A development of the productive strata of Bazhenov formation relating to hard-to-recover and unconventional reserves is one of the most promising alternate options while continuously reducing of conventional oil resource base in Russia. According to estimates of Federal`s Agency for subsoil use, Bazhenov formation may contain 180-360 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.
The prospective development of Bazhenov formation with a high degree of organic matter enrichment may be associated with the injection of air under high pressure into the producing formation leading to the emergence of a highly miscible with the oil displacing agent being formed by in-situ oxidation and thermodynamic processes.
Based on the results of VNIIneft JSC studies the features of thermal exposure on the kerogen-containing rock samples of Bazhenov formation have been defined. The oxidation process of kerogen-containing disintegrated rock samples takes place both in the low- and in the high-temperature areas with relatively low values of activation energy which is characterizing the high reactivity of organic matter contained in the reservoirs of Bazhenov formation. The oxidation process researches in-situ of the large samples of Bazhenov formation revealed a strong dependence between the rate of oxidation and filtration and capacity properties of kerogen containing breed. Despite the high rate of the oxidizing reactions of the kerogen due to its low activation energy compared with oil, organic matter contained in the rock are not exposed to complete destruction by the low filtration and capacity properties of the rock of Bazhenov formation. Accordingly, the combustion front in-situ of kerogen-containing breed leaves a "tail" zone of the burning organic matter inconsistent with the classical idea of in-situ combustion in the common reservoir not containing kerogen.References
1. Rodova N., Will Russia replicate US success in tight oil development,
Platts, 2012, 23 August.
2. Sheynman A.B., Malofeev G.E., Sergeev A.I., Vozdeystvie na plast
teplom pri dobyche nefti (The thermal treatment in the reservoir for oil),
Moscow: Nedra Publ., 1969, 256 p.
3. Vasil’evskiy A.V., Nikitina E.A., Tolokonskiy S.I., Charuev S.A., An integrated
approach to the study of the processes of air-injection for enhanced oil
recovery (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2016, no. 11,
pp. 102–104.
4. Nemova V.D., Conditions of reservoir formation in deposits of bazhenov
strata whithin the junction of Krasnolenin arch and Frolov megadepression
(In Russ.), Neftegazovaya geologiya. Teoriya i praktika, 2012, V.7, no. 2,
URL: http://www.ngtp.ru/rub/4/23_2012.pdf
5. Nemova V.D., Litologiya i kollektorskie svoystva otlozheniy bazhenovskogo
gorizonta na zapade Shirotnogo Priob’ya (Lithology and reservoir properties
of Bazhenov horizon sediments in the west of Ob River Region): thesis
of candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences, Moscow, 2012.
6. Grishin P.A., E.V. Zhidkova, E.A. Nikitina, Tolokonskiy S.I., Kinetics of the oxidation
processes of the kerogen-containing rocks under the thermal treatment
(In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2015, no. 2, pp. 59–61.
7. Morozov N.V., Belen’kaya I.Yu., Zhukov V.V., 3D modeling of Bagenov fm.
hydrocarbon system: details of physicochemical properties of hydrocarbons
prognosis (In Russ.), PROneft’, 2016, no. 1, pp. 38-45
8. Plynin V.V., Fomkin A.V., Urazov S.S., Chemical transformation model for
numerical simulation of the oxidation of oil in the reservoir (in situ combustion)
(In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2011, no. 12,
pp. 100–103.