A Three-Parameter Representation of Surfactant/Oil/Brine Interaction

1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (04) ◽  
pp. 669-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maura C. Puerto ◽  
Ronald L. Reed
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Molar Volume ◽  
Surfactant Concentration ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Precise Description ◽  
Optimal Salinity ◽  
Parameter Representation ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Oil Mixtures

Abstract When optimal salinity, C, and solubilization parameter Vo/Vs are augmented by Oil molar volume, V mo, the resulting three-parameter representation provides a more precise description of microemulsion phase behavior precise description of microemulsion phase behavior than has previously been available. It then becomes possible to introduce the idea of equivalent oils (Ego's) possible to introduce the idea of equivalent oils (Ego's) as a replacement for the equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN), which is shown to lack some of the properties needed to implement efficient preliminary properties needed to implement efficient preliminary screening of microemulsions for EOR. Broadly speaking, oils are "equivalent" when-they have the same molar volumes, optimal salinities, and solubilization parameters. If, in addition to equivalence, oils are required to have equal viscosities and similar phase behavior as a function of surfactant concentration, phase behavior as a function of surfactant concentration, then it may be possible to replace microemulsion floods of live crude at high pressure with floods of appropriately diluted dead crude at low pressure. This paper places EACN in perspective by means of the three-parameter representation, explores parallel effects of temperature and alcohol cosolvents, and reveals essential nonlinearities in optimal salinity as a function of oil composition (and hence molar volume) for mixtures of various oils. Much of this is subsequently used to develop methods for preparation of Ego's and the more complex but evidently essential equivalent systems (EqS's) needed to model live crudes. Introduction An essential step in design of a microemulsion flood is to test the proposed system and optimize it by using reservoir conditions. fluids, and rock. However, especially when pressure and temperature are high and there is gas in solution, this can be very complex and time consuming, so that it is preferable to minimize this aspect of the total design procedure. Under reservoir conditions, surfactant system phase behavior is also difficult to accomplish and assess in a satisfactory way. In fact, an opaque crude sometimes causes discrimination of the various kinds of phases and emulsions to be problematical. Therefore, it has long been a goal to replace live crude with a pure oil or mixture of pure oils. If this could be accomplished, then phase behavior and the bulk of screening floods could be done at reservoir temperature, but under low pressure, considerably easing the design process. It should be stressed, however, that laboratory tests conducted under the most realistic conditions still are required in final phases of design work. During the attempt to formulate a live-crude replacement algorithm, it became evident that the existing description of surfactant/oil/brine phase behavior was not unique. For example, a single surfactant at fixed temperature can exhibit different interfacial tensions (IFT's) for certain nonhomologous pure oils and yet all tensions can correspond to the same optimal salinity. Or a collection of oils can be found that all furnish the same middle-phase solubilization parameters but have different optimal salinities. Hence, a parameter is needed that characterizes the oil in addition to optimal salinity and solubilization parameters. In this paper, oil molar volume is proposed as one such additional parameter, and the extent to which this improves the characterization of phase behavior is discussed. The resulting three-parameter correlation then is used to replace dead or live crude with pure oil and/or pure-oil/crude-oil mixtures that are equivalent in a pure-oil/crude-oil mixtures that are equivalent in a certain sense related to phase behavior and flooding performance. performance. SPEJ p. 669

Oil emulsion characteristics as significance in efficiency forecast of oil-displacing formulations based on surfactants

2021 ◽  
pp. 91-107
Author(s):  
E. A. Turnaeva ◽  
E. A. Sidorovskaya ◽  
D. S. Adakhovskij ◽  
E. V. Kikireva ◽  
N. Yu. Tret'yakov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Surfactant Concentration ◽  
Chemical Flooding ◽  
Optimal Salinity ◽  
Oil Emulsion ◽  
Oil Displacement ◽  
Laboratory Selection ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Comprehensive Study

Enhanced oil recovery in mature fields can be implemented using chemical flooding with the addition of surfactants using surfactant-polymer (SP) or alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding. Chemical flooding design is implemented taking into account reservoir conditions and composition of reservoir fluids. The surfactant in the oil-displacing formulation allows changing the rock wettability, reducing the interfacial tension, increasing the capillary number, and forming an oil emulsion, which provides a significant increase in the efficiency of oil displacement. The article is devoted with a comprehensive study of the formed emulsion phase as a stage of laboratory selection of surfactant for SP or ASP composition. In this work, the influence of aqueous phase salinity level and the surfactant concentration in the displacing solution on the characteristics of the resulting emulsion was studied. It was shown that, according to the characteristics of the emulsion, it is possible to determine the area of optimal salinity and the range of surfactant concentrations that provide increased oil displacement. The data received show the possibility of predicting the area of effectiveness of ASP and SP formulations based on the characteristics of the resulting emulsion.

