Performance of gel treatments in reservoirs with multi-scale heterogeneity

Abstract

Spatially-correlated permeability fields are usually generated by single scale correlation. To overcome the limitations of single scale permeability fields in describing real situation, permeability fields are realized by multi-scale correlation. Multi-scale heterogeneity results in the existence of extreme values of permeability and complex connectivity. Performance of gel treatment depends on permeability distribution of field which is determined by correlation length and variance. Longer correlation length and high variance improve the effectiveness of gel treatment. Also, longer application of preflush results in larger reduction of water-oil ratio by gel treatment.