AYOVUARE AGHOGHO JOSHUA

Extracting oil from tight reservoir formations is notoriously difficult. These rocks have tiny, poorly connected pores and properties that vary wildly across the formation—all of which make conventional waterflooding ineffective. Water channels through easier paths, leaving most of the oil trapped. Smart Water Injection offers a different approach by adjusting the chemistry of injected water—tweaking salt content and ionic composition—to change how oil and rock interact at the molecular level. This wettability shift helps release trapped oil. I used CMG software to simulate Smart Water performance in two low-permeability reservoirs: one moderately heterogeneous (0.45 mD) and one ultra-tight and highly variable (0.28 mD). I adjusted relative permeability curves and capillary pressure functions to represent the wettability changes Smart Water causes. The results were striking. Smart Water boosted recovery by 37% in the moderate-heterogeneity case and 66% in the ultra-tight reservoir compared to conventional waterflooding. These numbers prove Smart Water can unlock significant oil volumes even in reservoirs considered extremely challenging. This study shows Smart Water is both technically sound and economically viable for tight formations. The simulation workflow developed here provides a practical screening tool for identifying good candidates without expensive upfront lab work