We discuss current computational trends (beyond Mechanistic ID Models) related to flow assurance problems in the oil and gas sector. The developments needed to bring advanced Computational Fluid Multi-VXuid Dynamics (CFD CA/FD) techniques and models to a mature stage will also be discussed. The contribution presents the possibilities offered today by these simulation technologies to treat complex, multiphase multicomponent flow problems occurring in the gas and petroleum engineering. Examples of various degrees of sophistication will be presented. 

We want to develop the equations for the two-phase flow of fluids in porous media and discuss numerical methods for their solution. These problems are important in describing the flow of water and oil in petroleum reservoirs. The process of waterflooding is where water is injected into a reservoir in order to recover the oil that is residual in the void spaces of rocks such as sandstone and limestone. In order to describe this process, a mathematical model must be developed for the two-phase flow of water and oil through the porous rock material. 

Guo, B., K. Sun, and A. Ghalambor. 2008. Well Productivity Handbook Vertical, Fractured, Horizontal, Multilateral, and Intelligent Wells. Houston Gulf Publishing. Provides information and guidance for modeling oil and gas production wells. Covers petroleum fluid properties, reservoir deliverability, wellbore flow performance, and productivity of intelligent well systems. 

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