The Impact of Surfactant Imbibition and Adsorption for Improving Oil Recovery in the Wolfcamp and Eagle Ford Reservoirs

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. O. Alvarez ◽  
I. W. R. Saputra ◽  
D. S. Schechter
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Eagle Ford ◽  
The Impact

Impact of Reservoir Fluid and Injection Gas on Shales Huff-N-Puff Performance in the Presence of Diffusion, Sorption, and Hysteresis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Enab ◽  
Hamid Emami-Meybodi
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Volatile Oil ◽  
Fluid Type ◽  
Retention Capacity ◽  
Eagle Ford ◽  
Reservoir Fluid ◽  
Black Oil ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Diffusion

Abstract We assess the huff-n-puff performance in ultratight reservoirs (shales) by conducting large-scale numerical simulations for a wide range of reservoir fluid types (retrograde condensate, volatile oil, black oil) and different injection gases (CO2, C2H6, C3H8) by considering relative permeability hysteresis, diffusion, and sorption. A dual-porosity naturally fractured numerical compositional model is used that considers molecular diffusion and sorption to represent the flow mechanisms during the injection process. Killough's method, Langmuir's adsorption model, and Sigmund correlation are utilized to incorporate hysteresis, sorption, and diffusion, respectively. To investigate the impact of the fluid type, we consider three fluid types from Eagle Ford shale representing retrograde condensate, volatile oil, and black oil. We conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of diffusion, sorption, and hysteresis on the production performance and retention of each fluid and injection gas. Eagle Ford formation is selected because it is the most actively developed shale, and it contains a wide span of PVT windows from dry gas to black oil. The simulation results show that the huff-n-puff process improves the oil recovery by 4-6% when 10% PV of gas is injected. The huff-n-puff efficiency increases with reducing gas-oil-ratio (GOR) as oil recovery from low (GOR) reservoirs is doubled, while recovery from retrograde condensate increased by 20%. C2H6 provides the highest recovery for the black and volatile oil, and CO2 provides the highest recovery for retrograde condensate fluid type. Diffusion and sorption are essential mechanisms to be considered when modeling gas injection to any fluid type in shales. However, the relative permeability hysteresis effect is not significant. Neglecting diffusion during the huff-n-puff process underestimates the oil recovery and retention capacity. The diffusion effect on the oil density reduction is observed more during the soaking period. The diffusion impact increases with higher GOR reservoirs, while the sorption impact decreases with higher GOR. The retention capacity of the injected gas decreases with higher GOR. The diffusion impact on the retention capacity increases with higher GOR. Hence sorption and diffusion must be considered when modeling the huff-n-puff process in ultratight reservoirs.

The Impact of Surfactant Imbibition and Adsorption for Improving Oil Recovery in the Wolfcamp and Eagle Ford Reservoirs

SPE Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (06) ◽  
pp. 2103-2117 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. O. Alvarez ◽  
I. W. Saputra ◽  
D. S. Schechter
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Solutions ◽  
Adsorption Capacity ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Spontaneous Imbibition ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Surfactant Adsorption ◽  
Eagle Ford ◽  
Vis Spectroscopy ◽  
Completion Fluids ◽  
The Impact

