Tricritical Points and the Design of High-Salinity Surfactants for Low-Tension Enhanced Oil Recovery

1986 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.H. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Low Tension

Low Tension Foam Flooding for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery in Heterogeneous Systems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Hahn ◽  
Kerry Spilker ◽  
Dennis Alexis ◽  
Harry Linnemeyer ◽  
Taimur Malik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heterogeneous Systems ◽  
Foam Flooding ◽  
Low Tension

scholarly journals Low-tension gas process in high-salinity and low-permeability reservoirs

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1329-1344
Author(s):  
Alolika Das ◽  
Nhut Nguyen ◽  
Quoc P. Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Oxidative Degradation ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Low Permeability ◽  
Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Fractional Flow ◽  
Hydrocarbon Gases ◽  
Low Tension ◽  
Low Permeability Reservoirs

Abstract Polymer-based EOR methods in low-permeability reservoirs face injectivity issues and increased fracturing due to near wellbore plugging, as well as high-pressure gradients in these reservoirs. Polymer may cause pore blockage and undergo shear degradation and even oxidative degradation at high temperatures in the presence of very hard brine. Low-tension gas (LTG) flooding has the potential to be applied successfully for low-permeability carbonate reservoirs even in the presence of high formation brine salinity. In LTG flooding, the interfacial tension between oil and water is reduced to ultra-low values (10−3 dyne/cm) by injecting an optimized surfactant formulation to maximize mobilization of residual oil post-waterflood. Gas (nitrogen, hydrocarbon gases or CO2) is co-injected along with the surfactant slug to generate in situ foam which reduces the mobility ratio between the displaced (oil) and displacing phases, thus improving the displacement efficiency of the oil. In this work, the mechanism governing LTG flooding in low-permeability, high-salinity reservoirs was studied at a microscopic level using microemulsion properties and on a macroscopic scale by laboratory-scale coreflooding experiments. The main injection parameters studied were injected slug salinity and the interrelation between surfactant concentration and injected foam quality, and how they influence oil mobilization and displacement efficiency. Qualitative assessment of the results was performed by studying oil recovery, oil fractional flow, oil bank breakthrough and effluent salinity and pressure drop characteristics.

Enhanced oil recovery from high-salinity reservoirs by cationic gemini surfactants

2017 ◽  
Vol 135 (14) ◽  
pp. 46086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingjiao Yuan ◽  
Zhe Liu ◽  
Ruimin Gao ◽  
Guangfa Hu ◽  
Gai Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Gemini Surfactants ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Cationic Gemini Surfactants

Switchable Nonionic to Cationic Ethoxylated Amine Surfactants for CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery in High-Temperature, High-Salinity Carbonate Reservoirs

SPE Journal ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 249-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunshen Chen ◽  
Amro S. Elhag ◽  
Benjamin M. Poon ◽  
Leyu Cui ◽  
Kun Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Capillary Tube ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Displacement Front ◽  
Flow Pathways ◽  
Co2 Flow ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Summary To improve sweep efficiency for carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) up to 120°C in the presence of high-salinity brine (182 g/L NaCl), novel CO2/water (C/W) foams have been formed with surfactants composed of ethoxylated amine headgroups with cocoalkyl tails. These surfactants are switchable from the nonionic (unprotonated amine) state in dry CO2 to cationic (protonated amine) in the presence of an aqueous phase with a pH less than 6. The high hydrophilicity in the protonated cationic state was evident in the high cloudpoint temperature up to 120°C. The high cloud point facilitated the stabilization of lamellae between bubbles in CO2/water foams. In the nonionic form, the surfactant was soluble in CO2 at 120°C and 3,300 psia at a concentration of 0.2% (w/w). C/W foams were produced by injecting the surfactant into either the CO2 phase or the brine phase, which indicated good contact between phases for transport of surfactant to the interface. Solubility of the surfactant in CO2 and a favorable C/W partition coefficient are beneficial for transport of surfactant with CO2-flow pathways in the reservoir to minimize viscous fingering and gravity override. The ethoxylated cocoamine with two ethylene oxide (EO) groups was shown to stabilize C/W foams in a 30-darcy sandpack with NaCl concentrations up to 182 g/L at 120°C and 3,400 psia, and foam qualities from 50 to 95%. The foam produces an apparent viscosity of 6.2 cp in the sandpack and 6.3 cp in a 762-μm-inner-diameter capillary tube (downstream of the sandpack) in contrast with values well below 1 cp without surfactant present. Moreover, the cationic headgroup reduces the adsorption of ethoxylated alkyl amines on calcite, which is also positively charged in the presence of CO2 dissolved in brine. The surfactant partition coefficients (0 to 0.04) favored the water phase over the oil phase, which is beneficial for minimizing losses of surfactant to the oil phase for efficient surfactant usage. Furthermore, the surfactant was used to form C/W foams, without forming stable/viscous oil/water (O/W) emulsions. This selectivity is desirable for mobility control whereby CO2 will have low mobility in regions in which oil is not present and high contact with oil at the displacement front. In summary, the switchable ethoxylated alkyl amine surfactants provide both high cloudpoints in brine and high interfacial activities of ionic surfactants in water for foam generation, as well as significant solubilities in CO2 in the nonionic dry state for surfactant injection.

