The Effects of Water Injection on Miscible Flooding Methods Using Hydrocarbons and Carbon Dioxide

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 217-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Shelton ◽  
F.N. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Miscible Displacement ◽  
Berea Sandstone ◽  
Mobile Water ◽  
Displacement Front ◽  
Miscible Flooding ◽  
First Contact

Abstract The effects of mobile water saturations on oil recovery and solvent requirements were studied in miscible displacement tests on sandstone cores. it was found thatoil, if trapped by mobile water, cannot be easily contacted by solvent, and the amount of oil is directly related to measurable relative-permeability characteristics;miscible displacement Performances for secondary and tertiary conditions are equivalent;long-core tests describe the movement of fluid banks that would occur in field floods; andflooding response for solvent developed from multiple contact of crude oil with carbon dioxide or rich gas in long cores is the same as that for liquid solvents with first-contact miscibility. Introduction Miscible flooding is receiving increasing interest as a means of recovering tertiary oil left after waterflooding. Mobile water is a factor in tertiary flooding, and can also be a factor in secondary operations where alternate water and solvent injection is used to improve the low sweep efficiency of miscible flooding with hydrocarbon and acid gases. Several publications have reported a reduction in displacement efficiency when mobile water is present at the displacement front. Stalkup present at the displacement front. Stalkup summarized this information and also reported increased mixing caused by the mobile water. However, more information is needed to implement recovery operations where mobile water conditions can occur. The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the displacement behavior in those portions of a reservoir that may contain a high water saturation and that are contacted by a solvent. Factors examined arethe relationship of oil trapping by water to relative permeability and wettability,the development and growth of fluid banks,a comparison of first-contact and multiple-contact miscible displacement, before and after waterflooding,the effect of flow rate and system length on multiple-contact miscible displacement, andthe displacement of oil by the simultaneous injection of solvent and water. The experiments performed were in laboratory cores and are not scaled to field conditions in some respects. The study provides insight into some of the pertinent mechanisms of the displacement process rather than data that is directly applicable to a field situation. MATERIALS AND PROCEDURE OIL-TRAPPING TESTS Drainage and imbibition water-oil relative-permeability data were obtained on a water-wet Berea sandstone core using the steady-state test procedure. The dimensions of the Lucite-encased Berea core are given in Table 1. Two series of first-contact miscible-displacement test, one series involving the displacement of water and the other involving the displacement of oil, were performed at various levels of oil and water saturation on the same core. Saturations during the relative-permeability tests and miscible - displacement tests were determined using an X-ray absorption technique. The recovery performance was calculated by refractive index analyses of the produced fluids. To provide for these analyses, two bones and two refined oils were prepared for the tests. TABLE 1 - TRAPPING-ENVELOPE MISCIBLE-DISPLACEMENT TESTS, 2.1-IN.-DIAMETER BY 5.1-IN.-LONG BEREA SANDSTONE CORE Residual In-Place Saturation Solvent Liquid Test Flowing percent PV Flow Rate Saturation Number WOR Oil Water (PV/hour) (percent PV) ------ ------- --- ----- --------- ------------- Drainage Tests - 1.0-cp Nal brine displace by 0.95-cp brine D-1 oo 0 100 2.84 0 D-2 2 29 71 1.79 0 D-3 0.1 45 55 0.284 0.5 Imbibition Tests - 1.48-cp oil displaced by 1.42-cp oil containing iodobenzene I-1 0 74 26 2.85 0 I-2 0.2 43 57 2.28 7 I-3 1 34 66 0.78 13 I-4 5 32 68 2.72 17 I-5 1 35 65 1.21 10 SPEJ P. 217

Effects of Mobile Water on Multiple-Contact Miscible Gas Displacements

1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (03) ◽  
pp. 447-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. Tiffin ◽  
W.F. Yellig
Keyword(s):  
Water Saturation ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Residual Oil ◽  
Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Mobile Water ◽  
Oil Displacement ◽  
Oil Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Gas Flooding ◽  
Water Trapping ◽  
First Contact

