A new three-dimensional effective water-flooding unit model for potential tapping of remained oil in the reservoirs with rhythmic conditions

After long-term water injection development, most of the oilfields in China have entered the stage of high-water cut, which has reached up to 90%. Due to the strong heterogeneity of the reservoir, more than 50% of the oil remains underground in most oilfields. Therefore, how to predict the distribution and content of remaining oil quickly and accurately in heterogeneous reservoir has become the key of EOR. In this paper, a new effective water-flooding unit model is established based on a three-dimensional flow function, which can characterize the influence of vertical heterogeneity on flow and the streamline distribution. In addition, two shape functions are defined in the model to characterize the oil–water two-phase flow characteristics in an injection-production unit. The results show that the streamline in the lower part of the positive rhythm reservoir is denser, which leads to the formation of dominant seepage channel with ease. However, for the reverse rhythm reservoir, dominant seepage channel forms in the upper part of the reservoir. Besides, for the two types of reservoirs, the greater the permeability difference is, the faster the water cut increases. Furthermore, under the same rhythm condition, the positive rhythm reservoir reaches 90% water cut half a year earlier than the anti-rhythm reservoir. This study provides new insight and guidance for the development of remaining oil in rhythmic reservoirs.