A novel approach to upscaling reservoir simulation modelling for polymer processes

Polymer flooding is a widely employed enhanced oil recovery technique that involves injecting polymer solutions into reservoirs to improve recovery efficiency. Key mechanisms such as mobility control, polymer-rock interaction, gravity segregation, viscous crossflow, and reservoir heterogeneity govern fluid displacement and sweep efficiency. While detailed grid resolutions are essential for accurately capturing these processes, their computational intensity necessitates upscaling methods to balance precision and efficiency. This research develops a comprehensive upscaling methodology specifically tailored for polymer flooding simulations, integrating both black oil and compositional simulation frameworks. A four-stage upscaling workflow was formulated: (1) single-phase upscaling; (2) relative permeability upscaling; (3) tuning of a sigmoidal polymer viscosity multiplier and (4) optimisation of the Todd-Longstaff mixing parameter function. The methodology was evaluated using 1D, 2D and 3D models in the E100 simulator, across homogeneous, layered, and heterogeneous reservoir types. These simulations demonstrated improved alignment with fine-grid results in terms of oil recovery factor, water cut profile, reservoir pressure, and polymer productions. Building on this, a novel upscaling approach was developed for compositional polymer flooding simulations using the E300 simulator. This approach incorporated alpha factors as transport coefficients to dynamically adjust component flow rates across coarse grid cells, thereby enhancing the alignment with fine-scale flow dynamics. A sequential workflow was implemented involving single-phase, two-phase, and alpha factor adjustments. Simulations on a 1D homogeneous model showed that this method significantly reduced numerical dispersion and improved the representation of phase behaviour, component interactions, and mobility effects particularly for polymer and heavier hydrocarbons. Overall, this work provides a validated and transferable upscaling methodology for polymer flooding, balancing computational efficiency with predictive accuracy. It also offers practical insights into optimising the sigmoidal viscosity function and transport correction factors for enhanced compositional EOR simulations. Future extensions may focus on applying this workflow to multi-dimensional and highly heterogeneous systems for improved field-scale modelling.

Grantor dc:publisher

Heriot-Watt University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Razali, Nur Myra Rahayu Binti

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Stephen, Doctor Karl Dunbar

Statement dc:rights

• All items in ROS are protected by the Creative Commons copyright license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/scotland/), with some rights reserved.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://www.ros.hw.ac.uk/handle/10399/5267

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ros.hw.ac.uk:10399/5267