Favorable Attributes of Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Flooding

SPE Journal ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (01) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunhua Liu ◽  
Danhua Zhang ◽  
Wei Yan ◽  
Maura Puerto ◽  
George J. Hirasaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Anionic Surfactants ◽  
Naphthenic Acids ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Alkaline Solutions ◽  
Synthetic Surfactant ◽  
Optimal Salinity ◽  
Interfacial Tensions ◽  
Alkaline Surfactant Polymer

Summary A laboratory study of the alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) process was conducted. It was found from phase-behavior studies that for a given synthetic surfactant and crude oil containing naphthenic acids, optimal salinity depends only on the ratio of the moles of soap formed from the acids to the moles of synthetic surfactant present. Adsorption of anionic surfactants on carbonate surfaces is reduced substantially by sodium carbonate, but not by sodium hydroxide. The magnitude of the reduction with sodium carbonate decreases with increasing salinity. Particular attention was given to a surfactant blend of a propoxylated sulfate having a slightly branched C16-17 hydrocarbon chain and an internal olefin sulfonate. In contrast to alkyl/aryl sulfonates previously considered for EOR, alkaline solutions of this blend containing neither alcohol nor oil were single-phase micellar solutions at all salinities up to approximately optimal salinity with representative oils. Phase behavior with a west Texas crude oil at ambient temperature in the absence of alcohol was unusual in that colloidal material, perhaps another microemulsion having a higher soap content, was dispersed in the lower-phase microemulsion. Low interfacial tensions existed with the excess oil phase only when this material was present in sufficient amount in the spinning-drop device. Some birefringence was observed near and above optimal conditions. While this phase behavior is somewhat different from the conventional Winsor phase sequence, overall solubilization of oil and brine for this system was high, leading to low interfacial tensions over a wide salinity range and to excellent oil recovery in both dolomite and silica sandpacks. The sandpack experiments were performed with surfactant concentrations as low as 0.2 wt% and at a salinity well below optimal for the injected surfactant. It was necessary that sufficient polymer be present to provide adequate mobility control, and that salinity be below the value at which phase separation occurred in the polymer/surfactant solution. A 1D simulator was developed to model the process. By calculating transport of soap formed from the crude oil and injected surfactant separately, it showed that injection below optimal salinity was successful because a gradient in local soap-to-surfactant ratio developed during the process. This gradient increases robustness of the process in a manner similar to that of a salinity gradient in a conventional surfactant process. Predictions of the simulator were in excellent agreement with the sandpack results. Background Although both injection of surfactants and injection of alkaline solutions to convert naturally occurring naphthenic acids in crude oils to soaps have long been suggested as methods to increase oil recovery, key concepts such as the need to achieve ultralow interfacial tensions and the means for doing so using microemulsions were not clarified until a period of intensive research between approximately 1960 and 1985 (Reed and Healy 1977; Miller and Qutubuddin 1987; Lake 1989). Most of the work during that period was directed toward developing micellar-polymer processes to recover residual oil from sandstone formations using anionic surfactants. However, Nelson et al. (1984) recognized that in most cases the soaps formed by injecting alkali would not be at the "optimal" conditions needed to achieve low tensions. They proposed that a relatively small amount of a suitable surfactant be injected with the alkali so that the surfactant/soap mixture would be optimal at reservoir conditions. With polymer added for mobility control, the process would be an alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flood. The use of alkali also reduces adsorption of anionic surfactants on sandstones because the high pH reverses the charge of the positively charged clay sites where adsorption occurs. The initial portion of a Shell field test, which did not use polymer, demonstated that residual oil could be displaced by an alkaline-surfactant process (Falls et al. 1994). Several ASP field projects have been conducted with some success in recent years in the US (Vargo et al. 2000; Wyatt et al. 2002). Pilot ASP tests in China have recovered more than 20% OOIP in some cases, but the process has not yet been applied there on a large scale (Chang et al. 2006).

