Recovery of Oil by Water

Displacement of oil by water in a petroleum reservoir is analyzed under the Buckley-Liverett frontal displacement theory. The derivation and preconditions of the theory are pursued, focusing on the key factors that control displacement. The theory is applied to the waterflooding technique commonly employed in petroleum engineering to maintain oil production recovery, and the methods for evaluating the average water saturation behind the water front and the oil recovery factor in the reservoir are presented.