Abstract Miscible gas flooding using an alternate gas/water injection process (AGWIP) is presently being applied for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in several waterflooded reservoirs. A mobile-water saturation in the vicinity of the miscible displacement front can occur in this process. To design field applications of miscible gas floods process. To design field applications of miscible gas floods properly, it is necessary to understand the effects of properly, it is necessary to understand the effects of water saturations above the connate saturation on the oil-displacement efficiency. Previous research on AGWIP has involved water-wet long-core flow tests using an injected solvent that is first-contact miscible with the inplace oil. Miscible floods employing CO2, enriched gas, methane, and flue gases, however, are rarely first-contact miscible with reservoir oils; the oil miscibility is normally achieved by a multiple-contact mechanism. This paper discusses the effects of mobile water on multiple-contact miscible displacements under water- and oil-wet conditions. Tests were conducted in 8-ft (244-cm) water- and oil-wet Berea cores in which CO2 and water were injected both separately and simultaneously to displace a reservoir oil. The data presented focus on effects of water in the oil-moving zone (OMZ) where the CO2 is generating miscibility with the oil and mobilizing residual oil to waterflooding. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the effect of mobile-water saturation on the oil-displacement efficiency and the component transfer between phases necessary to develop miscibility in the CO2/reservoir-oil system. This study demonstrates that reservoir wettability is a key factor in the performance of AGWIP. Gas/water injection can, under certain conditions, have adverse effects on characteristics of the OMZ. These effects are in part caused by the water trapping portions of the oil and part caused by the water trapping portions of the oil and solvent. It was observed that mobile water did not change the mass transfer process by which miscibility develops in a multiple-contact miscible displacement. Introduction Miscible gas flooding has been and will be used as a commercial EOR process. In most reservoir applications the injected gas has a lower viscosity than the reservoir oil being displaced. This leads to an inherently unfavorable gas/oil mobility ratio. AGWIP has been used to control mobility. To improve sweep of the injected miscible gas, and to utilize this relatively expensive fluid more effectively. In many field applications of this process, volumes of miscible gas and water are injected process, volumes of miscible gas and water are injected alternately into the reservoir until the desired cumulative slug volume of miscible gas has been injected. The AGWIP process may lead to a high mobile-water saturation in the reservoir, particularly in waterflooded reservoirs. Several authors have discussed the effects of this mobile water on the first-contact miscible oil-displacement process. These studies have shown that the in-place oil can be shielded from the injected solvent by the mobile water in water-wet porous media. The ability of the injected solvent to displace residual oil in laboratory systems was detrimentally affected by high mobile-water saturations. In simulated oil-wet porous media, this solvent trapping was either much less severe or nonexistent. Simulated oil-wet conditions were obtained in a water-wet core by displacing a glycerin/water solution by simultaneous injection of water and oil. SPEJ P. 447

scholarly journals Laboratory Measurements of the Relative Permeability of Coal: A Review

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5568
Author(s):  
Shaicheng Shen ◽  
Zhiming Fang ◽  
Xiaochun Li
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Coalbed Methane ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Absolute Permeability ◽  
Permeability Measurement ◽  
Mixed Gas ◽  
Practical Engineering ◽  
Relative Permeability Curves

The relative permeability of coal to gas and water is an essential parameter for characterizing coalbed methane (CBM) reservoirs and predicting coal seam gas production, particularly in numerical simulations. Although a variety of studies related to the relative permeability of coals have been conducted, the results hardly meet the needs of practical engineering applications. To track the dynamic development of relative permeability measurements in the laboratory, discover the deficiencies, and discuss further work in this field, this paper investigates the relative permeability measurement preparation work and laboratory methods and summarizes the development of techniques used to determine the water saturation during experimentation. The previously determined relative permeability curves are also assembled and classified according to coal rank and the absolute permeability. It is found that the general operations in the relative permeability measurement process are still not standardized. The techniques applied to determine the water saturation of coal in experiments have been refined to some extent, but no optimal technique has been recognized yet. New techniques, such as the incorporation of high-precision differential pressure gauges, can be used to determine the water production during relative permeability measurement. In addition, the existing relative permeability data are limited, and no study has focused on supercritical carbon dioxide-water and mixed gas (methane and carbon dioxide)-water relative permeability measurements. To meet the requirements of actual projects, further research on this topic must be conducted.