Phase Behavior of CO2 and Crude Oil in Low-Temperature Reservoirs

1981 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 480-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.M. Orr ◽  
A.D. Yu ◽  
C.L. Lien
Keyword(s):  
Critical Temperature ◽  
Liquid Phase ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Phase Diagrams ◽  
Ternary Mixtures ◽  
Co2 Flooding ◽  
Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Oil Mixtures

Abstract Phase behavior of CO2/Crude-oil mixtures which exhibit liquid/liquid (L/L) and liquid/ liquid/vapor (L/L/V) equilibria is examined. Results of single-contact phase behavior experiments for CO2/separator-oil mixtures are reported. Experimental results are interpreted using pseudoternary phase diagrams based on a review of phase behavior data for binary and ternary mixtures of CO2 with alkanes. Implications for the displacement process of L/L/V phase behavior are examined using a one-dimensional finite difference simulator. Results of the analysis suggest that L/L and L/L/V equilibria will occur for CO2/crude-oil mixtures at temperatures below about 120 degrees F (49 degrees C) and that development of miscibility occurs by extraction of hydrocarbons from the oil into a CO2-rich liquid phase in such systems. Introduction The efficiency of a displacement of oil by CO2 depends on a variety of factors, including phase behavior of CO2/crude-oil mixtures generated during the displacement, densities and viscosities of the phases present, relative permeabilities to individual phases, and a host of additional complications such as dispersion, viscous fingering, reservoir heterogeneities, and layering. It generally is acknowledged that phase behavior and attendant compositional effects on fluid properties strongly influence local displacement efficiency, though it also is clear that on a reservoir scale, poor vertical and areal sweep efficiency (caused by the low viscosity of the displacing CO2) may negate the favorable effects of phase behavior.Interpretation of the effects of phase behavior on displacement efficiency is made difficult by the complexity of the behavior of CO2/crude-oil mixtures. The standard interpretation of CO2 flooding phase behaviour, given first by Rathmell et al. is that CO2 flooding behaves much like a vaporizing gas drive, as described originally by Hutchinson and Braun. During a flood, vaporphase CO2 mixes with oil in place and extracts light and intermediate hydrocarbons. After multiple contacts, the CO2-rich phase vaporizes enough hydrocarbons to develop a composition that can displace oil efficiently, if not miscibly. The picture presented by Rathmell et al. appears to be consistent with phase behavior observed for CO2/ crudeoil mixtures as long as the reservoir temperature is high enough. Table 1 summarizes data reported for CO2/crude-oil mixtures. Of the 10 systems studied, all those at temperatures above 120 degrees F (50 degrees C) show only L/V equilibria while those below 120 degrees F exhibit L/L/V separations (Stalkup also reports two phase diagrams that are qualitatively similar to the other low-temperature diagrams but does not give temperatures). Thus, at temperatures not too far above the critical temperature of CO2 [88 degrees F (31 degrees C)], mixtures of CO2 and crude oil exhibit multiple liquid phases, and at some pressures L/L/V equilibria are observed. It has not been established whether Rathmell et al.'s interpretation of the process mechanism can be extended to cover the more complex phase behavior of low-temperature CO2/crude-oil mixtures. In a recent paper, Metcalfe and Yarborough argued critical temperature CO2 floods behave more like condensing gas drives, whereas Kamath et al. concluded that an increase in the solubility of liquid-phase CO2 in crude oil at temperatures near the critical temperature of CO2 should cause more efficient displacements of oil by CO2. SPEJ P. 480^

Evaluation of the Salinity Gradient Concept in Surfactant Flooding

1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (03) ◽  
pp. 486-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.J. Hirasaki ◽  
H.R. van Domselaar ◽  
R.C. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Active Region ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Aqueous Phase ◽  
Surfactant Concentration ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Middle Phase ◽  
Optimal Salinity ◽  
Type Iii

