scholarly journals Wettability alteration analysis of smart water/novel functionalized nanocomposites for enhanced oil recovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1318-1328
Author(s):  
Sara Habibi ◽  
Arezou Jafari ◽  
Zahra Fakhroueian
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Ionic Composition ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Sulfate Ions ◽  
Smart Water ◽  
Eor Processes ◽  
Co Precipitation

Abstract Smart water flooding, as a popular method to change the wettability of carbonate rocks, is one of the interesting and challenging issues in reservoir engineering. In addition, the recent studies show that nanoparticles have a great potential for application in EOR processes. However, little research has been conducted on the use of smart water with nanoparticles in enhanced oil recovery. In this study, stability, contact angle and IFT measurements and multi-step core flooding tests were designed to investigate the effect of the ionic composition of smart water containing SO42− and Ca2+ ions in the presence of nanofluid on EOR processes. The amine/organosiloxane@Al2O3/SiO2 (AOAS) nanocomposite previously synthesized using co-precipitation-hydrothermal method has been used here. However, for the first time the application of this nanocomposite along with smart water has been studied in this research. Results show that by increasing the concentrations of calcium and sulfate ions in smart water, oil recovery is improved by 9% and 10%, respectively, compared to seawater. In addition, the use of smart water and nanofluids simultaneously is very effective on increasing oil recovery. Finally, the best performance was observed in smart water containing two times of sulfate ions concentration (SW2S) with nanofluids, showing increased efficiency of about 7.5%.

scholarly journals A mechanistic investigation of low salinity water flooding coupled with ion tuning for enhanced oil recovery

RSC Advances ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (69) ◽  
pp. 42570-42583
Author(s):  
Rohit Kumar Saw ◽  
Ajay Mandal
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Calcite Dissolution ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Water ◽  
Mechanistic Investigation ◽  
Salinity Water

The combined effects of dilution and ion tuning of seawater for enhanced oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs. Dominating mechanisms are calcite dissolution and the interplay of potential determining ions that lead to wettability alteration of rock surface.

Optimization of Smart Water Chemical Composition for Carbonate Rocks Through Comparison of Active Cations Performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 139 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malek Jalilian ◽  
Peyman Pourafshary ◽  
Behnam Sedaee Sola ◽  
Mosayyeb Kamari
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Carbonate Rocks ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Ion Concentration ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Smart Water ◽  
The Impact

Designing smart water (SW) by optimizing the chemical composition of injected brine is a promising low-cost technique that has been developed for both sandstone and carbonate reservoirs for several decades. In this study, the impact of SW flooding during tertiary oil recovery phase was investigated by core flooding analysis of pure limestone carbonate rocks. Increasing the sulfate ion concentration by using CaSO4 and MgSO4 of NaCl concentration and finally reducing the total salinity were the main manipulations performed to optimize SW. The main objective of this research is to compare active cations including Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the presence of sulfate ions (SO42−) with regard to their efficiency in the enhancement of oil production during SW flooding of carbonate cores. The results revealed a 14.5% increase in the recovery factor by CaSO4 proving its greater effectiveness compared to MgSO4, which led to an 11.5% production enhancement. It was also realized that low-salinity water flooding (LSWF) did not lead to a significant positive effect as it contributed less than 2% in the tertiary stage.

scholarly journals Interfacial Phenomena Effect on Sand Production Due to Optimized Smart Water with/without the Presence of Nanoparticles

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 6652-6668
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Sand Production ◽  
Smart Water ◽  
Comparison Of The Results

Historically, smart water flooding is proved as one of the methods used to enhance oil recovery from hydrocarbon reservoirs. This method has been spread due to its low cost and ease of operation, with changing the composition and concentration of salts in the water, the smart water injection leads to more excellent compatibility with rock and fluids. However, due to a large number of sandstone reservoirs in the world and the increase of the recovery factor using this high-efficiency method, a problem occurs with the continued injection of smart water into these reservoirs a phenomenon happened in which called rock leaching. Indeed, sand production is the most common problem in these fields. Rock wettability alteration toward water wetting is considered as the main cause of sand production during the smart water injection mechanism. During this process, due to stresses on the rock surface as well as disturbance of equilibrium, the sand production in the porous media takes place. In this paper, the effect of wettability alteration of oil wetted sandstones (0.005,0.01,0.02 and 0.03 molar stearic acid in normal heptane) on sand production in the presence of smart water is fully investigated. The implementation of an effective chemical method, which is nanoparticles, have been executed to prevent sand production. By stabilizing silica nanoparticles (SiO2) at an optimum concentration of 2000 ppm in smart water (pH=8) according to the results of Zeta potential and DLS test, the effect of wettability alteration of oil wetted sandstones on sand production in the presence of smart water with nanoparticles is thoroughly reviewed. Ultimately, a comparison of the results showed that nanoparticles significantly reduced sand production.

scholarly journals Optimisation of Smart Water to Enhance Oil Recovery Efficiency in a Part of Oil Field of Upper Assam Basin, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 3620-3626
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Ionic Composition ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Recovery Efficiency ◽  
Smart Water ◽  
Original Oil In Place ◽  
Brine Salinity ◽  
Secondary Mode