Numerical Simulation of the Performance of an Axial Compressor Operating With Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinlan Gou ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Can Ma ◽  
Yong Li ◽  
Yuansheng Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Supercritical Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Critical Point ◽  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Axial Compressor ◽  
Brayton Cycle ◽  
Supercritical Carbon

Using supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) as the working fluid of a closed Brayton cycle gas turbine is widely recognized nowadays, because of its compact layout and high efficiency for modest turbine inlet temperature. It is an attractive option for geothermal, nuclear and solar energy conversion. Compressor is one of the key components for the supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle. With established or developing small power supercritical carbon dioxide test loop, centrifugal compressor with small mass flow rate is mainly investigated and manufactured in the literature; however, nuclear energy conversion contains more power, and axial compressor is preferred to provide SCO2 compression with larger mass flow rate which is less studied in the literature. The performance of the axial supercritical carbon dioxide compressor is investigated in the current work. An axial supercritical carbon dioxide compressor with mass flow rate of 1000kg/s is designed. The thermodynamic region of the carbon dioxide is slightly above the vapor-liquid critical point with inlet total temperature 310K and total pressure 9MPa. Numerical simulation is then conducted to assess this axial compressor with look-up table adopted to handle the nonlinear variation property of supercritical carbon dioxide near the critical point. The results show that the performance of the design point of the designed axial compressor matches the primary target. Small corner separation occurs near the hub, and the flow motion of the tip leakage fluid is similar with the well-studied air compressor. Violent property variation near the critical point creates troubles for convergence near the stall condition, and the stall mechanism predictions are more difficult for the axial supercritical carbon dioxide compressor.

Effect of Temperature on Oil/Water Relative Permeabilities of Unconsolidated and Consolidated Sands

1985 ◽  
Vol 25 (06) ◽  
pp. 945-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Miller ◽  
H.J. Ramey
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
High Water ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Relative Permeabilities ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Dynamic Displacement ◽  
Irreducible Water Saturation ◽  
Increasing Temperature

Abstract Over the past 20 years, a number of studies have reported temperature effects on two-phase relative permeabilities in porous media. Some of the reported results, however, have been contradictory. Also, observed effects have not been explained in terms of fundamental properties known to govern two-phase flow. The purpose of this study was to attempt to isolate the fundamental properties affecting two-phase relative permeabilities at elevated temperatures. Laboratory dynamic-displacement relative permeability measurements were made on unconsolidated and consolidated sand cores with water and a refined white mineral oil. Experiments were run on 2-in. [5.1-cm] -diameter, 20-in. [52.-cm] -long cores from room temperature to 300F [149C]. Unlike previous researchers, we observed essentially no changes with temperature in either residual saturations or relative permeability relationships. We concluded that previous results may have been affected by viscous previous results may have been affected by viscous instabilities, capillary end effects, and/or difficulties in maintaining material balances. Introduction Interest in measuring relative permeabilities at elevated temperatures began in the 1960's with petroleum industry interest in thermal oil recovery. Early thermal oil recovery field operations (well heaters, steam injection, in-situ combustion) indicated oil flow rate increases far in excess of what was predicted by viscosity reductions resulting from heating. This suggested that temperature affects relative permeabilities. One of the early studies of temperature effects on relative permeabilities was presented by Edmondson, who performed dynamic displacement measurements with crude performed dynamic displacement measurements with crude and white oils and distilled water in Berea sandstone cores. Edmondson reported that residual oil saturations (ROS's) (at the end of 10 PV's of water injected) decreased with increasing temperature. Relative permeability ratios decreased with temperature at high water saturations but increased with temperature at low water saturations. A series of elevated-temperature, dynamic-displacement relative permeability measurements on clean quartz and "natural" unconsolidated sands were reported by Poston et al. Like Edmondson, Poston et al. reported a decrease in the "practical" ROS (at less than 1 % oil cut) as temperature increased. Poston et al. also reported an increase in irreducible water saturation. Although irreducible water saturations decreased with decreasing temperature, they did not revert to the original room temperature values. It was assumed that the cores became increasingly water-wet with an increase in both temperature and time; measured changes of the IFT and the contact angle with temperature increase, however, were not sufficient to explain observed effects. Davidson measured dynamic-displacement relative permeability ratios on a coarse sand and gravel core with permeability ratios on a coarse sand and gravel core with white oil displaced by distilled water, nitrogen, and superheated steam at temperatures up to 540F [282C]. Starting from irreducible water saturation, relative permeability ratio curves were similar to Edmondson's. permeability ratio curves were similar to Edmondson's. Starting from 100% oil saturation, however, the curves changed significantly only at low water saturations. A troublesome aspect of Davidson's work was that he used a hydrocarbon solvent to clean the core between experiments. No mention was made of any consideration of wettability changes, which could explain large increases in irreducible water saturations observed in some runs. Sinnokrot et al. followed Poston et al.'s suggestion of increasing water-wetness and performed water/oil capillary pressure measurements on consolidated sandstone and limestone cores from room temperature up to 325F [163C]. Sinnokrot et al confirmed that, for sandstones, irreducible water saturation appeared to increase with temperature. Capillary pressures increased with temperature, and the hysteresis between drainage and imbibition curves reduced to essentially zero at 300F [149C]. With limestone cores, however, irreducible water saturations remained constant with increase in temperature, as did capillary pressure curves. Weinbrandt et al. performed dynamic displacement experiments on small (0.24 to 0.49 cu in. [4 to 8 cm3] PV) consolidated Boise sandstone cores to 175F [75C] PV) consolidated Boise sandstone cores to 175F [75C] with distilled water and white oil. Oil relative permeabilities shifted toward high water saturations with permeabilities shifted toward high water saturations with increasing temperature, while water relative permeabilities exhibited little change. Weinbrandt et al. confirmed the findings of previous studies that irreducible water saturation increases and ROS decreases with increasing temperature. SPEJ P. 945

Simulation of Miscible Displacement in Full-Diameter Carbonate Cores

1982 ◽  
Vol 22 (05) ◽  
pp. 647-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.P. Batycky ◽  
B.B. Maini ◽  
D.B. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Accurate Determination ◽  
Miscible Displacement ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Core Material ◽  
Immiscible Fluid ◽  
Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Carbonate Cores ◽  
Capacitance Model

Abstract Miscible gas displacement data obtained from full-diameter carbonate reservoir cores have been fitted to a modified miscible flow dispersion-capacitance model. Starting with earlier approaches, we have synthesized an algorithm that provides rapid and accurate determination of the three parameters included in the model: the dispersion coefficient, the flowing fraction of displaceable volume, and the rate constant for mass transfer between flowing and stagnant volumes. Quality of fit is verified with a finite-difference simulation. The dependencies of the three parameters have been evaluated as functions of the displacement velocity and of the water saturation within four carbonate cores composed of various amounts of matrix, vug, and fracture porosity. Numerical simulation of a composite core made by stacking three of the individual cores has been compared with the experimental data. For comparison, an analysis of Berea sandstone gas displacement also has been provided. Although the sandstone displays a minor dependence of gas recovery on water saturation, we found that the carbonate cores are strongly affected by water content. Such behavior would not be measurable if small carbonate samples that can reflect only matrix properties were used. This study therefore represents a significant assessment of the dispersion-capacitance model for carbonate cores and its ability to reflect changes in pore interconnectivity that accompany water saturation alteration. Introduction Miscible displacement processes are used widely in various aspects of oil recovery. A solvent slug injected into a reservoir can be used to displace miscibly either oil or gas. The necessary slug size is determined by the rate at which deterioration can occur as the slug is Another commonly used miscible process involves addition of a small slug within the injected fluids or gases to determine the nature and extent of inter well communication. The quantity of tracer material used is dictated by analytical detection capabilities and by an understanding of the miscible displacement properties of the reservoir. We can develop such understanding by performing one-dimensional (1D) step-change miscible displacement experiments within the laboratory with selected reservoir core material. The effluent profiles derived from the experiments then are fitted to a suitable mathematical model to express the behavior of each rock type through the use of a relatively small number of parameters. This paper illustrates the efficient application of the three-parameter, dispersion-capacitance model. Its application previously has been limited to use with small homogeneous plugs normally composed of intergranular and intencrystalline porosity, and its suitability for use with cores displaying macroscopic heterogeneity has been questioned. Consequently, in addition to illustrating its use with a homogeneous sandstone, we fit data derived from previously reported full-diameter carbonate cores. As noted earlier, these cores were heterogeneous, and each of them displayed different dual or multiple types of porosity characteristic of vugular and fractured carbonate rocks. Dispersion-Capacitance Model The displacement efficiency of one fluid by a second immiscible fluid within a porous medium depends on the complexity of rock and fluid properties. SPEJ P. 647^

