THE IMPACT OF CROSS-BEDDING ON HYDROCARBON RECOVERIES FROM SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS

SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS EXHIBITING CROSS-BEDDED ARCHITECTURE REPRESENT A LARGE FRACTION OF THE WORLD'S OIL RESERVES, YET FEW STUDIES HAVE ADDRESSED THE EFFECTS OF SUCH STRUCTURES ON RECOVERIES. THIS RESEARCH WILL PROVIDE NEW INSIGHT INTO THESE EFFECTS AND PROVIDE A BROAD BASIS FOR IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATIONS. SPECIFICALLY, THIS STUDY WILL EMPLOY SIMULATION TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTS OF VARIOUS CROSS-BEDDING CONFIGURATIONS ON INITIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF OIL, GAS, AND WATER IN SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS AS DETERMINED BY CAPILLARY-GRAVITY EQUILIBRIUM. SIMULATION ALSO WILL BE USEDTO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF CROSS- BEDDING ON RECOVERY BY SOLUTION-GAS DRIVE IN SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS. THIS STUDY COMPLEMENTS EARLIER STUDIES ON WATER-OIL DISPLACEMENT IN CROSS-BEDDED SYSTEMS BY FOCUSING ON INITIAL CONDITIONS AND PRIMARY RECOVERY MECHANISMS. TOGETHER, THESE WILL PROVIDE A CLEARER EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF CROSS-BEDDING ON OIL RECOVERY. THE TECHNIQUES EVOLVED FROM THESE INVESTIGATIONS,COUPLED WITH PRIOR DEVELOPMENTS, WILL PROVIDE GENERAL FORMALISMS FOR INCLUDING CROSS-BEDDING EFFECTS IN LARGE SCALE SIMULATIONS OF OIL RECOVERY PROCESSES. THUS, A PHASE II EFFORT WOULD UTILIZE THESE RESULTS IN DEVELOPING IMPROVEDPRIMARY, SECONDARY, AND ENHANCED RECOVERY PROCESSES IN SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS.