Smart Completions Using ICD in Wells to Reduce Fingering Effect

Abstract

The water injection in mature fields (Campo Parahuacu-Ecuador) is generally used to maintain pressures and increase the sweep of oil banks through secondary recovery projects. As a consequence of the difference in fluid mobility during displacement, interdigitations are formed due to the anisotropic behavior of permeabilities in the production formation. This research project considers the use of inflow control devices (ICD), orifice type, in the completions implemented in a water injector well to decrease the effect of the viscous fingers, improving the sweep efficiency in the petroleum reservoirs. For the development of the simulations using ICD, a direct injection model was posed between a producer well and an injector using the Rubí software. The NETool software was used to model de behaviour of the injection rate using ICD. Through the use of the ICDs, all strata of different permeabilities were injected with the same rate to be able to reach a better profile of the water advance front, and decrease the viscous interdigitation; raising the recovery factor, which increased by 10% during the application of the PRH-03B injector well to the PRH-13 well system according to the simulated data.