Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonate Reservoirs of the Volga-Ural Petroleum Province: Challenges and Solutions

The development challenges of carbonate reservoirs in the Volga-Ural petroleum province are associated with their geological features (presence of fracturing, high formation water salinity, high oil viscosity, hydrophobic rock surface properties). While global practice employs well-established gas and physicochemical methods, Russia practically doesn’t apply conventional EOR techniques in carbonate reservoirs. The article emphasizes that the main methods of carbonate formation stimulation in the Volga-Ural petroleum province include: injection profile conformance technologies (small-scale EOR) as well as production well stimulation through acid treatments. A comparative analysis of literature is provided, reflecting the main types of implemented geological and technical measures. The authors describe in detail their developed individual elements of systemic technology adapted for carbonate reservoirs, optimized for each type of impact based on the industry’s achieved technical level – thereby demonstrating that all geological and technical measures for carbonate reservoirs have been refined and their effectiveness proven. The systematic approach to injection and production well treatments requires multiple expansions and replication, which should lead to profitable reserve recovery in carbonate reservoirs when applying best practices of geological and technical operations.

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