Modeling and Analysis on the Effect of Two-Phase Flow on Wormhole Propagation in Carbonate Acidizing

Matrix acidizing is a stimulation technique aiming at improving formation permeability or bypassing damaged zones. In this process, acid is injected through the well into the wellbore vicinity to dissolve the rock. For either production or injection wells, the formation may contain multiple phases (oil and water) near the wellbore region when acid treatment begins. In this paper, a two-phase two-scale continuum model is developed to simulate wormhole propagation under radial coordinates. The model describes the mechanisms of convection, dispersion, and reaction in two-phase flow during matrix acidizing. We have validated the simulation model with two methods: one is to compare with the previous simulation results; the other is to compare with the analytical solution. We have investigated conditions that will affect the wormhole-propagation process, including rock wettability, oil viscosity, and initial oil saturation. It is found that the water/oil mobility ratio is a key factor that affects acidizing efficiency. In addition, we have proposed a new criterion for acid breakthrough because the pressure response is affected not only by reaction, but also by overall mobility change in the formation. The traditional criterion for the single-phase model is no longer applicable to the current two-phase model. The results show that adverse water/oil mobility ratio leads to a higher efficiency for wormhole breakthrough. In carbonate reservoirs with heterogeneity, water/oil displacement and wormhole propagation contribute to narrower, less-branched channels. For the first time, it is possible to simulate formations with multiple phases during carbonate acidizing. The presented model improves our understanding in the optimization of carbonate acidizing.