Summary Improving oil recovery from unconventional liquid reservoirs (ULRs) is a major challenge, and knowledge of recovery mechanisms and the interaction of completion-fluid additives with the rock is fundamental in tackling the problem. Fracture-treatment performance and consequent oil recovery can be improved by adding surfactants to stimulation fluids to promote imbibition by wettability alteration and moderate interfacial-tension (IFT) reduction. Also, the extent of surfactant adsorption on the ULR surface during the imbibition of completion fluids is a key factor to consider when designing fracture jobs. The experimental and modeling work presented in this paper focuses on the effectiveness of surfactant additives for improving oil recovery in Wolfcamp and Eagle Ford reservoirs, as well as the extent of surfactant loss by adsorption during the imbibition of surfactant-laden completion fluid. Original rock wettability is determined by contact angle (CA) and zeta potential. Then, distinct types of surfactants—anionic, anionic/nonionic, and cationic—are evaluated to gauge their effectiveness in altering wettability and IFT. Moreover, surfactant-adsorption measurements are performed using ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) spectroscopy. Next, the potential for improving oil recovery using surfactant additives in ultralow-permeability Wolfcamp and Eagle Ford shale cores is investigated by spontaneous-imbibition experiments, and computed-tomography (CT) methods are used to determine fluid imbibition in real time. Finally, laboratory data are used in numerical simulations to model laboratory results and to upscale these findings to field scale. The results showed that aqueous solutions with surfactants altered rock wettability from oil-wet and intermediate-wet to water-wet and reduced IFT to moderately low values. In addition, cationic surfactant presented the highest adsorption capacity following a Langmuir-type adsorption profile. Spontaneous-imbibition results showed that aqueous solutions with surfactants had higher imbibition, and were better at recovering oil from shale core compared with water without surfactants, which agrees qualitatively with wettability and IFT alteration. However, rock lithology and surfactant type played a key role in adsorption capacity and oil recovery. Our upscaling result showed that, compared with a well that is not treated with surfactant, a 24% increase in the initial peak oil rate and an 8% increase in the 3-year cumulative oil production were observed. For the results obtained, we can conclude that the addition of surfactants to completion fluids can improve oil recovery by wettability alteration and IFT reduction, maximizing well performance after stimulation from Wolfcamp and Eagle Ford unconventional reservoirs.

scholarly journals Experimental study of the supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient in porous media under reservoir conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 181902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junchen Lv ◽  
Yuan Chi ◽  
Changzhong Zhao ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Hailin Mu
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Diffusion Coefficient ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Elevated Pressure ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Saturated Porous Media ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
The Impact

Reliable measurement of the CO 2 diffusion coefficient in consolidated oil-saturated porous media is critical for the design and performance of CO 2 -enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. A thorough experimental investigation of the supercritical CO 2 diffusion in n -decane-saturated Berea cores with permeabilities of 50 and 100 mD was conducted in this study at elevated pressure (10–25 MPa) and temperature (333.15–373.15 K), which simulated actual reservoir conditions. The supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficients in the Berea cores were calculated by a model appropriate for diffusion in porous media based on Fick's Law. The results show that the supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient increases as the pressure, temperature and permeability increase. The supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient first increases slowly at 10 MPa and then grows significantly with increasing pressure. The impact of the pressure decreases at elevated temperature. The effect of permeability remains steady despite the temperature change during the experiments. The effect of gas state and porous media on the supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient was further discussed by comparing the results of this study with previous study. Based on the experimental results, an empirical correlation for supercritical CO 2 diffusion coefficient in n -decane-saturated porous media was developed. The experimental results contribute to the study of supercritical CO 2 diffusion in compact porous media.

Waterflooding in Carbonate Reservoirs: Does the Salinity Matter?

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (03) ◽  
pp. 304-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M.. M. Shehata ◽  
M.B.. B. Alotaibi ◽  
H.A.. A. Nasr-El-Din
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Deionized Water ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Shallow Aquifer ◽  
Secondary Recovery ◽  
Tertiary Recovery ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Indiana Limestone

Summary Waterflooding has been used for decades as a secondary oil-recovery mode to support oil-reservoir pressure and to drive oil into producing wells. Recently, the tuning of the salinity of the injected water in sandstone reservoirs was used to enhance oil recovery at different injection modes. Several possible low-salinity-waterflooding mechanisms in sandstone formations were studied. Also, modified seawater was tested in chalk reservoirs as a tertiary recovery mode and consequently reduced the residual oil saturation (ROS). In carbonate formations, the effect of the ionic strength of the injected brine on oil recovery has remained questionable. In this paper, coreflood studies were conducted on Indiana limestone rock samples at 195°F. The main objective of this study was to investigate the impact of the salinity of the injected brine on the oil recovery during secondary and tertiary recovery modes. Various brines were tested including deionized water, shallow-aquifer water, seawater, and as diluted seawater. Also, ions (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and SO42−) were particularly excluded from seawater to determine their individual impact on fluid/rock interactions and hence on oil recovery. Oil recovery, pressure drop across the core, and core-effluent samples were analyzed for each coreflood experiment. The oil recovery using seawater, as in the secondary recovery mode, was, on the average, 50% of original oil in place (OOIP). A sudden change in the salinity of the injected brine from seawater in the secondary recovery mode to deionized water in the tertiary mode or vice versa had a significant effect on the oil-production performance. A solution of 20% diluted seawater did not reduce the ROS in the tertiary recovery mode after the injection of seawater as a secondary recovery mode for the Indiana limestone reservoir. On the other hand, 50% diluted seawater showed a slight change in the oil production after the injection of seawater and deionized water slugs. The Ca2+, Mg2+, and SO42− ions play a key role in oil mobilization in limestone rocks. Changing the ion composition of the injected brine between the different slugs of secondary and tertiary recovery modes showed a measurable increase in the oil production.