Abstract Salinity design goals are to keep as much surfactant as possible in the active region and to minimize surfactant possible in the active region and to minimize surfactant retention. Achieving these is complicated becausecompositions change as a result of dispersion, chromatographic separation of components distributed among two or more phases, and retention by adsorption onto rock and/or absorption in a trapped phase-.in the presence of divalent ions, optimal salinity is not constant but a function of surfactant concentration and calcium/sodium ratio: andthe changing composition of a system strongly influences transport of the components. A one-dimensional (ID) six-component finite-difference simulator was used to compare a salinity gradient design with a constant salinity design. Numerical dispersion was used to evaluate the effects of dispersive mixing. These simulations show that, with a salinity gradient, change of phase behavior with salinity can be used to advantage both to keep surfactant in the active region and to minimize retention. By contrast, under some conditions with a constant salinity design. it is possible to have early surfactant breakthrough and/or large surfactant retention. Other experiments conducted showed that high salinity does retard surfactant, and, if the drive has high salinity. a great amount of surfactant retention can result. The design that produced the best recovery had the water flood brine over optimum and the drive under optimum; the peak surfactant concentration occurred in the active region and oil production ceased at the same point. Introduction The phase behavior of surfactant/oil/brine systems for different salinities is shown in Fig. 1. Low salinities. called "underoptimum" or "Type II(−)" phase behavior, are shown at the top of Fig. 1. In this kind of system, surfactant is partitioned predominantly into the aqueous phase. predominantly into the aqueous phase. High salinities, called "overoptimum" or "Type II(+)" phase behavior, are shown at the bottom of Fig. 1. In this kind of system, surfactant is partitioned predominantly into the oleic phase. When the oleic phase predominantly into the oleic phase. When the oleic phase has a low oil concentration, the oil is said to be "swollen" by the surfactant and brine. At moderate salinities, the system can have up to three phases and is called "Type III." This is illustrated in the phases and is called "Type III." This is illustrated in the middle of Fig. 1. The salinity at which the middle phase has a WOR of unity is called "optimal salinity" because the lowest interfacial tensions (IFT's) usually occur near this salinity. As salinity increases, there is a steady progression from Type II(−) to Type III to Type II(+) phase behavior. The middle-phase composition moves from the brine side of the diagram to the oil side. The two-phase regions that correspond to the Type II(−) and Type II( +) systems can be seen above the three-phase region in Fig. 1.

Interpretation of the Change in Optimal Salinity With Overall Surfactant Concentration

1982 ◽  
Vol 22 (06) ◽  
pp. 971-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
George J. Hirasaki
Keyword(s):  
Sodium Chloride ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Surfactant Concentration ◽  
Equilibrium Composition ◽  
Chemical Flooding ◽  
Alkyl Ether ◽  
Divalent Ions ◽  
Optimal Salinity ◽  
Phase Rule ◽  
Compositional Simulator

Abstract Background. For chemical flooding formulations, optimal salinity changes with overall surfactant concentration when the phase behavior is observed in test tubes. Applying these observations to the mathematical simulator is questionable because chromatographic mechanisms during displacement through porous media result in different compositions. Purpose. This work sought the mechanism for the observed change so that calculated optimal salinity can be expressed through the appropriate intensive variable rather than overall surfactant concentration. Method. Association of the alcohol has been described by partition coefficients for distribution of the alcohol among brine, oil, and surfactant. The alcohol was isopropanol (IPA), 1-butanol (NBA), or tertiary amyl alcohol (TAA) in the systems in which they were included and was used to represent a disulfonate in the system with Petrostep petroleum sulfonate. Association of sodium and divalent ions with surfactant has been described by the Donnan equilibrium model, which experimental observations show can be applied to microemulsions as well as to micelles. Conclusions. For the seven systems investigated, the change in optimal salinity is a function of (1) the alcohol associated with the surfactant and (2) the divalent ion fraction of the associated counterions. Introduction Reed and Healy reviewed the concept of optimal salinity for minimum inter-facial tension (IFT) and its relationship to phase behavior. They showed that, as a first approximation, phase behavior can be represented by electrolyte concentration and three pseudocomponents: brine, oil, and surfactant plus cosolvent. If the system actually contains three components plus sodium chloride, optimal salinity should be independent of overall surfactant concentration and WOR. However. in the system Reed and Healy investigated, optimal salinity changed with overall surfactant concentration and WOR, which indicates that the system did not contain just sodium chloride plus three additional components. To handle this problem, Vinatieri and Fleming suggested using regression analysis to determine the best set of pseudocomponents. Then alcohol can be included with the oil and brine as pseudocomponents. Blevins et al. examined the phase behavior of a quaternary system (with brine as a pseudocomponent) by examining pseudoternary planes on a quaternary diagram. Glover et al. showed that the change in optimal salinity of a system containing divalent ions can be modeled by (1) considering the equilibrium composition of the brine, and (2) describing optimal salinity as a linear function of the concentration of divalent ions associated with the sulfonate. They assumed that NEODOL 25-3S did not associate divalent ions. (NEODOL 25-3S is a sodium salt of C12-C15 alkyl ether sulfate, with an average ethylene oxide number of three. Hereafter in this paper it is abbreviated as N253S.) Pope and Nelson showed that phase behavior and IFT's can be modeled in a compositional simulator when optimal salinity and the upper and lower limits of the Type III environment are known. The purpose of this work is to model alcohol or multiple surfactant components and divalent ions so that they can be included in a compositional simulator. Thermodynamic Analysis The Gibbs phase rule is used to show that a four-component system of pure oil, surfactant, water, and NaCl has an optimal salinity that does not depend on overall surfactant concentration. SPEJ P. 971^