Researchers have proved the significance of water injection by tuning its composition and salinity into the reservoir during smart water flooding. Once the smart water invades through the pore spaces, it destabilises crude oil-brine-rock (COBR) that leads to change in wettability of the reservoir rocks. During hydrocarbon accumulation and migration, polar organic compounds were being adsorbed on the rock surface making the reservoir oil/mixed wet in nature. Upon invasion of smart water, due to detachment of polar compounds from the rock surfaces, the wettability changes from oil/mixed wet to water wet thus enhances the oil recovery efficiency. The objective of this paper is to find optimum salinity and ionic composition of the synthetic brines at which maximum oil recovery would be observed. Three core flood studies have been conducted in the laboratory to investigate the effect of pH, composition and salinity of the injected brine over oil recovery. Every time, flooding has been conducted at reservoir formation brine salinity i.e at 1400 ppm followed by different salinities. Here, tertiary mode of flooding has been carried out for two core samples while secondary flooding for one. Results showed maximum oil recovery by 40.12% of original oil in place (OOIP) at 1050ppm brine salinity at secondary mode of flooding. So, optimized smart water has been proposed with 03 major salts, KCl, MgCl2 and CaCl2 in secondary mode of flooding that showed maximum oil recovery in terms of original oil in place.

scholarly journals Insights into the Effects of Pore Size Distribution on the Flowing Behavior of Carbonate Rocks: Linking a Nano-Based Enhanced Oil Recovery Method to Rock Typing

Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Rezaei ◽  
Hadi Abdollahi ◽  
Zeinab Derikvand ◽  
Abdolhossein Hemmati-Sarapardeh ◽  
Amir Mosavi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Reservoir Rock ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Alpha Olefin Sulfonate ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Recovery Method ◽  
Fluid Saturation

As a fixed reservoir rock property, pore throat size distribution (PSD) is known to affect the distribution of reservoir fluid saturation strongly. This study aims to investigate the relations between the PSD and the oil–water relative permeabilities of reservoir rock with a focus on the efficiency of surfactant–nanofluid flooding as an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique. For this purpose, mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) tests were conducted on two core plugs with similar rock types (in respect to their flow zone index (FZI) values), which were selected among more than 20 core plugs, to examine the effectiveness of a surfactant–nanoparticle EOR method for reducing the amount of oil left behind after secondary core flooding experiments. Thus, interfacial tension (IFT) and contact angle measurements were carried out to determine the optimum concentrations of an anionic surfactant and silica nanoparticles (NPs) for core flooding experiments. Results of relative permeability tests showed that the PSDs could significantly affect the endpoints of the relative permeability curves, and a large amount of unswept oil could be recovered by flooding a mixture of the alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) surfactant + silica NPs as an EOR solution. Results of core flooding tests indicated that the injection of AOS + NPs solution in tertiary mode could increase the post-water flooding oil recovery by up to 2.5% and 8.6% for the carbonate core plugs with homogeneous and heterogeneous PSDs, respectively.

scholarly journals Nanotechnology Applied to Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes: A Review

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 4671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar E. Medina ◽  
Carol Olmos ◽  
Sergio H. Lopera ◽  
Farid B. Cortés ◽  
Camilo A. Franco
Keyword(s):  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Enhanced Recovery ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Crude Oils ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Heavy Crude ◽  
Eor Processes

The increasing demand for fossil fuels and the depleting of light crude oil in the next years generates the need to exploit heavy and unconventional crude oils. To face this challenge, the oil and gas industry has chosen the implementation of new technologies capable of improving the efficiency in the enhanced recovery oil (EOR) processes. In this context, the incorporation of nanotechnology through the development of nanoparticles and nanofluids to increase the productivity of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils has taken significant importance, mainly through thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) processes. The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of nanotechnology applied to oil recovery technologies with a focus on thermal methods, elaborating on the upgrading of the heavy and extra-heavy crude oils using nanomaterials from laboratory studies to field trial proposals. In detail, the introduction section contains general information about EOR processes, their weaknesses, and strengths, as well as an overview that promotes the application of nanotechnology. Besides, this review addresses the physicochemical properties of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils in Section 2. The interaction of nanoparticles with heavy fractions such as asphaltenes and resins, as well as the variables that can influence the adsorptive phenomenon are presented in detail in Section 3. This section also includes the effects of nanoparticles on the other relevant mechanisms in TEOR methods, such as viscosity changes, wettability alteration, and interfacial tension reduction. The catalytic effect influenced by the nanoparticles in the different thermal recovery processes is described in Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7. Finally, Sections 8 and 9 involve the description of an implementation plan of nanotechnology for the steam injection process, environmental impacts, and recent trends. Additionally, the review proposes critical stages in order to obtain a successful application of nanoparticles in thermal oil recovery processes.

scholarly journals Experimental study and numerical modeling for enhancing oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs by nanoparticle flooding

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrdad Sepehri ◽  
Babak Moradi ◽  
Abolghasem Emamzadeh ◽  
Amir H. Mohammadi
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Porous Media ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Fluid Properties