Modeling to support physicochemical enhancement techniques

2021 ◽  
pp. 79-90
Author(s):  
Т. A. Pospelova
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Chemical Modeling ◽  
Comparative Structure ◽  
Water Cut ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
Oil And Gas Companies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

The article discusses ways to increase the oil recovery factor in already developed fields, special attention is paid to the methods of enhanced oil recovery. The comparative structure of oil production in Russia in the medium term is given. The experience of oil and gas companies in the application of enhanced oil recovery in the fields is analyzed and the dynamics of the growth in the use of various enhanced oil recovery in Russia is estimated. With an increase in the number of operations in the fields, the requirements for the selection of candidates inevitably increase, therefore, the work focuses on hydrodynamic modeling of physical and chemical modeling, highlights the features and disadvantages of existing simulators. The main dependences for adequate modeling during polymer flooding are given. The calculation with different concentration of polymer solution is presented, which significantly affects the water cut and further reduction of operating costs for the preparation of the produced fluid. The possibility of creating a specialized hydrodynamic simulator for low-volume chemical enhanced oil recovery is considered, since mainly simulators are applicable for chemical waterflooding and the impact is on the formation as a whole.

The Impact of Ionic Liquid and Nanoparticles on Stabilizing Foam for Enhanced Oil Recovery

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (44) ◽  
pp. 12461-12468
Author(s):  
Lei Jiang ◽  
Jingtao Sun ◽  
Jiqian Wang ◽  
Qi Xue ◽  
Songyan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ionic Liquid ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Breccia interlayer effects on steam-assisted gravity drainage performance: experimental and numerical study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qichen Zhang ◽  
Xiaodong Kang ◽  
Huiqing Liu ◽  
Xiaohu Dong ◽  
Jian Wang
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Middle Part ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Peak Oil ◽  
Steam Chamber ◽  
The Impact

AbstractCurrently, the reservoir heterogeneity is a serious challenge for developing oil sands with SAGD method. Nexen’s Long Lake SAGD project reported that breccia interlayer was widely distributed in lower and middle part of reservoir, impeding the steam chamber expansion and heated oil drainage. In this paper, two physical experiments were conducted to study the impact of breccia interlayer on development of steam chamber and production performance. Then, a laboratory scale numerical simulation model was established and a history match was conducted based on the 3D experimental results. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of thickness and permeability of breccia layer was performed. The influence mechanism of breccia layer on SAGD performance was analyzed by comparing the temperature profile of steam chamber and production dynamics. The experimental results indicate that the existence of breccia interlayer causes a thinner steam chamber profile and longer time to reach the peak oil rate. And, the ultimate oil recovery reduced 15.8% due to much oil stuck in breccia interlayer areas. The numerical simulation results show that a lower permeability in breccia layer area has a serious adverse impact on oil recovery if the thickness of breccia layer is larger, whereas the effect of permeability on SAGD performance is limited when the breccia layer is thinner. Besides, a thicker breccia layer can increase the time required to reach the peak oil rate, but has a little impact on the ultimate oil recovery.

scholarly journals Characterization of Eagle Ford Solid Bitumen via AFM-Ir: Nanoscale Compositional Heterogeneities and the Impact of Thermal Maturity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Jubb ◽  
Justin E. Birdwell ◽  
Paul C. Hackley ◽  
Javin J. Hatcherian ◽  
Jing Qu
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Maturity ◽  
Eagle Ford ◽  
Solid Bitumen ◽  
The Impact
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