Surfactant Phase Behavior and Retention in Porous Media

1979 ◽  
Vol 19 (03) ◽  
pp. 183-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J. Glover ◽  
M.C. Puerto ◽  
J.M. Maerker ◽  
E.L. Sandvik
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Surfactant Concentration ◽  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Reservoir Rock ◽  
Residual Oil ◽  
Optimal Salinity ◽  
Interfacial Tensions ◽  
Production Research ◽  
Surfactant Systems

Glover, C.J.,* SPE-AIME, Exxon Production Research Puerto, M.C., SPE-AIME, Puerto, M.C., SPE-AIME, Exxon Production Research Co. Maerker, J.M., SPE-AIME, Exxon Production Research Co. Sandvik, E.L., SPE-AIME, Exxon Production Research Co. Abstract Surfactant retention in reservoir rock is a major factor limiting effectiveness of oil recovery using microemulsion flooding processes. Effects of salinity and surfactant concentration on microemulsion phase behavior have a significant impact on relative phase behavior have a significant impact on relative magnitudes of retention attributed to adsorption vs entrapment of immiscible microemulsion phases.Surfactant retention levels were determined by effluent sample analyses from microemulsion flow tests in Berea cores. Data for single surfactant systems containing NaCl only and multicomponent surfactant systems containing monovalent and divalent cations are included. Retention is shown to increase linearly with salinity at low salt concentrations and depart from linearity with higher retentions above a critical salinity. This departure from linearity is shown to correlate with formation of upper-phase microemulsions. The linear trend, therefore, is attributed to surfactant adsorption, and retention levels in excess of this trend are attributed to phase trapping.Divalent cations are shown to influence microemulsion phase behavior strongly through formation of divalent-cation sulfonate species. A useful method for predicting phase behavior in systems containing divalent cations is described. This method combines equilibrium expressions with a relationship defining the contribution of each surfactant component to optimal salinity. Observed experimental data are compared with predicted data. Introduction Two essential criteria that must be met for successful recovery of residual oil by chemical flooding arevery low interfacial tensions between the chemical bank and residual oil and between the chemical bank and drive fluid andsmall surfactant retention losses to reservoir rock. If retention is excessive, interfacial tensions eventually will become high enough to retrap residual oil in the remainder of the reservoir.Previous studies have described several mechanisms responsible for surfactant retention in porous media. These include adsorption, porous media. These include adsorption, precipitation, partitioning into a residual oil phase, precipitation, partitioning into a residual oil phase, and entrapment of immiscible microemulsion phases. Of particular interest is Trushenski's discussion of microemulsion phase trapping as a consequence of surfactant-polymer interaction, and a supporting statement that similar behavior often was observed when microemulsions were diluted with polymer-free brine. Here, we attempt to provide some understanding of this surfactant dilution phenomenon by examining phase behavior as a function of salinity, divalent-ion content, and surfactant concentration. Experimental Procedures Surfactant Systems Two surfactant systems were used in this study. (Specific microemulsion compositions are discussed later.) One system was the 63:37 volumetric mixture of the monoethanol amine salt of dodecylorthoxylene sulfonic acid and tertiary amyl alcohol (MEAC12OXS/TAA) described by Healy et al. The oil component for these microemulsions was a mixture of 90% Isopar M TM and 10% Heavy Aromatic Naptha.(TM)** The brine contained NaCl only. SPEJ P. 183

Flow Visualization for CO2/Crude-Oil Displacements

1985 ◽  
Vol 25 (05) ◽  
pp. 665-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce T. Campbell ◽  
Franklin M. Orr
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
High Water ◽  
Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Refined Oil ◽  
Miscible Displacements ◽  
Viscous Instability ◽  
Oil Mixtures ◽  
First Contact

