Improved Oil Recovery in Carmpolis

Field: R&D and Field Implementations

Roberto F. Mezzomo, SPE, Jos M. Luvizotto, SPE, and Cesar L. Palagi, SPE, Petrobras S.A.

Summary
Carmpolis field, in northeastern Brazils Sergipe/Alagoas basin,
6
3
is the countrys largest onshore oil accumulation at 25310 m
original oil in place (OOIP) and a current total oil production of
2880 m3/d. Discovered in 1963, it was quickly put into primary
production. Waterflooding followed in 1971 at the central portion
of the field. The combination of adverse fluid mobility ratio,
reservoir heterogeneity, and the lack of proper selective injection
led to the quick decline of production; however, a major program
of selective plugging, stimulation, and selective injection was
able to stabilize production immediately. Waterflooding was then
extended to the entire main block of the field. The well pattern
was changed from five- to nine-spot arrangement, with a corresponding downsizing in well spacing and injection rates.
Carmpolis also was subjected to an intense improved oil recovery (IOR) campaign with pilot tests on polymer flooding, steamflooding and in-situ combustion. The history of Carmpolis field
and the significance of waterflooding to oil production in Brazil,
with approximately 2000106 m3 OOIP currently submitted to
this method of recovery, led to the selection of Carmpolis as the
target for one of the projects in the PRAVAP (Petrobras Strategic
IOR Program) portfolio. The scope of this project included a
review of the waterflooding operation through improved reservoir characterization and flow simulation, as well as the investigation of other IOR methods that might reverse the declining production trend. This paper reviews the IOR history of Carmpolis
field and summarizes the outcome of the PRAVAP project that led
to the approval of field implementations worth U.S. $34 million
net present value (NPV).
Introduction
Waterflooding has come a long way since its accidental implementation in 1865,1 in the area around the city of Pithole, Pennsylvania.
Less than a century later, this improved method of recovery was
responsible for more than 10% of the total oil production in the
U.S. By 1986, this share was thought to be in the 50% range.2 This
scenario is not any different around the world, especially in major
producing regions like the former USSR and the Middle East. A
good example is the giant field of Ghawar in Saudi Arabia, already
partially under waterflooding.
The situation in Brazil is very similar. Close to 2000106 m3
OOIP are currently under the influence of water injection. In the
near future, water injection rates will reach more than 500 000
m3/d in the discovered fields of Campos basin. In that basin,
water injection in Marlim field alone is expected to peak around
100 000 m3/d. In fact, the history of waterflooding in Brazil dates
back to the early 1950s, and Carmpolis field onshore
Sergipe/Alagoas basin, as shown in Fig. 1, is a very characteristic part of it. Discovered in 1963 and quickly brought on stream,
it produces predominantly from the sandstone and conglomerate
reservoirs of the Carmpolis/Muribeca formation and secondarily from the deeper Barra de Itiuba formation and the fractured
basement (see Fig. 2). Accordingly, oil quality varies considerably throughout the stratigraphic column. General reservoir data
is given in Table 1; for a good description of the reservoir geology, refer to Cndido and Wardlaw.3
Copyright 2001 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper (SPE 69811) was revised for publication from paper SPE 59280, first presented
at the 2000 SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 3-5 April.
Original manuscript received for review 12 June 2000. Revised manuscript received 28
November 2000. Paper peer approved 1 December 2000.

