Buckley-Leverett Waterflood Displacement

Mining & Petroleum Engineering

How It Works

Secondary waterflooding displaces residual petroleum toward production wells under immiscible two-phase hydrodynamic drive. The Buckley-Leverett fractional flow equation determines the displacement shock front saturation profile based on relative permeability curves and water-oil mobility ratios. Favorable mobility ratios (M ≤ 1) yield stable piston-like displacement, while adverse ratios promote viscous fingering.

Governing Equation
f_w(S_w) = 1 / [1 + (k_ro · μ_w) / (k_rw · μ_o)]  |  (∂S_w/∂t)_x = -(q_t / A · ϕ) · (df_w / dS_w)