Abstract Results of visual observations of high-pressure CO2 floods are reported. The displacements were performed in two-dimensional (2D) pore networks etched in glass plates. Results of secondary and tertiary first-contact miscible displacements and secondary and tertiary multiple-contact miscible displacements are compared. Three displacements with no water present were performed in each of three pore networks:displacement of a refined oil by the same oil dyed a different color;displacement of a refined oil by CO2 (first-contact miscible); anddisplacement of a crude oil at a pressure above the minimum miscibility pressure. In addition, three tertiary displacements were performed in the same pore networks;displacement of the refined oil by water, followed by displacement by the same refined oil dyed to distinguish it from the original oil;tertiary displacement of the refined oil by CO2; andtertiary displacement of crude oil by CO2. In addition, recovery of oil from dead-end pores, with and without water barriers shielding the oil, was investigated. Visual observations of pore-level displacement events indicate that CO2 displaced oil much more efficiently in both first-contact and multiple-contact miscible displacements when water was absent. In tertiary displacements of a refined oil, CO2 effectively displaced the oil it contacted, but high water saturations restricted access of CO2 to the oil. The low viscosity of CO2 aggravated effects of high water saturations because the CO2 did not displace water efficiently. CO2 did, however, contact trapped oil by diffusing through water to reach, to swell, and to reconnect isolated droplets. Finally, CO2 displaced crude oil more efficiently than it did the refined oil in tertiary displacements. Differences in wetting behavior between the refined and crude oils appear to account for the different flow behavior. Introduction If high-pressure CO2 displaces oil in a one-dimensional (1D), uniform porous medium (in which the effects of viscous fingering are necessarily absent), the displacement efficiency is controlled by the phase behavior of the CO2/crude-oil mixtures. The conventional description of the effects of phase behavior was given by Hutchinson and Braun1 for vaporizing gas drives and was extended to CO2 systems by Rathmell et al.2 In a rigorous mathematical treatment of the flow of three-component mixtures. Helfferich3 proved that the displacement will develop miscibility if the oil composition lies outside the region of tie-line extensions on a ternary diagram. Helfferich's analysis was for 1D flows in which fluids are mixed well locally, and the effects of dispersion are absent. Sigmund et al.,4 Gardner et al.,5 and Orr et al.6 showed that results of slim-tube displacements, which are nearly 1D and come close to eliminating the effects of viscous instability, can be predicted quantitatively by 1D process simulations based on independent measurements of the phase behavior and fluid properties of the CO2/crude-oil mixtures. Thus there is good experimental confirmation that the simple theory of the effects of phase behavior on displacement performance describes accurately the behavior of flow in an ideal displacement, such as a slim tube. In a CO2 flood in reservoir rock, however, a variety of other factors will influence process performance. Because the viscosity CO2 is much lower than that of most oils, viscous instability will limit the sweep efficiency of the injected CO2. In addition, Gardner and Ypma7 predicted, based on 2D simulations of the growth of a viscous finger, that an interaction between viscous instability and phase behavior would lead to higher residual oil saturation in regions penetrated by a viscous finger. Pore-structure heterogeneity may also influence displacement efficiency. Spence and Watkins8 found that residual oil saturations after CO2 waterfloods increased as the heterogeneity of the core increased. Several investigators have reported that high water saturations can alter mixing between oil and injected solvent. Raimondi and Torcaso9 found, in displacements in Berea sandstone cores, that significant fractions of the oil phase could not be contacted by injected solvent when the water saturation was high. Thomas et al.10 reported that a portion of the nonwetting phase can exist in "dendritic" pores whose shapes were determined by the surrounding wetting phase. They argued that material in the dendritic pores mixed with fluid in the flowing fraction only by diffusion. Stalkup11 and Shelton and Schneider12 also investigated effects of mobile water saturations in miscible displacements. Stalkup found that the flowing fraction decreased as the water saturation increased. Shelton and Schneider reported that the presence of a second mobile phase slowed recovery of either phase, but the nonwetting phase was affected more strongly. In their tests, all of the wetting phase was recovered by a miscible displacement, but significant amounts of nonwetting phase remained unrecovered.

scholarly journals A Study of Asphaltene Precipitation Problem in some wells in Kurdistan Region

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 27-36
Author(s):  
akram Humoodi ◽  
Baroz Aziz ◽  
Dana Khidhir
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Surface Condition ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Kurdistan Region ◽  
Asphaltene Precipitation ◽  
Oil Composition ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Point Pressure