This paper focuses on the review of IOR applications in

Carmpolis field over the past 28 years, the results of the recently
concluded project within the PRAVAP portfolio, and the corresponding field pilot implementations.
History of IOR Applications in Carmpolis Field
Waterflooding. Waterflooding was first implemented in
Carmpolis field in 1968 on a 65-ha inverted nine-spot pattern in
the southern part of the field. The target was the 2.97106 m3
OOIP in zones CPS-1, -2 and -3. This project was operated for 3
years at an injection rate of 0.01 PV/yr, with no significant
results. Injection was then confined to zones CPS-1 and -2 alone;
still, after 2 years of close monitoring, results were inconclusive.
Eventually, poor performance led to project abandonment.
Meanwhile, in 1971, waterflooding had been initiated at the main
block of the field, where substantial reservoir depletion (40
kg/cm2) had led to an average well productivity decline of 30%.
The project was designed as nine inverted nine-spot patterns
occupying an area of 576 ha. The target oil was 42106 m3 in
zones CPS-1, -2, -3, and -4 of the Carmpolis/Muribeca formation, as well as the reservoirs in the Barra de Itiuba formation.
The final estimated recovery factor (FR) was 25.3% for a projected injection rate of 1800 m3/d (200 m3/d/well). During this 8-year
project, injection in the Barra de Itiuba formation and zones CPS3 and -4 of the Carmpolis/Muribeca was suspended owing to the
high oil viscosity in the former and the bad quality of the conglomerate reservoirs in the latter. Despite the difficulties in managing selective injection, the project was considered an overall
success. Reservoir pressure was restored and well productivity
increased. However, the price hike that culminated with the second oil shock of 1979, as well as the fact that the project life
expectancy was estimated at 30 years under the original design
specifications, led to an effort to upgrade the project design to
anticipate production from that area of the field. The result was
the conversion of the original nine-spot arrangement of the waterflooding operation to 44 inverted five-spot patterns of 8 ha each,
with water injection concentrated in zones CPS-1 and -2 alone.
Forty-four new injectors and 28 production wells were drilled
and completed only in zones CPS-1 and -2 for a target oil of
15106 m3. Former injection wells were converted into producers. Injection began in April 1978 at a rate of 100 m3/d/well totaling 4400 m3/d for the entire operation. Because of the downsizing in well patterns and the increase in injection rate, oil production in the area rose from 600 to 800 m3/d within 3 years.
Water/oil ratio then began to increase sharply with massive water
breakthrough in the producing wells. Originally thought to be
simply inherent to the higher injection rates, this breakthrough
was later found to be associated to the high mobility ratio of the
fluid displacement and reservoir high-permeability streaks.
Together with the decrease of the injection rate and the extension
of completion to zone CPS-3, an ambitious program of injection
well profile modification, through stimulation and selectivity
plugging, was implemented. It ensured the maintenance of oil
production at acceptable levels up to the mid-1980s. By 1986,
however, with the profile modification treatments losing their
effectiveness, production went into a sharp decline once again.
Fig. 3 gives an overall view of the exploitation history in the
main block of Carmpolis field.
At this point, considering that the state of the art of waterflooding technology had been fully applied to the central area of the
Carmpolis main block, and that this part of the field represented
just 16% of the proven OOIP of the entire zones CPS-1, -2 and -3,
February 2001 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering

Fig. 2Structural section for Carmpolis field.

Fig. 1Location of Carmpolis field in northeastern Brazil.

the decision was made to expand waterflooding to the surrounding

areas and toward the fields borders. Implementation started in
1983 in the areas to the east and west of the main block. At first,
the expansion relied on a grid of 16-ha five-spot patterns. In 1987,
a major infill drilling program changed the arrangement to 4-ha
nine-spot patterns; despite the persisting early water breakthrough
problems that forced successive reductions in the injection rates,
the good results obtained with this project led to its expansion in
areas to the south and the far east of the main block.
Polymer Flooding. Even before the implementation of waterflooding in the main block, it was understood that oil viscosity and reservoir heterogeneity would require more than waterflooding to reach
acceptable levels of recovery in Carmpolis field. Therefore, in the
wake of the IOR boom years of the 1960s, a polymer flooding pilot
project was implemented in 1969, in association with a major polymer manufacturer. It consisted of a 4-ha normal five-spot pattern in
the southeastern part of the field. It was completed along the
Carmpolis/Muribeca formation, where oil viscosity was in the 100
mPas range. Project design called for a polymer slug of 20% PV at
250 mg/dm3 concentration, with resistance (RF) and residual resistance (RRF) factors in the ranges of 10 to 15 and 2.5 to 3.0, respectively. Adsorption was estimated at 0.030 to 0.037 kg/m3.
Approximately 62 tons of a hydrolyzed polyacrilamid-type polymer
were injected between August 1969 and October 1972. In addition,
during a 6-day period in December 1969, slugs of four chemical
tracers (formaldehyde, sodium sulfate, potassium nitrate, and
iodide) were placed in each of the four injectors. They revealed definite reservoir heterogeneity in the pilot area, as potassium nitrate
and iodide broke through in just 2 days, and sodium sulfate in 6
days (formaldehyde never reached the production well). Although
our business associate deemed the project a success in 1975 and recommended its expansion to commercial scale, Petrobras never proceeded with the implementation. Among the many reasons was the
controversy over the reservoir volumes affected by the process: the
one defined geometrically by the location of the four injection