scholarly journals Interpretation of Gas/Water Relative Permeability of Coal Using the Hybrid Bayesian-Assisted History Matching: New Insights

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 626
Author(s):  
Jiyuan Zhang ◽  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Shiqian Xu ◽  
Qihong Feng ◽  
Xianmin Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Coalbed Methane ◽  
History Matching ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Unsteady State ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Rock Interaction ◽  
Interaction Mechanisms ◽  
True Value ◽  
Assisted History Matching

The relative permeability of coal to gas and water exerts a profound influence on fluid transport in coal seams in both primary and enhanced coalbed methane (ECBM) recovery processes where multiphase flow occurs. Unsteady-state core-flooding tests interpreted by the Johnson–Bossler–Naumann (JBN) method are commonly used to obtain the relative permeability of coal. However, the JBN method fails to capture multiple gas–water–coal interaction mechanisms, which inevitably results in inaccurate estimations of relative permeability. This paper proposes an improved assisted history matching framework using the Bayesian adaptive direct search (BADS) algorithm to interpret the relative permeability of coal from unsteady-state flooding test data. The validation results show that the BADS algorithm is significantly faster than previous algorithms in terms of convergence speed. The proposed method can accurately reproduce the true relative permeability curves without a presumption of the endpoint saturations given a small end-effect number of <0.56. As a comparison, the routine JBN method produces abnormal interpretation results (with the estimated connate water saturation ≈33% higher than and the endpoint water/gas relative permeability only ≈0.02 of the true value) under comparable conditions. The proposed framework is a promising computationally effective alternative to the JBN method to accurately derive relative permeability relations for gas–water–coal systems with multiple fluid–rock interaction mechanisms.

High Flue Gas Flow Rate Tests for Removal and Recovery of Carbon Dioxide under Power Plant Effluent Gas Conditions

2004 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 758-761
Author(s):  
Tomio MIMURA ◽  
Yasuyuki YAGI ◽  
Masaki IIJIMA ◽  
Ryuji YOSIYAMA ◽  
Takahito YONEKAWA
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Flue Gas ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Gas Flow Rate ◽  
Power Plant Effluent ◽  
Removal And Recovery

FRACTAL MODELS FOR GAS–WATER TRANSPORT IN SHALE POROUS MEDIA CONSIDERING WETTING CHARACTERISTICS

Fractals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (07) ◽  
pp. 2050138
Author(s):  
QI ZHANG ◽  
XINYUE WU ◽  
QINGBANG MENG ◽  
YAN WANG ◽  
JIANCHAO CAI
Keyword(s):  
Fractal Dimension ◽  
Pore Structure ◽  
Pore Pressure ◽  
Surface Diffusion ◽  
Water Transport ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Fluid Transport ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Fractal Theory ◽  
Gas Slippage

