Basra University

College of Engineering
Petroleum & gas engineering department

Secondary Oil Recovery

Introduction

Ali K. Al-Maliki, 2025

Outline
➢ Oil recovery methods
➢ Primary recovery
➢ Secondary recovery
➢ Tertiary recovery
➢ Sweep efficiency
➢ Examples: Field development strategy
Oil Recovery Methods
Oil recovery refers to the process of extracting oil from the reservoir

➢ Recoverable oil from Original Oil In Place (OOIP) is recovered

through 3 main recovery processes, Primary, Secondary &

Fluid flow rate

Tertiary recoveries.

Time

Overall recovery
Time
Oil Recovery Methods
Oil Recovery Methods
Oil Recovery Methods
➢ The recovery factor at the primary recovery is
generally said to be no more than 30% of the
total amount of crude oil in the ground.

➢ Although secondary recovery increases the

recovery factor to about 40%, there is still 60%
to 70% of the crude oil left underground.

➢ To further increase the recovery factor, the

tertiary recovery, called Enhanced Oil Recovery
(EOR) is used.

➢ Many research institutes and oil development companies have been developing technologies to
change the physical and chemical properties of rocks and formation fluids and to recover the crude
oil remaining in the ground.
Oil Recovery Methods
Oil Recovery Methods
Example: Target oil for EOR processes for high API oil

High API – oil ( volatile crude oil of low viscosity)

Oil Recovery Methods
In general, the development of oil and gas field is classified into the following three phases:
Primary recovery: Crude oil flows out caused by the energy of the reservoir.
Secondary recovery: Water or gas is injected into the reservoir to push out the crude oil.
Tertiary recovery: The physical and chemical properties of rocks and formation fluids are altered to recover the crude oil
remaining underground.
Primary Recovery (Natural depletion)
• The initial stage of oil production from reservoirs is called primary production where at this stage, the
oil is forced to the surface either by natural reservoir forces or by using any of the Artificial Lift methods
without applying any of the pressure support methods.

• In the naturally oil primary recovery process, reservoir pressure may be depleted in such way that it is
not able to deliver the oil to the surface.

• The natural reservoir forces depends on rock & fluid properties, geological structure & geometry of the
reservoir.

These natural reservoir forces are such as:

1- Solution gas drive

2- Gas cap drive
3- Water drive
4- Gravity drainage
5- Combination or mixed drive
Primary Recovery (Natural depletion)
Rock & liquid expansion drive mechanism
where oil is produced due to pore volume compressibility (Cf), i.e.,
rock expansion, oil expansion, the expansion of the gases in solution
inside the oil
Gravity drainage drive mechanism where oil is naturally moving from
the updip (high structure) of the reservoir towards the well penetrating the
downdip (low structure)

Depletion or solution gas drive mechanism

in which oil is produced due to the energy resulted of gas liberation from
the crude oil & the subsequent expansion of the solution gas with the
reservoir pressure depletion

Gas cap & Water drive mechanism

Displacement by movement of naturally pressurized fluids in a
communication with the reservoir (i.e. natural bottom water drive from an
aquifer or top gas cap drive or a combination between gas cap & an aquifer)
Primary Recovery (Natural depletion)
Primary Recovery (Natural depletion)

Ratio of reservoir pressure & initial pressure, %

Recovery factor, % OIIP

Primary Recovery
• In the naturally oil primary recovery process, when the reservoir pressure is depleted in such way that
it is not able to deliver the oil to the surface, in this case, one of the Artificial Lift (A/L) methods is
applied to produce the oil from the bottomhole to surface

• There are many Artificial Lift (A/L) methods applied in the field such as:
Secondary Recovery
➢ In the secondary recovery stage
of oil production, most reservoir
oil remains in place after the
natural energy that moves oil
inside the reservoir has been
depleted.

➢ In this case, injecting water or

gas into the oil reservoirs to
increase the natural force that is
required to maintain the
reservoir pressure @ a certain
level & force moving some of
the remaining oil to the wells
Secondary Recovery
1- Water Flooding
➢ Process of injection of water into a wellbore to push, or “drive” oil to another well to
increase the recovery factor

➢ One of the most widely used EOR techniques

➢ Objective of water flooding:

1- To increase the recovery factor ( Sweeping more oil)

2- Pressure maintenance ( Filling the voidage left by

produced fluids)

3- Maintain the reservoir pressure and BHP of the well

above bubble point pressure
Secondary Recovery
2- Gas Flooding
This method is similar to waterflooding in
principal, and is used to maintain gas cap pressure
even if oil displacement is not required.

Gas flooding is the injection of hydrocarbon or

nonhydrocarbon components into oil reservoirs
that are typically waterflooded to residual oil
(and perhaps in some cases as a primary or
secondary method). Injected components are
usually vapors (gas phase) at atmospheric
temperature and pressure and may include
mixtures of hydrocarbons from methane to
propane, and nonhydrocarbon components such
as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and even hydrogen
sulfide or other exotic gases such as SO2.
Tertiary Recovery (Enhanced Oil Recovery)
➢ Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes include all methods that use external sources
of energy and/or materials to recover oil that can not be produced, economically by
conventional methods (Primary or Secondary).