wells, as considered by the polymer manufacturer, and the more

conservative one adopted by Petrobras and defined by the areal
sweep. Separating the two was a 40% discrepancy in the estimated
volume of oil in place, which made all the diference in the calculation of additional recovery. A 1988 review of the project results by
Petrobras, using a specially adapted black-oil reservoir simulator to
history match the projects production between August 1966 and
July 1976, allowed comparison of polymer performance with an
equivalent waterflooding operation. The result was an estimated 5%
for additional recovery owing to the polymer injection. This conclusion had a major role in the decision to reconsider polymer
flooding in Carmoplis, as we show later in this paper.
Steamflooding. Steamflooding in Carmpolis field started in
1978, in association with an international engineering service company. The target was the heavier crude of the Barra de Itiuba formation, and the initial pilot project comprised nine wells and a single steam generator. In the wake of its prompt and successful
results, a scaleup of the operation extended steam injection to other
areas of the field and to the conglomerate of the CPS-4 zone of the
Carmpolis/Muribeca formation. Currently, steamflooding in
Carmpolis field is a full-size commercial operation, targeting
some 30106 m3 of the heavier crude in zone CPS-4 and the Barra
de Itiuba formation, and with average oil production of 800 m3/d.
It involves about 300 wells with special completion and 23 steam
generators in the 14.6103, 7.3103, and 4.4103 kW capacity
range. Cumulative oil production stands at 5106 m3 for 18.8106
tons of steam injected, which corresponds to a cumulative
steam/oil ratio (SOR) of 3.7.
Despite the fact that it was implemented in an oil-price scenario
of U.S. $30/bbl, steamflooding has remained viable over the years
through a massive effort in process optimization and operational
cost reduction. The steamflooding operation in Carmpolis was
also the subject of the PRAVAP project and is discussed later.
In-Situ Combustion. In association with the same service company
referred to earlier, three in-situ combustion pilot projects were
implemented in Carmpolis field starting in the late 1970s. They
were kept active at the pilot scale until the late 1980s, then gradual-

Fig. 3Exploitation history of the main block of the field.

February 2001 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering

ly phased out owing to the combination of poor technical performance and slumping oil prices. The first pilot is quite illustrative of
this effort. It was started in 1979; production peaked at 200 m3/d in
1983 and had stabilized at 100 m3/d by the time of its termination.
The project was plagued by several reservoir and operational problems that deeply affected performance. For one, selectivity of air
injection could not be maintained because of a combination of
mechanical problems in the injection well and flow losses to adjacent layers that resulted in the slowing down, if not extinction, of the
fire front. Furthermore, because of injectivity problems, it was not
possible to alternate to water injection at the rate needed to characterize the more efficient wet-combustion process. Also, the migration of the combustion gases to shallower producing reservoirs
caused serious problems for the mechanical lifting in wells outside
the pilot project. Finally, byproducts of the corrosion process in the
tubing and casing of the injection wells were the cause for frequent
workovers. Loss of injectivity caused by corrosion-related formation
damage often led to the interruption of air injection. The complexity
of the recovery mechanism, the associated operational and safety
hazards, and the current oil-price scenario led to the abandonment of
in-situ combustion by Petrobras, at least for the time being.
Profile Modification Process Applications. The occurrence of
high-permeability streaks is one of the main sources of problems
affecting the vertical sweep of waterflooding in Carmpolis field.
Therefore, Petrobras addressed this issue in the early 1980s with
an aggressive program to develop and implement profile modification processes. This well profile correction campaign used both the
approach of increasing injectivity in the tight zones and decreasing
it in the so-called thief zones. A total of 72 wells were treated with
four different processes. Forty-seven wells were acidized; 13 were
treated with sodium silicate solution, 10 with Bentonite suspension, and 2 with sodium carbonate solution. A summary of the
results is as follows:
47% of the acidizing treatments were considered effective at
correcting the injection profile. In 10 of the wells, however, case
cementing was damaged.
46% of the sodium silicate treatments were effective, with an
average life cycle of 2 years.
The Bentonite treatments had a success ratio of only 20%.
The two sodium carbonate treatments were rated as failures.
These were the major events in the history of waterflooding at
Carmpolis field through 1993, when it was selected as one of the
targets for the PRAVAP project portfolio.
The PRAVAP Project
Between 1993 and 1998 and in association with several entities
(see Table 2), Petrobras conducted a project to continue the pursuit
of enhancing oil recovery in Carmpolis field. It involved a multidisciplinary team of research and operational professionals and
technicians that addressed the following issues, all closely integrated by a matrix-type management approach.
Reservoir Characterization. The goal of the effort in this area
was the quantification of relevant geological parameters to serve as
input for reservoir flow simulation. The parameters investigated
were: water/oil original contact (WOC); initial water saturation;
spatial distribution of shale lenses; spatial distribution of facies;
spatial distribution of petrophysical properties; faults representation; and reservoir depth and thickness. Correspondingly, an extensive work program was developed in the areas of sedimentology,
stratigraphy, structural analysis, rock/log calibration, and numerical representation of the geological model.

