A new numerical simulator considering the effect of enhanced liquid on relative permeability

Enhanced liquid treatment magnifies the difference of fluid flow velocity between borehole and inter-well zones. The flow velocity will influence the relative permeability and change the percolation law in the oil-water two-phase flow. In this study, we conduct three group experiments with different permeability using 15 artificial cores. The unsteady-states measurement method is used to test the relative permeability curve at different velocities. We found that relative permeability would be affected by the testing velocity based on the experimental results. A new relative permeability equation considering flow velocity is established, which indicates that higher oil recovery can be obtained by an early enhanced liquid treatment. There is also a critical velocity with different permeability. If the flow rate (vw) of the enhanced liquid treatment is larger than the critical velocity, the treatment will improve the oil recovery. On the contrary, if the vw of the enhanced liquid treatment is larger than the critical velocity, the treatment will reduce the oil recovery. We summarize the new relative permeability equation and implement it to the numerical simulation model. The new simulator is validated with the three-parallel sand-pack experiment and the actual China offshore oilfield model. The new simulator could predict oil production accurately after enhanced liquid treatment.