Experimental Study on Migration Characteristics and Profile Control Performance of Gel Foam in Fractured-Vuggy Reservoir

Gel foam exhibits excellent applicability in fractured-vuggy reservoirs, effectively plugging flow channels and enhancing oil recovery. However, due to the harsh high-temperature environment and the complex and variable fracture-vuggy structure in reservoirs, gel foam may undergo structural changes during its migration, which can affect its flow properties and plugging efficiency. Therefore, investigating the migration characteristics of gel foam in fractured reservoirs through visual experiments is of significant practical importance. In this study, migration experiments with different foam systems were conducted using the visualized vuggy model. The migration stability of foam was characterized by combining the sweep range and liquid drainage rate, and the impact of temperature on the migration characteristics of gel foam was explored. Additionally, a profile control experiment was performed using the fractured-vuggy network model, analyzing and summarizing its mechanisms for enhancing oil recovery in fractured-vuggy reservoirs. The results showed that, in the vuggy model, compared with ordinary foam and polymer foam, gel foam showed a lower drainage rate, higher foam retention rate and wider sweep range, and could form stable plugging in fractured-vuggy reservoirs. An increased temperature accelerated the thermal expansion of gas and changes in liquid film characteristics, which led to the expansion of foam migration speed and sweep range. Although a high temperature increased the liquid drainage rate of foam, it was still lower than 3%, and the corresponding foam retention rate was higher than 97%. In addition, the gel foam had a strong profile control ability, which effectively regulated the gas migration path and improved the utilization degree of remaining oil. Compared with the first gas flooding, the recovery of subsequent gas flooding was increased by 18.85%, and the final recovery of the model reached 81.51%. Comprehensive analysis revealed that the mechanism of enhanced oil recovery by gel foam mainly included density control, foam regeneration, flow redirection, stable plugging, and deep displacement by stable gel foam. These mechanisms worked synergistically to contribute to increased recovery. The research results fully demonstrate the application advantages of gel foam in fractured-vuggy reservoirs.