involving some 400 wells. In turn, these sections were used together with gamma-ray log information to review the depositional
model for the entire field. A sample of the results of this study is
given in Fig. 4, showing the distribution of the conglomerate facies
in zone CPS-3A.
Structural Analysis. A 3D-seismic campaign covering an area of
5 800 ha of Carmpolis field was used for this purpose. A total of
13,822 recordings at 30 Hz were acquired, leading to a vertical definition of 30 m for the Carmpolis/Muribeca target formation. Data
interpretation identified four major seismic reflectors: Top of Ibura
Member; Top of Carmpolis Member; Pre-Neo Alagoas unconformity; and Top of Basement.
Core/Log Calibration. An in-depth correlation study between
petrophysical and electric log data was carried out. The univariate
statistical analysis of porosity from both core measurements and
electric logs correlated very well in the identification of the three
main reservoir facies. Similar results were obtained with the
bivariate statistical analysis of porosity and permeability. Good
linear correlation was found for each of the reservoir facies, particularly when applied over core data from the four new wells for
a polymer pilot test.
The original WOC was mapped through electric log interpretation from 180 wells (out of 900 originally screened for this particular task). Data quality varied widely owing, among other things,
to the intercalation of thin, impermeable layers. The results, however, show a definite inclination of the contact, as seen in Fig. 5.
The WOC is shallower (760 m/770 m) in the northeast and deeper (790 m/800 m) in the south. This behavior can be attributed to
a combination of differentiated cementation, variation in lithology,
and the occurrence of tarmats owing to biodegradation.
For the determination of the original fluid saturation, one difficulty was the proper selection of wells to be used in the study. The
first targets were those drilled before the start of waterflooding and
with an adequate suite of logs. Next, we analyzed those wells drilled
after the start of waterflooding but considered distant enough from
the influence of water injectors. As a result, 299 wells were picked
out of the approximately 1,100 drilled in the main block.
The first attempt at estimating initial water saturation used
Simandouxs equation with parameters m and n constant and equal

Sedimentology. Sequential analysis of cores from 10 wells resulted in the organization of 842 m of core material and depth adjustment for 1,406 whole cores and plugs. This work was extremely
important for the core/log calibration step presented later.
Stratigraphy. The discontinuities in the intercalating shale barriers
were mapped, leading to a more realistic model for the reservoir
zones of the field. This study produced 39 stratigraphic sections
6

Fig. 4Distribution of the conglomerate facies in zone CPS-3A.

February 2001 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering

Fig. 5Contour map for the water/oil contact.