➢ In tertiary recovery methods, the

physical and chemical properties
of rocks and formation fluids are
altered to recover the crude oil
remaining underground.
Tertiary Recovery (Enhanced Oil Recovery)
➢ Tertiary recovery includes all other methods used to increase the recovery factor
Tertiary Recovery (Enhanced Oil Recovery)
➢ Typical recoveries from Tertiary methods are 5-20% of OIP after primary and secondary
recovery (average 13%).

High API – oil ( volatile crude oil of low viscosity)

Objective of EOR

➢ The goal of any enhanced oil recovery process is to mobilize "remaining" oil.

➢ EOR methods used to improve oil displacement & reservoir recovery sweep efficiencies
and explain their differences

➢ Oil displacement efficiency is improved by reducing oil viscosity (e.g., thermal floods) or
by reducing capillary forces or interfacial tension (e.g., miscible floods).

➢ Volumetric sweep efficiency is improved by developing a more favorable mobility ratio

between the injectant and the remaining oil-in-place (e.g., polymer floods, water
alternating- gas processes).
Sweep efficiency

Sweep efficiency measures how effectively an injected fluid (like

water or gas) contacts and displaces the hydrocarbons from the
reservoir.

Areal sweep efficiency, EA: The fraction of the floodable pore

volume area swept by the injected fluid.

It is defined as the fraction of the reservoir area in the

HORIZONTAL plane that is invaded & swept by the injected
(displacing) to the total reservoir area at a certain time.

It depends primarily upon the relative flow properties of oil & the
injected water, reservoir heterogeneity & the injection pattern used
to flood the reservoir.
Sweep efficiency

Vertical sweep efficiency, Ez: The fraction of the floodable pore

volume in the vertical plane swept by the injected fluid. It is
influenced by reservoirs stratification.

• It is defined as the fraction of the reservoir area in the

VERTICAL plane that is invaded & swept by the injected
(displacing) to the total reservoir area at a certain time.

• It depends primarily upon vertical reservoir heterogeneity

(variation in vertical permeability)
Sweep efficiency

Volumetric (Macroscopic) Sweep efficiency, Ev:

It is also known as the MACROSCOPIC
displacement efficiency

It is defined as the sweep efficiency effect caused

by both of areal (Ea) & vertical (Ez) sweep
efficiencies

It is expressed as Ev = Ea * Ez
Sweep efficiency
Displacement (Microscopic) sweep efficiency, ED: The fraction of oil which injected fluid will
displace in that portion of the reservoir invaded by injected fluid.

It is the improvement of the normal displacement efficiency due to the ability of the injected
fluids to displace much more amount of the remaining oil from the reservoir without leaving
bypassed oil behind in the flooded area such as applied in the EOR methods.

We can see in this figure that the normal

Water injection swept the area but on a
microscopical scale still there is trapped oil
that was not recovered that requires
application of any of the EOR methods

In EOR, there will be a change in the oil properties either due to chemicals used in the injected
fluids as polymer or surfactants flooding or the injected fluid itself as in the miscible gas injection.
Sweep efficiency

The overall sweep efficiency, E: The product of the 3 sweep efficiencies determines the total
sweep efficiency or the overall displacement efficiency (E) or the recovery factor.
Sweep efficiency

Np = N x EA x Ez x ED

RF= E = (NP/N) = EA x Ez x ED
Where
N = OIIP at the start of injection, STB
Np = cumulative oil production, STB
EA = Areal sweep efficiency, fraction
Ez = Vertical sweep efficiency, fraction
Ev= Volumetric sweep efficiency, fraction
ED = Displacement sweep efficiency, fraction
E = Overall sweep efficiency, fraction
RF= Recovery factor, fraction
Sweep efficiency
• Target for the EOR process is the TRAPPED oil in the SWEPT areas & BYPASSED oil in the UN-SWEPT areas of
the reservoir.

SWEPT area
Un-SWEPT area
Example: Field development strategy

Primary recovery stage:

All wells are oil producers
A certain space between all well

Secondary recovery stage:

Waterflooding operation in place
Some oil producers are converted
into injectors
Example: Field development strategy

A certain well pattern is formed

5-Spot water flood pattern

Example: Field development strategy
The effectiveness of the water
Water flood progression “sweeping” the area of the
pattern is called the “areal
At mid-life time of WF, Time 3 sweep efficiency”, or Ea .
At early time of WF, Time 1 Water reaching the producer
Oil wells Produce 100 % oil only Oil wells Produce oil & water

At early time of WF, Time 2 At late-life time of WF, Time 4

Water banks expanding Oil wells Produce water
Oil wells still Produce 100 % oil only much more than oil
Oil
Injection water
Example: Field development strategy
Water flood efficiency in
vertical direction

Permeability has a vital impact

on the efficiency of water
injection in the vertical Oil reservoir with eight layers, with
direction ( Vertical sweep variable permeability
efficiency)

Most oil reservoirs encompass

of multi-layers having different
permeabilities
Example: Field development strategy
Water flood efficiency in vertical direction

The effectiveness of the water

“sweeping” the layers of the
reservoir is called the “vertical
sweep efficiency”, or Ev .

3
Example: Field development strategy_Iraqi field
Example: Field development strategy_Iraqi field

Change of saturation with time