scholarly journals New insights into guar gum as environmentally friendly polymer for enhanced oil recovery in high-salinity and high-temperature sandstone reservoirs

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1905-1913
Author(s):  
Tagwa A. Musa ◽  
Ahmed F. Ibrahim ◽  
Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din ◽  
Anas. M. Hassan
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Guar Gum ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Natural Polymer ◽  
Soluble Polymer ◽  
Water Soluble Polymer

AbstractChemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes are usually used as additives for hydrocarbon production due to its simplicity and relatively reasonable additional production costs. Polymer flooding uses polymer solutions to increase oil recovery by decreasing the water/oil mobility ratio by increasing the viscosity of the displacing water. The commonly used synthetic water-soluble polymer in EOR application is partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). However, synthetic polymers in general are not attractive because of high cost, environmental concerns, limitation in high temperature, and high-salinity environment. Guar gum is an environmentally friendly natural water-soluble polymer available in large quantities in many countries and widely used in various applications in the oil and gas industry especially in drilling fluids and hydraulic fracturing operations; however, very limited studies investigated on guar as a polymer for EOR and no any study investigated on its uses in high-temperature and high -salinity reservoirs. The objective of this study is to confirm the use of guar gum as a natural polymer for EOR applications in sandstone reservoirs and investigate its applicability for high-temperature and high-salinity reservoirs. The study experimentally investigated rheological characteristics of a natural polymer obtained from guar gum with consideration of high temperature (up to 210 °F) and high salinity (up to 20% NaCl) and tested the guar solution as EOR polymer. The results of this study show that the guar solution can be used as an environmentally friendly polymer to enhance oil recovery. Based on the results, it can be concluded that guar gum shows shear-thinning behavior and strongly susceptible to microbial degradation but also shows a very good properties stability in high temperature and salinity, where in low shear rate case, about 100 cp viscosity can be achieved at 210 °F for polymer prepared in deionized water. Guar polymer shows good viscosity in the presence of 20% NaCl where the viscosity is acceptable for temperature less than 190 °F. Also, the flooding experiment shows that the recovery factor can be increased by 16%.

scholarly journals Guar Gum-Based Hydrogels as Potent Green Polymers for Enhanced Oil Recovery in High-Salinity Reservoirs

ACS Omega ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (36) ◽  
pp. 23421-23431
Author(s):  
Shimaa. M. Elsaeed ◽  
Elsayed Gamal Zaki ◽  
Walaa A. E. Omar ◽  
Ahmed Ashraf Soliman ◽  
Attia Mahmoud Attia
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Guar Gum ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Green Polymers

Development of Large-Hydrophobe Betaine Surfactants for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery in Low/High Salinity Reservoirs

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cai Hongyan ◽  
Fan Jian ◽  
Han Dong ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
Youyi Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Salinity

Low Tension Water Flood (LTWF) for Enhanced Oil Recovery in a Tight Carbonate Oilfield

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Al-Rubkhi ◽  
M. Karimi ◽  
M. Hadji ◽  
R. S. Al-Maamari ◽  
M. Aoudia
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Tight Carbonate ◽  
Low Tension
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