Complicated gas–water transport behaviors in nanoporous shale media are known to be influenced by multiple transport mechanisms and pore structure characteristics. More accurate characterization of the fluid transport in shale reservoirs is essential to macroscale modeling for production prediction. This paper develops the analytical relative permeability models for gas–water two-phase in both organic and inorganic matter (OM and IM) of nanoporous shale using the fractal theory. Heterogeneous pore size distribution (PSD) of the shale media is considered instead of the tortuous capillaries with uniform diameters. The gas–water transport models for OM and IM are established, incorporating gas slippage described by second-order slip condition, water film thickness in IM, surface diffusion in OM, and the total organic carbon. Then, the presented model is validated by experimental results. After that, sensitivity analysis of gas–water transport behaviors based on pore structure properties of the shale sample is conducted, and the influence factors of fluid transport behaviors are discussed. The results show that the gas relative permeability is larger than 1 at the low pore pressure and water saturation. The larger pore pressure causes slight effect of gas slippage and surface diffusion on the gas relative permeability. The larger PSD fractal dimension of IM results in larger gas relative permeability and smaller water relative permeability. Besides, the large tortuosity fractal dimension will decrease the gas flux at the same water saturation, and the surface diffusion decreases with the increase of tortuosity fractal dimension of OM and pore pressure. The proposed models can provide an approach for macroscale modeling of the development of shale gas reservoirs.

Distribution of the Oil Phase Obtained Upon Imbibition of Water

1964 ◽  
Vol 4 (01) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietro Raimondi ◽  
Michael A. Torcaso
Keyword(s):  
Primary Production ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Phase System ◽  
Residual Oil ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Connate Water ◽  
Phase Water

Abstract The distribution of the oil phase in Berea sandstone resulting from increasing and decreasing the water saturation by imbibition was investigated Three types of distribution were recognized: trapped, normal and lagging. The amount of oil in each of these distributions was determined as a function of saturation by carrying out a miscible displacement in the oil phase under steady-state conditions of saturation. These conditions were maintained by flowing water and oil simultaneously in given ratios and by using a displacing solvent having essentially the same density and viscosity as the oil.A correlation shows the amount of trapped oil at any saturation to be directly proportional to the conventional residual oil saturation Sir The factor of proportionality is related to the fractional permeability to the water phase. Part of the oil which was not trapped was displaced in a piston- like manner (normal part) and part was eluted gradually (lagging part). The observed phenomena are more than of mere academic importance. Oil which is trapped may well provide the fuel essential for forward combustion and thus be beneficial. On the contrary, in tertiary recovery operations, it is this trapped oil which seems to make current techniques uneconomic. Introduction A typical oilfield may initially contain connate water and oil. After a period of primary production water often enters the field either from surrounding aquifers or from surface injection. During primary production evolution and establishment of a free gas saturation usually occurs. The effect and importance of this third phase is fully recognized. However, this investigation is limited to a two- phase system, one wetting phase (water) and one non-wetting phase (oil). The increase in water content of a water-wet system is termed imbibition. In a relative permeability-saturation diagram such as the one shown in Fig. 1, the initial conditions of the field would he represented by a point below a water saturation of about 35 per cent, i.e., where the imbibition and the drainage curves to the non-wetting phase nearly coincide. When water enters the field the relative permeability to oil decreases along the imbibition curve. At watered-out conditions the relative permeability to the oil becomes zero. At this point a considerable amount of oil, called residual oil, (about 35 per cent in Fig. 1) remains unrecovered. Any attempt to produce this oil will require that its saturation be increased. In Fig. 1 this would mean retracing the imbibition curve upwards. In addition, processes like alcohol and fire flooding, which can be employed at any stage of production, involve the complete displacement of connate water and an increase, or imbibition, of water saturation ahead of the displacing front. Thus, in several types of oil production it is the imbibition-relative permeability curve which rules the flow behavior. For this reason a knowledge of the distribution of the non-wetting phase, as obtained through imbibition, whether "coming down" or "going up" on the imbibition curve, is important. SPEJ P. 49^

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