to 2. The results for Swi above the WOC varied from 15 to 100%.
This was not expected; in Carmpolis field, the contact is not only
widely accepted as continuous but also as having a very narrow
transition zone. Therefore, capillary-pressure measurements, under
reservoir conditions, were carried out in samples of two of the
selected wells covering the major reservoir facies. The results
pointed to composite values for the porosity and saturation exponents in Archies equation in the ranges of 1.89 to 1.99 and 2.43 to
2.83, respectively. With these new values for m and n, the corresponding estimate for initial water saturation above the WOC
resulted in much more acceptable values (10 to 60%).
Cutoff values for clay content, porosity, and water saturation
were also reviewed. The goal was the re-evaluation of the volume
of the OOIP in the main block of Carmpolis field. Again, electric
logs and core analysis were used for this purpose. The study
arrived at the following results:
clay content
= 28 to 32%
porosity
= 5% (facies 1)
= 7% (facies 2)
= 8% (facies 3)
water saturation
= 50 to 60%.
These new cutoff values resulted in a 6% reduction in the OOIP as
compared to the 1993 calculations (154106 m3 vs. 164106 m3).
Numerical Representation of the Geological Model. Four different scales of heterogeneity were incorporated into the reservoir
flow simulation: faults, intercalating shale barriers, reservoir facies
distributions, and petrophysical properties. The first two were
implemented by means of a deterministic approach; the last two
were dealt geostatistically. Conditional simulation was used for the
spatial distribution of facies and sequential Gaussian cosimulation
for porosity and permeability, respectively. The resulting reservoir
model not only gained in representativity but also proved itself
flexible at incorporating new information derived from the upgrading of reservoir characterization.
Rock/Fluid Analysis. In preparation for the reservoir engineering studies to follow, rock/fluid properties in Carmpolis field
were subjected to a thorough investigation. More representative
estimates of oil parameters such as formation volume factor (Bo),
gas/oil ratio (GOR), viscosity (m0), gas compressibility factor (z),
and gas density (rg) were obtained through the development of
specific correlation equations with actual production and pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) data. A total of 64 reports from
PVT analysis covering the entire field were used for this purpose.
A sample of the correlation works quality is given in Fig. 6; it
compares actual PVT data and predicted values for the gas solubility ratio. To take full advantage of the development of these
correlation equations, 229 analyses of dead oil viscosity and density were arranged to map the distribution of these parameters for
the Carmpolis/Muribeca formation. It resulted in a quite uniform distribution for the oil viscosity in the main block of the
field, varying between 90 and 100 mPas.
Before the PRAVAP project, petrophysical properties were
measured basically in standard 1- and 1-in. plugs.
February 2001 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering

Fig. 6Correlation for gas solubility.

Consequently, there were hardly any data available on the conglomerate facies. Therefore, the four new wells drilled for the
future polymer flooding pilot were duly cored. Subsequently, 465
plugs and 54 whole-core samples were cut and analyzed for
porosity and absolute permeability, together with samples from
the older wells. The normal distribution of the 1,729 porosity
determinations correlate well in each of the three reservoir facies
with mean values of 9, 14, and 20%, respectively. The results of
the 1,400 absolute permeability measurements showed log-normal distributions in each of the reservoir facies, with values of
36, 128, and 124 md for the mean, respectively.
Forty plugs also were selected for relative permeability, capillary pressure, and wettability analysis. Capillary-pressure curves
were determined by two different methods and conditions: membrane with dead oil, and ultracentrifuge with mineral oil. A summary of data analysis and interpretation is as follows:
A significant difference was found in the results from the two
methods, especially regarding the end point at irreducible water
saturation. This outcome was attributed to wettability changes
caused by the use of two different fluids.
No correlation with the reservoir facies.
Good correlation within permeability ranges and each method
of determination.
Five core samples from Carmpolis field were tested for wettability by the sequence of the Amott/USBM methods. They were
found to be of mixed type and tended to be water wet, as shown
by Table 3.
Reservoir Engineering Studies
Waterflooding. At the present total injection rate of 12103 m3/d,
predicted final recovery in the Carmpolis main block is to be
attained in no less than 53 years. In trying to shorten project life and
anticipate production, a representative water/oil ratio (WOR)-vs.-FR
curve was history matched and used to predict water-injection rates
needed to meet the designed project life (see Fig. 7). For the reduction of project completion to 20 years, the study indicated that the
water injection rate must be tripled. The next step was to subject this
new proposed injection rate to the screening of the well-established
rules of thumb found in the literature.4-7 Using the minimum recommended values for all major criteria [5 bbl/d/ft/well, 0.35 bbl/d/acre-

Fig. 7Production rate and WOR-vs.-RF type curves for waterflooding forecasting.

