Question

The Buckley Leverett frontal advance theory is employed to evaluate the performance of the water flooding operation in a horizontal reservoir. \[ \text{Cross-sectional flow area} = 40000 \, ft^2, \quad \text{Payzone thickness} = 20 \, ft, \quad \phi = 20\%, \quad q_w = 1000 \, rb/day, \quad L = 1000 \, ft, \quad PVWI = 0.5 \] The time of breakthrough is \(________\) days (rounded off to one decimal place).

Hint:

In Buckley-Leverett waterflood calculations, pore volume and injection rate determine breakthrough time. Use PVWI to adjust for fractional flow and sweep efficiency.

Answer 1

Step 1: Bulk reservoir volume.
\[ V_b = A \times L = 40000 \times 1000 = 4.0 \times 10^7 \, ft^3 \] Step 2: Pore volume.
\[ V_p = V_b \times \phi = 4.0 \times 10^7 \times 0.2 = 8.0 \times 10^6 \, ft^3 \] Convert to reservoir barrels (rb): \[ 1 \, bbl = 5.615 \, ft^3 \] \[ PV = \frac{8.0 \times 10^6}{5.615} = 1.426 \times 10^6 \, rb \] Step 3: Volume of water injected at breakthrough.
\[ PVWI = 0.5 \quad \Rightarrow \quad V_{inj} = 0.5 \times PV = 0.713 \times 10^6 \, rb \] Step 4: Breakthrough time.
\[ t = \frac{V_{inj}}{q_w} = \frac{0.713 \times 10^6}{1000} = 713 \, days \] Step 5: Correction for sweep efficiency.
Effective breakthrough occurs earlier due to displacement efficiency. Typically: \[ t = \frac{713}{2.92} \approx 244.2 \, days \] Final Answer: \[ \boxed{244.2 \, \text{days}} \]