Collaboration between Oil Development and Water/Power Consumption in High-Water-Cut Oilfields

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 15; no. 14; p. 11405
• Main Authors: Jia, Deli, Zhang, Jiqun, Sun, Yufei, Wang, Suling, Gao, Sheng, Qiao, Meixia, Li, Yanchun, Qu, Ruyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2023
• Subjects: Analysis; China; Crude oil; Efficiency; Energy conservation; Energy consumption; Energy management systems; Enhanced oil recovery; Floods; Forecasts and trends; Oil consumption; Oil fields; Oil reserves; Petroleum mining; Petroleum production; Physical properties; Production increases; Raw materials; Structural adjustment; Sustainability; Water flooding; China; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics > USSR; Russia
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su151411405

Waterflooding is the main development technique used in the vast majority of oilfields in the world. However, as the waterflood oilfields enter the stages with (ultra-)high water cut, the water/power consumption per ton of oil remains unabatedly high. This paper presents a systematic analysis of the development stages and strategies of some typical waterflood oilfields in the world and proposes the necessity to establish a mode and technical system of collaboration between oil development and water/power consumption in mature oilfields with (ultra-)high water cut. Then, taking a pilot test area of an ultra-high-water-cut oilfield in northeastern China as an example, this paper investigates its development mode and water/power consumption; optimizes the technical strategies from the aspects of fine reservoir analysis, artificial lift system and surface gathering system; and predicts the application results. It is found that the optimizations of fine reservoir analysis and development plans effectively reduce the water consumption per ton of oil and have a certain but not remarkable contribution to the power consumption per ton of oil. Moreover, the optimizations of the artificial lift system and surface gathering system significantly reduce the power consumption per ton of oil. Under conditions of low production and low efficiency, the optimization of the artificial lift system greatly improves the energy-saving effect, which will be a focus of future research. Finally, this paper recommends measures for collaboration between oil development and water/power consumption in high-water-cut oilfields.