ft, and 1.25 pore volumes injected (PVI)] and the characteristics of
the Carmpolis water injection project (109 m3 bulk reservoir volume, 50-m reservoir thickness, and 193 injection wells), the calculated project life expectancy was found to be 25, 47, and 50 years,
respectively. Thus, according to all major practical criteria, the present water injection rate in Carmpolis field is far below recommended values. Therefore, the idea of anticipating production by
increasing the injection quotas appeared to depend only on the technical feasibility of the injection and economical aspects involving
treatment and disposal of the additional produced water.
In addition to these empirical calculations, a great deal of time
and effort was spent in reservoir simulation for the optimization of
the Carmpolis field waterflooding operation. Initially, a broad
study not bound to history matching was conducted to investigate
the effects of injection rate and selectivity on oil recovery. Among
the major findings of this study was that, possibly, reservoir heterogeneity and preferential wettability to oil concurred with the
absence of a capillary effect, as no significant response on oil
recovery was observed upon varying the injection rate. A more representative simulation study now tied to history matching was conducted in a small area of the main block of 280 ha shown in Fig. 8.
The target OOIP was 21106 m3, corresponding roughly to 13.3%
of the total submitted to waterflooding. This area went into primary
oil production in 1965 and waterflooding in 1971; in 1979, the
injection rate was increased substantially, leading to a cumulative
injected volume of 52% PV, which in fact is small considering the
26 years of continuous waterflooding at the time. Furthermore, at
the present rate of injection, another 15 years would be needed to
reach the 1 PV mark. The main goal of this study was to match the
production history to establish the present fluid-saturation map and
then analyze alternatives for project performance optimization.
The simulation grid involved 35,000 cells of 20 m in both the x and

Fig. 9Simulation results for the effect of injection rate on oil

recovery.
8

Fig. 8Grid of stratigraphic sections-area selected for reservoir simulation.

y directions and 10 m in the z direction, respectively. To cope with

the fact that this is not an isolated area, the flow across boundaries
was resolved through the use of imaginary wells. Sixty-three of the
85 wells in the area were given priority for history matching
because of their more significant production rates. In 46% of them
the results were considered good, 22% fair, and 32% poor.
The primary objective of this study was first, to determine the
oil-saturation distribution in the area, and then to investigate oilrecovery behavior under the influence of infill drilling, varying
injection rate, and selectivity. In Fig. 9 and following the actual production, the results of three simulation runs correspond to one, two,
and three times the current total injection rate. The area between the
upper and lower forecast curves, corresponding to three times the
current injection rate, and the extrapolation of the current operation,
respectively, represents 2.5% in additional recovery.
In Fig. 10 and superimposed to the previous curves are the simulation results relative to the combined effect of injection rate and
infill drilling. Fourteen new wells were considered for this purpose. The area between the forecast curve at the top, combining the
effects of triple the injection rate plus infill drilling, and the one
corresponding to triple the injection rate alone, represents just a
% increase in additional recovery.
No results are presented on the effect of injection selectivity
because the five-layer reservoir model used in the study was not
adequate to deal with reservoir heterogeneity. Despite these drawbacks, the results of this simplified study were interesting enough
to ensure its continuation beyond the scope of PRAVAP and at the
operational level.
Steamflooding. The present scenario of crude oil prices, much
different than when steamflooding was implemented in

Fig. 10Simulation results for the combined effect of injection

rate and infill drilling on oil recovery.
February 2001 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering

Fig. 11Simulation results for alternatives to the current

steamflooding operation.

Carmpolis field by the late 1970s, led to an effort within the

PRAVAP program to maintain the operations economic feasibility. A simulation study for several alternatives to the current
steamflooding conditions was conducted with a simplified reservoir model in an area equal to one-fourth of a typical five-spot
pattern. These alternatives were:
steamflooding at current injection rate (base case);
steamflooding at double injection rate;
shutdown of steam injection;
waterflooding at current injection rate;
waterflooding at triple the injection rate;
hot waterflooding at current injection rate;
hot waterflooding at twice the injection rate.
The results of these seven simulation runs are presented in
Fig. 11 and are fairly self-explanatory; however, some highlights
are worth mentioning. One of them is the effect of the steam-front
collapse in the conversion to waterflooding; another is the sharp
but short effect of tripling the waterflooding injection rate associated with the rapid production decline after water breakthrough.
Finally, the best recovery alternative by far is the one that considers duplication of the current steamflooding rate, although it
presents some operational problems such as exceedingly high
temperatures in the producing wells, not to mention the economical feasibility not considered here. Uncertainties apart, the
results (reservoir model included) and the knowledge developed
with this study were of great value in approving the implementation of operational projects for the optimization of steamflooding
in other areas of the field.
Polymer Flooding. In the search for solutions to the waterflooding-operation problems in the main block of the field, polymer
flooding was once again considered and a decision was made to
implement a field pilot project in the area where waterflooding
started. The PRAVAP program came to assist the Operational
Unit from project design up to its evaluation. Here we discuss the
highlights of project design; field implementation and evaluation
will be addressed later in this paper.
Laboratory investigation included the screening of six different polyacrilamid polymers through viscosity, resistance factors,
and adsorption measurements, as well as displacement tests on
Berea sandstone plugs. Once the proper product was selected, the
displacement tests were repeated with core material from
Carmpolis field to obtain the actual reservoir parameters needed for the pilot design. Again, reservoir simulation was carried
out on a hypothetical area of the field equivalent to one-fourth of
a typical five-spot pattern and with reservoir characteristics of
zone CPS-2. The results of Fig. 12 for various design specifications show a recovery gain between 5 and 10% when compared
with standard waterflooding.
Field ImplementationPolymer Flooding Pilot Project. The
polymer flooding pilot project consists of four inverted nine-spot
February 2001 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering

