Modeling Challenges for Cold Gas Oil Gravity Drainage cGOGD Development of a Naturally Fractured Reservoir and Lessons Learnt –A Case Study, North Oman Oil Field
Authors: Behera Chaitanya , Balushi Majda , Al Said Badar , Gavholt Jeppe , Bazzalgette Loic , Suwannathatsa Sakharin , Riyami Mohammed , Almeida Pedro , Agarwal Binayak , Van Heel Antoon , Al-Ismaili Ibrahim 
Published: December 2021

Global experience in cold Gas Oil Gravity Drainage (cGOGD) recovery with crestal gas injection of infield produced gas is very limited, but is a proven economic recovery method for fractured carbonate reservoirs in North Oman. Despite decades of research in nature of fluid flow in fracture-matrix media and application of sophisticated tools in building fracture model of a naturally fractured reservoir (NFR) reliable prediction of the GOGD production performance often proved elusive. Characterization of fracture networks and modeling of matrix-fracture transfer function, gravity induced fluid flow in heterogeneous matrix media especially in case of capillary discontinuity due to tight interbedded matrix and capillary pressure hysteresis are the key challenges for reservoir modeller. Re-infiltration of oil into lower matrix blocks, matrix permeability, fracture density and spacing, wettability and reservoir fluid properties have significant impact on the well and field performance. The risk posed due to undermining the key modeling parameters have huge implication on facility design, subsurface concept and value of the project. The challenges in upscaling the fracture properties in a range of grid scale, experimental design for history matching and uncertainty analysis, understanding the oil rim development in leached zone and numerical options are some of the key aspects which have been illustrated in this paper.

The field being on primary production since 1985, showed poor recovery and high water cut. Multi-episodic tectonic events resulted in variable fracture intensity and fracture permeability anisotropy. This study investigated the effects of the parameters on cGOGD recovery process, operating strategy (e.g., gas injection rate and liquid offtake) and on the overall field performance. The development decisions are not simply relied upon the dynamic simulator results, but an integrated understanding from comprehensive analytical calculations for multiple recovery mechanism such as fluid expansion, fracture oil displacement, gravity drainage from background matrix and leached zone and analogue field GOGD performance were taken into consideration.

The subsurface development decisions such as producer location with respect to faults and lineament, well pattern & spacing, producer depth, gas injector locations, gas injection scenarios, aquifer pump-out wells and maximum off-take rate were analyzed and optimum decision could be taken from multi-scenario modeling studies. The GOGD development could increase the field recovery up to ~9% at low UTC and positive NPV.

A pragmatic and integrated modeling workflow with multi-scenario modeling approach was pursued to address the development risk which facilitated the field to be economically developed. The key modeling challenges have been highlighted for GOGD modeling process with gas recycling option of development which can be replicated in similar fields in PDO.