Laboratory to Field Scale Simulation of a Complex Micro-Emulsion System Performance for Enhanced Oil Recovery

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kharghoria ◽  
Nathan Lett ◽  
J. T. Portwood ◽  
D. Biswas ◽  
Charles Hammond ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Emulsion System ◽  
Field Scale ◽  
Micro Emulsion

Successful in the Lab, Not as Effective in the Field? Uncertainties in the Field Observations of Low Salinity Water Flooding in Sandstone and Carbonate Reservoirs-A Critical Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navpreet Singh ◽  
Hemanta Kumar Sarma
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Carbonate Reservoirs ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Water Salinity ◽  
Field Scale ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Water ◽  
Salinity Water

Abstract Low salinity waterflooding has been an area of great interest for researchers for almost over three decades for its perceived "simplicity," cost-effectiveness, and the potential benefits it offers over the other enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. There have been numerous laboratory studies to study the effect of injection water salinity on oil recovery, but there are only a few cases reported worldwide where low salinity water flooding (LSW) has been implemented on a field scale. In this paper, we have summarized the results of our analyses for some of those successful field cases for both sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. Most field cases of LSW worldwide are in sandstone reservoirs. Although there have been a lot of experimental studies on the effect of water salinity on recovery in carbonate reservoirs, only a few cases of field-scale implementation have been reported for the LSW in carbonate reservoirs. The incremental improvement expected from the LSW depends on various factors like the brine composition (injection and formation water), oil composition, pressure, temperature, and rock mineralogy. Therefore, all these factors should be considered, together with some specially designed fit-for-purpose experimental studies need to be performed before implementing the LSW on a field scale. The evidence of the positive effect of LSW at the field scale has mostly been observed from near well-bore well tests and inter-well tests. However, there are a few cases such Powder River Basin in the USA and Bastrykskoye field in Russia, where the operators had unintentionally injected less saline water in the past and were pleasantly surprised when the analyses of the historical data seemed to attribute the enhanced oil recovery due to the lower salinity of the injected water. We have critically analyzed all the major field cases of LSW. Our paper highlights some of the key factors that worked well in the field, which showed a positive impact of LSW and a comparative assessment of the incremental recovery realized from the reservoir visa-a-vis the expectations generated from the laboratory-based experimental studies. It is envisaged that such a comparison could be more meaningful and reliable. Also, it identifies the likely uncertainties (and their sources) associated during the field implementation of LSW.

Full Field Scale Hydrocarbon Gas Enhanced Oil Recovery Project in Offshore Vietnam -Response Analysis and Optimization Practice in Early Stage

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohei Kawahara ◽  
Yukiya Sako ◽  
Zhenjie Chai ◽  
Chuyen Nguyen Chu ◽  
Takahiro Murakami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
Field Scale ◽  
Full Field ◽  
Hydrocarbon Gas

Green enhanced oil recovery (GEOR)

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bashirul Haq ◽  
Jishan Liu ◽  
Keyu Liu
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Phase Behaviour ◽  
Chemical System ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Surfactant Mixtures ◽  
Middle Phase ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Micro Emulsion ◽  
Behaviour Study

Green enhanced oil recovery (GEOR) is a chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method involving the injection of specific green chemicals (surfactants/alcohols/polymers) that effectively displace oil because of their phase-behaviour properties, which decrease the interfacial tension (IFT) between the displacing liquid and the oil. In this process, the primary displacing liquid slug is a complex chemical system called a micellar solution, containing green surfactants, co-surfactants, oil, electrolytes and water. The surfactant slug is relatively small, typically 10% pore volume (PV). It may be followed by a mobility buffer such as polymer. The total volume of the polymer solution is typically ~1 PV. This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the combination of microbial by-products Bacillus subtilise strain JF-2 bio-surfactant and alcohol in recovering residual oil. It also considered whether bio-surfactant capability could be improved by blending it with non-ionic green surfactant. The study consisted of a phase behaviour study, IFT measurement and core-flooding experiments. In the phase behaviour study, it was found that 0.5% alkyl polyglycosides (APG) and 0.5–1.00% of butanol at 2% NaCl gave stable middle phase micro-emulsion. Non-ionic (APG 264) and anionic (bio-surfactant) mixtures are able to form stable middle phase micro-emulsion. Based on IFT reduction, two low concentrations (40 and 60 mg/l) of JF-2 bio-surfactant were identified where IFT values were low. The bio-surfactant and butanol formulation produced a total ~39.3% of oil initially in place (OIIP).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document