Throughout the production and reservoir lifecycle, the asphaltene precipitation is an ever existing problem through changing the porosity, permeability and wettability leading to decline in production. The conditions that govern Asphaltene precipitation varies from well to well and from reservoir conditions of high pressure and temperature to surface conditions and need to be studied case by case. The modeling and predicting the phase behavior and precipitation of Asphaltene is paramount for wells in Kurdistan region as it is developing its oil and gas industry. Crude oil samples from three wells in Kurdistan Region-Iraq were selected for this study. Experimental data such as crude oil composition using Gas Chromatography, PVT analysis and reservoir pressure and temperature were used as input data into Computer Modeling Group CMG simulator and a model of Asphaltene phase behavior was suggested. The model suggests that the maximum precipitation occurs near the bubble point pressure at reservoir conditions. This is validated and compared with results in literature indicating similar behavior of crude oil. To predict the Asphaltene precipitation at surface condition a modified Colloidal Instability Index CII were used and the results were validated by De Bore plot

Phase Behavior and Properties of a Petroleum Sulfonate Blend

1981 ◽  
Vol 21 (05) ◽  
pp. 573-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Bae ◽  
C.B. Petrick
Keyword(s):  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Phase Behavior ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Phase Region ◽  
Salinity Range ◽  
Equal Weight ◽  
Optimal Salinity ◽  
Petroleum Sulfonate

Abstract A sulfonate system composed of Stepan Petrostep TM 465, Petrostep 420, and 1-pentanol was investigated. The system was found to give ultralow interfacial tension against crude oil in a reasonable range of salinity and sulfonate concentrations. It also was found that sulfonate partitioned predominantly into the microemulsion phase. However, a significant amount also partitioned into water and, at high salinity, into the oil phase. On the other hand, the oil-soluble 1-pentanol partitioned mostly into oil and microemulsion phases.The interfacial tension between excess oil and water phases was ultralow, in the range of 10-3 mN/m. The tensions were close to and paralleled those between the middle and water phases. The trend remained the same even when the alcohol content changed. This means that in the salinity range that produces a three-phase region, below the optimal salinity, the water phase effectively displaces both oil and middle phases, even though the oil may not be displaced effectively by the middle phase. The implication is that, from an interfacial tension point of view, the oil recovery would be more favorable in the salinity range below the optimal salinity with the mixed petroleum sulfonate system used here. This was confirmed by oil recovery tests in Berea cores. It also was concluded that the change in viscosity upon microemulsion formation might have a significant influence on the surfactant flood performance. Introduction During a surfactant flood, the injected slug of surfactant solution undergoes complex changes as it traverses the reservoir. The surfactant solution is diluted by mixing with reservoir oil and brine and by depletion of surfactant due to retention. Also, the reservoir salinity rarely is the same as that of the injected solution. Moreover, there is chromatographic separation of sulfonate and cosurfactant.When phase equilibrium between oil, brine, and injected surfactant is reached in the front portion of the slug, a microemulsion phase is formed. This phase behavior and its importance in oil recovery have been the subject of numerous papers in recent years. The microemulsion phase formed in the reservoir contacts fresh reservoir brine and oil and undergoes further changes. All these changes are accompanied by property changes of the phases that affect oil recovery.The objective of this paper is to investigate the properties of a blend of commercial petroleum sulfonates and its behavior in different environments. The phase volume behavior and changes in the properties of different phases and their effects on oil recovery were studied. This work was done as part of the design of a surfactant process for a field application. Therefore, a crude oil was used as the hydrocarbon phase. Experimental Procedures A blend of Petrostep 465 and 420 from Stepan Chemical Co. was used as the surfactant. An equal weight of each sulfonate on a 100% active basis was mixed. 1-pentanol from Union Carbide Corp. was used as a cosurfactant. Unless otherwise stated, a 50g/kg sulfonate concentration was used in the solution. We used symbols to denote the formulation. The first number in the symbol indicates the 1-pentanol concentration; the last number indicates the NaCl concentration. Thus, 15 P 10 means that the solution consists of 50 g/kg sulfonate, 15 g/kg 1-pentanol, and 10 g/kg NaCl. The sulfonate blend first was mixed with alcohol, and then the required amount of NaCl brine was added to make the solution. SPEJ P. 573^

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