Fig. 12Simulation results for polymer flooding.

patterns of approximately 4 ha each, as shown in Fig. 13. Polymer

injection was to be implemented in zones CPS-1A, CPS-1B, CPS2, CPS-3A, and CPS-3B. Accordingly, in three of the patterns, the
injection wells were completed in all the multilayered target zones.
In the fourth pattern, however, the injector was completed in a single porous rock body (bottom of zone CPS-2). Four observations
wells were drilled, each one approximately 60 m from the pattern
central injector, and all of them completed in the same interval.
From now on, we will refer to this particular pattern as the reduced
pilot; besides the observation purposes, we hoped that the four
additional wells would also help to speed up project response in
terms of oil production.
Several actions were taken to improve the reservoir characterization in the reduced pilot area, such as the application of interference and tracer tests. For the latter, both radioactive (tritium) and
chemical (fluorescein) tracers were used. The results from these
tests confirmed what the previous geological studies had already
indicatedthat is, the strong stratigraphic and structural heterogeneity of the reservoir. The transmissibility between the injector
well and two of the observation wells was very good. On the other
hand, there were structural barriers between the injector and the
third observation well and stratigraphic barriers between the injector and the fourth observation well.
Two falloff pressure tests were conducted in the reduced pilot
area before the full project startup to observe the reservoir response
under the injection of a viscous fluid and to test the surface facilities. During these tests, the hydrolyzed polyacrilamid-type polymer concentration (Cp) was gradually increased to 1,000 mg/dm3
and then gradually brought back to zero again. During this cycle,
both bottomhole and wellhead pressures were monitored and only
a slight buildup was sensed in the latter, such that no injectivity
problems were foreseen in the course of the project life. Permanent

Fig. 13Configuration of the ongoing polymer flooding pilot

project.
9

Subscripts
b = bulk
g = gas
o = oil
p = polymer
w = water
wi = water initial

Fig. 14Preliminary results of the ongoing polymer flooding

pilot project.

polymer injection in all four patterns began in October 1997 at a

rate of 164 m3/d and a concentration of 1,000 mg/dm3. In only a
few weeks, polymer broke through in the producing wells of the
reduced pilot, again confirming the high degree of reservoir heterogeneity. Because of this, the decision was made to move injection from the original conglomerate lithology to an upper interval
of more homogeneous sandstone characteristics, still in zone
CPS-2. Polymer injection in this new interval is due to start in the
next few months.
So far, overall project performance is behaving according to the
simulation studies, with the projected response in production
expected in 3 years time from project startup. Nevertheless, as
shown in Fig. 14, some production wells, such as CP-1215, already
show a clear decreasing trend in basic water and sediment (BSW)
and, consequently, an increase in oil production.
Conclusions
1. In the past 30 years Carmpolis field has been a laboratory for
the testing of a wide range of improved oil recovery methods
including water, polymer, steam, and in-situ combustion.
2. A thorough review is given of all field actions on these IOR methods from the beginning of the development operations through the
recently implemented polymer flooding pilot project.
3. The results reported in this paper are part of a major R&D
effort developed at Petrobras through PRAVAP, its Strategic
IOR Program.
4. Three main issues are determinant for the future of oil recovery in Carmpolis field: the enhancement of water injection
rate and selectivity, the extension of the current steamflooding
operation to other areas with more viscous oil, and the economic feasibility of polymer flooding, to be evaluated through
the ongoing field pilot project.
Nomenclature
Bo = formation volume factor, dimensionless
C = concentration, M/L3, mg/dm3
FR = recovery factor, dimensionless
I = volumetric injection flow rate, L3T1, m3/d
k = permeability, L2, md
m = saturation exponent in Archies equation, dimensionless
n = porosity exponent in Archies equation, dimensionless
p = pressure, ML1T2, kg/cm2
q = volumetric production flow rate, L3T1 , m3/d
S = saturation, dimensionless
T = temperature, degree, C
V = volume, L3, m3
W = USBM wettability index, dimensionless
z = gas compressibility factor, dimensionless
do = displacement-by-oil ratio, Amott method, dimensionless
dw = displacement-by-water ratio, Amott method, dimensionless
m = viscosity, ML1T1, mPas
r = density, ML3, kg/m3
f = porosity, dimensionless
10

