Comparative Performance Analysis of FAWAG for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Gas-Invaded Fractured Reservoirs

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Institute of Petroleum Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Enhancing oil recovery from hydrocarbon reservoirs, particularly in mature and naturally fractured fields, is one of the key challenges in reservoir engineering. Water Alternating Gas (WAG) injection has gained considerable attention due to its ability to reduce the gas–oil ratio (GOR) and improve sweep efficiency; however, limitations such as high gas mobility and poor volumetric efficiency highlight the need for more advanced techniques. In this study, the Foam-Assisted Water Alternating Gas (FAWAG) process was investigated using three-dimensional reservoir simulation with a dual-porosity model, in which the main reservoir characteristics included a low-permeability matrix (5 mD) and high-permeability fractures (100 mD) to accurately simulate the crossflow phenomenon. Moreover, foam was modeled through a set of mobility reduction functions dependent on pressure, water and oil saturation, as well as adsorption on the rock surface, in order to control gas flow in fractures, restrict its penetration into high-permeability zones, and direct fluids toward low-permeability regions. The results demonstrated that the FAWAG method increased oil recovery to 34% and reduced the gas–oil ratio by 40%, outperforming other enhanced oil recovery methods such as water injection, miscible gas injection, and foam injection. This improvement is mainly attributed to gas mobility control by foam and more effective pressure distribution within the reservoir. The findings emphasize the importance of optimizing the key parameters of the injection process and open a new pathway for further laboratory and field-scale investigations.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Petroleum Research
Volume 35, 1404-5 - Serial Number 144
January and February 2025
Pages 3-21

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