Nowadays, nanotechnology has become a very attractive subject in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) researches. In the current study, a carbonate system has been selected and first the effects of nanoparticles on the rock and fluid properties have been experimentally investigated and then the simulation and numerical modeling of the nanofluid injection for enhanced oil recovery process have been studied. After nanofluid treatment, experimental results have shown wettability alteration. A two-phase flow mathematical model and a numerical simulator considering wettability alteration have been developed. The numerical simulation results show that wettability alteration from oil-wet to water-wet due to presence of nanoparticles can lead to 8–10% increase in recovery factor in comparison with normal water flooding. Different sensitivity analyses and injection scenarios have been considered and assessed. Using numerical modeling, wettability alteration process and formation damage caused by entrainment and entrapment of nanoparticles in porous media have been proved. Finally, the net rate of nanoparticles’ loss in porous media has been investigated.

Enhanced Oil Recovery using Smart Water Injection

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Hussain Ali Baker ◽  
Kareem A. Alwan ◽  
Saher Faris Fadhil
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Deionized Water ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Formation Water ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Smart Water ◽  
Low Salinity Water ◽  
Salinity Water

Smart water flooding (low salinity water flooding) was mainly invested in a sandstone reservoir. The main reasons for using low salinity water flooding are; to improve oil recovery and to give a support for the reservoir pressure. In this study, two core plugs of sandstone were used with different permeability from south of Iraq to explain the effect of water injection with different ions concentration on the oil recovery. Water types that have been used are formation water, seawater, modified low salinity water, and deionized water. The effects of water salinity, the flow rate of water injected, and the permeability of core plugs have been studied in order to summarize the best conditions of low salinity water flooding. The result of this experimental work shows that the water without any free ions (deionized water) and modified low salinity water have improved better oil recovery than the formation water and seawater as a secondary oil process. The increase in oil recovery factor related to the wettability alteration during low salinity water flooding which causes a decrease in the interfacial tension between the crude oil in porous media and the surface of reservoir rocks. As well as the dissolution of minerals such as calcite Ca+2 was observed in this work, which causes an increase in the pH value. All these factors led to change the wettability of rock to be more water-wet, so the oil recovery can be increased.  

scholarly journals Experimental Investigation of Polymer-Coated Silica Nanoparticles for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Bila ◽  
Jan Åge Stensen ◽  
Ole Torsæter
Keyword(s):  
Silica Nanoparticles ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Rock Surface ◽  
Minor Effect ◽  
Core Flooding ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
The North ◽  
Particle Retention

Recently, polymer-coated nanoparticles were proposed for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) due to their improved properties such as solubility, stability, stabilization of emulsions and low particle retention on the rock surface. This work investigated the potential of various polymer-coated silica nanoparticles (PSiNPs) as additives to the injection seawater for oil recovery. Secondary and tertiary core flooding experiments were carried out with neutral-wet Berea sandstone at ambient conditions. Oil recovery parameters of nanoparticles such as interfacial tension (IFT) reduction, wettability alteration and log-jamming effect were investigated. Crude oil from the North Sea field was used. The concentrated solutions of PSiNPs were diluted to 0.1 wt % in synthetic seawater. Experimental results show that PSiNPs can improve water flood oil recovery efficiency. Secondary recoveries of nanofluid ranged from 60% to 72% of original oil in place (OOIP) compared to 56% OOIP achieved by reference water flood. In tertiary recovery mode, the incremental oil recovery varied from 2.6% to 5.2% OOIP. The IFT between oil and water was reduced in the presence of PSiNPs from 10.6 to 2.5–6.8 mN/m, which had minor effect on EOR. Permeability measurements indicated negligible particle retention within the core, consistent with the low differential pressure observed throughout nanofluid flooding. Amott–Harvey tests indicated wettability alteration from neutral- to water-wet condition. The overall findings suggest that PSiNPs have more potential as secondary EOR agents than tertiary agents, and the main recovery mechanism was found to be wettability alteration.

scholarly journals A Review on the Progress of Ion-Engineered Water Flooding

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alibi Kilybay ◽  
Bisweswar Ghosh ◽  
Nithin Chacko Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Smart Water

In the oil and gas industry, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) plays a major role to meet the global requirement for energy. Many types of EOR are being applied depending on the formations, fluid types, and the condition of the field. One of the latest and promising EOR techniques is application of ion-engineered water, also known as low salinity or smart water flooding. This EOR technique has been studied by researchers for different types of rocks. The mechanisms behind ion-engineered water flooding have not been confirmed yet, but there are many proposed mechanisms. Most of the authors believe that the main mechanism behind smart water flooding is the wettability alteration. However, other proposed mechanisms are interfacial tension (IFT) reduction between oil and injected brine, rock dissolution, and electrical double layer expansion. Theoretically, all the mechanisms have an effect on the oil recovery. There are some evidences of success of smart water injection on the field scale. Chemical reactions that happen with injection of smart water are different in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. It is important to understand how these mechanisms work. In this review paper, the possible mechanisms behind smart water injection into the carbonate reservoir with brief history are discussed.

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