Acknowledgments
We acknowledge Petrobras for the permission to submit this paper
for publication, the professionals and technicians at Petrobras who
produced the results, the many organizations and individuals outside the company who also participated in the PRAVAP project,
and Mrs. Gislene Aparecida da Silva for her contribution on reporting the preliminary results from the Carmpolis polymer flooding
pilot project.
References
1. Craig, Forrest F. Jr.: The Reservoir Engineering Aspects of
Waterflooding, Monograph Series, SPE, Richardson, Texas (1971) 3.
2. Willhite, G. Paul: Waterflooding, Textbook Series, SPE, Richardson,
Texas (1986) 3.
3. Cndido, A. and Wardlaw, N.C.: Reservoir Geology of the Carmpolis
Field, Brazil, Bull. Cdn. Pet. Geology (December 1965), 3, No. 4, 379395.
4. Bush, J.L. and Helander, D.P.: Empirical Prediction of Recovery Rate
in Waterflooding Depleted Sands, JPT (September 1968) 933.
5. Roberston and Langnes: Secondary Recovery and Carbonate
Reservoirs, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., New York City (1972),
Chaps. 3-4.
6. Riley, E.A.: Economic Factors in Waterflooding, paper presented at
the 1964 Annual Southwest Petroleum Short Course, Lubbock, Texas.
7. Guerrero and Earlougher: Analysis and Comparison of Five Methods
Used to Predict Water-Flood Reserves and Performance, paper presented at the 1961 Spring Meeting of the Mid-Continent District, API
Division of Production, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SI Metric
acre
API
bbl
BTU/hr
cp
cycles/sec
lbm
lbm/ft3
md
psi

Conversion Factors
4.046 856
E - 01 =
141.5/(131.5 + API)
=
1.589 873
E - 01 =
2.928 104
E - 04 =
1.0
E + 00 =
1.0*
E + 00 =
4.535 924
E - 04 =
1.601 846
E + 04 =
9.869 233
E - 04 =
7.030 696
E - 02 =

*Conversion factor is exact.

ha
g/cm3
m3
kW
mPas
Hz
ton(metric)
mg/dm3
mm2
kg/cm2
SPEREE

Roberto F. Mezzomo is a senior petroleum chemist at Petrobras

R&D Center in Rio de Janeiro. He has 22 years of R&D experience in IOR, both as a research scientist and project manager. Mezzomo holds a BS degree from the Federal U. of Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil, and MS and PhD degrees from Clarkson
U., New York, all in chemical engineering. Jos Marcelo
Luvizotto is a senior petroleum engineer at Petrobras E&P
Operational Unit in Sergipe/Alagoas basin, Brazil. He has 17
years of reservoir engineering experience, both at the technical and managerial levels. Luvizotto holds a BS degree in electrical engineering and an MS degree in petroleum engineering from the State U. of Campinas, Brazil. Cesar Luiz Palagi is a
senior petroleum engineer at Petrobras E&P Operational Unit
in Campos basin, Brazil. He has 20 years of experience in reservoir engineering at the technical and managerial levels.
Palagi holds a BS degree in civil engineering from the Federal
U. of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, an MS degree in petroleum
engineering from the Federal U. of Ouro Petro, Brazil, and a
PhD degree in petroleum engineering from Stanford U. He is a
technical editor for SPEREE.
February 2001 SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering