Evaluation of a Nonionic Surfactant Foam for CO2 Mobility Control in a Heterogeneous Carbonate Reservoir

SPE Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (06) ◽  
pp. 3481-3493
Author(s):  
Guoqing Jian ◽  
Zachary Alcorn ◽  
Leilei Zhang ◽  
Maura C. Puerto ◽  
Samaneh Soroush ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nonionic Surfactant ◽  
Computer Modelling ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Carbonate Reservoir ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Oxygen Scavenger ◽  
Fractional Flow ◽  
Foam Flow ◽  
Co2 Foam ◽  
Flow Test

Summary In this paper, we describe a laboratory investigation of a nonionic surfactant for carbon dioxide-(CO2-) foam mobility control in the East Seminole field, a heterogeneous carbonate reservoir in the Permian Basin of west Texas. A method of high-performance liquid chromatography-evaporativelight-scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD) was followed for characterizing the surfactant stability. The foam transport process was studied in the absence and the presence of East Seminole crude oil, with test results showing that strong CO2-foam forms in either a bulk-foam test or foam-flow test. An oxygen scavenger, carbohydrazide, was found effective for controlling the stability of the surfactant up to 80°C and total dissolved solid of ∼34,000 ppm. Moreover, a phosphonate scale inhibitor was investigated and found to be compatible with the oxygen scavenger to accommodate a surfactant solution in a gypsum-oversaturated reservoir brine. During the oil-fractional flow test, an emulsion appears to form, causing a noticeable pressure increase; however, emulsion generation failed to cause a significant phase plugging in the test. Also, a STARS™ (Computer Modelling Group Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada) foam model was applied to obtain the foam parameters from the foam-flow experiments at steady-state conditions. The insights from laboratory experiments better enable translation of the foam technology to the field.

Experimental Study of Foam Generation, Sweep Efficiency, and Flow in a Fracture Network

SPE Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 1140-1150 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Fernø ◽  
J.. Gauteplass ◽  
M.. Pancharoen ◽  
A.. Haugen ◽  
A.. Graue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Fractional Flow ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Foam Generation ◽  
Gas Mobility ◽  
Mobility Reduction

Summary Foam generation for gas mobility reduction in porous media is a well-known method and frequently used in field applications. Application of foam in fractured reservoirs has hitherto not been widely implemented, mainly because foam generation and transport in fractured systems are not clearly understood. In this laboratory work, we experimentally evaluate foam generation in a network of fractures within fractured carbonate slabs. Foam is consistently generated by snap-off in the rough-walled, calcite fracture network during surfactant-alternating-gas (SAG) injection and coinjection of gas and surfactant solution over a range of gas fractional flows. Boundary conditions are systematically changed including gas fractional flow, total flow rate, and liquid rates. Local sweep efficiency is evaluated through visualization of the propagation front and compared for pure gas injection, SAG injection, and coinjection. Foam as a mobility-control agent resulted in significantly improved areal sweep and delayed gas breakthrough. Gas-mobility reduction factors varied from approximately 200 to more than 1,000, consistent with observations of improved areal sweep. A shear-thinning foam flow behavior was observed in the fracture networks over a range of gas fractional flows.

Adsorption of a Switchable Cationic Surfactant on Natural Carbonate Minerals

SPE Journal ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 70-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leyu Cui ◽  
Kun Ma ◽  
Ahmed A. Abdala ◽  
Lucas J. Lu ◽  
Ivan Tanakov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Nonionic Surfactant ◽  
Cationic Surfactant ◽  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Carbonate Formation ◽  
Surfactant Precipitation ◽  
High Pressure Co2 ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Summary A switchable cationic surfactant (e.g., tertiary amine surfactant Ethomeen C12) was previously described as a surfactant that one can inject in high-pressure carbon dioxide (CO2) for foam-mobility control. C12 can dissolve in high-pressure CO2 as a nonionic surfactant and equilibrate with brine as a cationic surfactant. Here, we describe the adsorption characteristics of this surfactant in carbonate-formation materials. The adsorption of this surfactant is sensitive to the equilibrium pH, the electrolyte composition of the brine, and the minerals in carbonate-formation materials. Pure C12 is a nonionic surfactant. When it is mixed with brine, the solution has a high pH and limited solubility. However, when the surfactant solution in brine is equilibrated with high-pressure CO2, the pH is approximately 4; the surfactant switches to a cationic surfactant and becomes soluble. Thus, the adsorption is also a function of pH. The adsorption of C12 on calcite at low pH is low (e.g., 0.5 mg/m2). However, if the carbonate formation contains silica or clays, the adsorption is high, as is typical for cationic surfactants. The adsorption of C12 on silica decreases with an increase in divalent (Ca2+ and Mg2+) and trivalent (Al3+) cations. This is because of the competition for the negatively charged silica sites between the multivalent cations and the monovalent cationic surfactant. An additional effect of the presence of divalent cations in the brine is that it reduces the dissolution of calcite or dolomite in the presence of high-pressure CO2. The dissolution of calcite and dolomite is harmful because of formation damage and increased alkalinity. The latter raises the pH and thus increases the adsorption of C12 or even causes surfactant precipitation.

Carbon Dioxide Foam Rheology in Porous Media: A CT Scan Study

SPE Journal ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongxing Du ◽  
Pacelli Lidio Jose Zitha ◽  
Matthijs G.H. Uijttenhout
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Porous Media ◽  
Water Saturation ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
Co2 Storage ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Total Recovery ◽  
Foam Flow ◽  
Co2 Foam

Summary Carbon dioxide (CO2) foam has been widely studied in connection with its application in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). This paper reports an experimental study concerning CO2 foam propagation in asurfactant-saturated Bentheim sandstone core and the subsequent liquid injection with the aid of X-ray computed tomography (CT). The experiments were carried out under various system backpressures. It is found that CO2 foam flows in a characteristic front-like manner in the transient stage and that the water saturation keeps at relatively high level at the outlet of the porous media because of CO2 solubility and capillary end effect. The subsequent surfactant solution injection shows a significant fingering behavior, accompanied by a low flow resistance over the core. It is also found that CO2 foam flow shows higher liquid saturation near the outlet and lower pressure drops under higher system backpressures. This can be attributed to the solubility of CO2 in the liquid phase. The results indicate the advantage of using foam in EOR processes such as water alternating foam (WAF), in which foam flow has higher sweep efficiency and stronger mobility control ability compared, for instance, to water alternating gas (WAG). Nevertheless, care should be taken during the water-injection stage in order not to favor the fingering. Introduction Foam applications in EOR and fluid (acid) diversion have grown considerably over the last three decades. For instance, WAGhas been regularly used in the field as a gasflood mobility control measure. Nevertheless, this technique has not always demonstrated the desired beneficial mobility effects because of the gravity segregation and the unstable preceding of the front between the water and moremobile gas (Holm 1987; Smith 1988). Creating foam by adding surfactant to the aqueous phase has proven to be able to increase the total recovery significantly by increasing the apparent viscosity of the system (Holm and Josendal 1974; Ali et al. 1985; Patzek 1996; Zhdanov et al. 1996; Turta and Signhal 1998). There are many attractive features of EOR using CO2 foaminjection. First, carbon dioxide is a proven solvent for reconnecting, mobilizing, and recovering waterflood residual oil. Many studies (Stalkup 1983) have shown that CO2 can achieve miscible-like displacement efficiency through multiple contacts (partitioning and extraction) with the crude oil. Second, CO2 is available naturally in large quantities and as a byproduct of lignite gasification and many manufacturing processes. Its price is also low, and there are no other large-volume uses competing for CO2. Third, with the push toward sustainable power production and the increasing realization for the need to reduce CO2 emissions, EOR using CO2 is becoming an important alternative for geological CO2 storage.

Surfactant Prefloods During Carbon Dioxide Foam Injection for Integrated Enhanced Oil Recovery in Fractured Oil-Wet Carbonates

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (03) ◽  
pp. 1139-1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. B. Fredriksen ◽  
Z. P. Alcorn ◽  
A.. Frøland ◽  
A.. Viken ◽  
A. U. Rognmo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Threshold Pressure ◽  
Oil Saturation ◽  
Co2 Foam ◽  
Matrix Blocks ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Summary An integrated enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) (IEOR) approach is used in fractured oil-wet carbonate core plugs where surfactant prefloods reduce interfacial tension (IFT), alter wettability, and establish conditions for capillary continuity to improve tertiary carbon dioxide (CO2) foam injections. Surfactant prefloods can alter the wettability of oil-wet fractures toward neutral/weakly-water-wet conditions that in turn reduce the capillary threshold pressure for foam generation in matrix and create capillary contact between matrix blocks. The capillary connectivity can transmit differential pressure across fractures and increase both mobility control and viscous displacement during CO2-foam injections. Outcrop core plugs were aged to reflect conditions of an ongoing CO2-foam injection field pilot in west Texas. Surfactants were screened for their ability to change the wetting state from oil-wet using the Darcy-scale Amott-Harvey index. A cationic surfactant was the most effective in shifting wettability from an Amott-Harvey index of –0.56 to 0.09. Second waterfloods after surfactant treatments and before tertiary CO2-foam injections recovered an additional 4 to 11% of original oil in place (OIP) (OOIP), verifying the favorable effects of a surfactant preflood to mobilize oil. Tertiary CO2-foam injections revealed the significance of a critical oil-saturation value below which CO2 and surfactant solution were able to enter the oil-wet matrix and generate foam for EOR. The results reveal that a surfactant preflood can reverse the wettability of oil-wet fracture surfaces, lower IFT, and lower capillary threshold pressure to reduce oil saturation to less than a critical value to generate stable CO2 foam.

scholarly journals Experimental investigation of the displacement flow mechanism and oil recovery in primary polymer flood operations

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruissein Mahon ◽  
Gbenga Oluyemi ◽  
Babs Oyeneyin ◽  
Yakubu Balogun
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
List Type ◽  
Motor Oil ◽  
Flow Mechanism ◽  
Fractional Flow ◽  
Recovery Method ◽  
Polymer Flood

Abstract Polymer flooding is a mature chemical enhanced oil recovery method employed in oilfields at pilot testing and field scales. Although results from these applications empirically demonstrate the higher displacement efficiency of polymer flooding over waterflooding operations, the fact remains that not all the oil will be recovered. Thus, continued research attention is needed to further understand the displacement flow mechanism of the immiscible process and the rock–fluid interaction propagated by the multiphase flow during polymer flooding operations. In this study, displacement sequence experiments were conducted to investigate the viscosifying effect of polymer solutions on oil recovery in sandpack systems. The history matching technique was employed to estimate relative permeability, fractional flow and saturation profile through the implementation of a Corey-type function. Experimental results showed that in the case of the motor oil being the displaced fluid, the XG 2500 ppm polymer achieved a 47.0% increase in oil recovery compared with the waterflood case, while the XG 1000 ppm polymer achieved a 38.6% increase in oil recovery compared with the waterflood case. Testing with the motor oil being the displaced fluid, the viscosity ratio was 136 for the waterflood case, 18 for the polymer flood case with XG 1000 ppm polymer and 9 for the polymer flood case with XG 2500 ppm polymer. Findings also revealed that for the waterflood cases, the porous media exhibited oil-wet characteristics, while the polymer flood cases demonstrated water-wet characteristics. This paper provides theoretical support for the application of polymer to improve oil recovery by providing insights into the mechanism behind oil displacement. Graphic abstract Highlights The difference in shape of relative permeability curves are indicative of the effect of mobility control of each polymer concentration. The water-oil systems exhibited oil-wet characteristics, while the polymer-oil systems demonstrated water-wet characteristics. A large contrast in displacing and displaced fluid viscosities led to viscous fingering and early water breakthrough.

Fast Upscaling of Polymer Flood Simulations Using Fractional Flow and Scaled Mobilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasan Al-Ibadi ◽  
Karl Stephen ◽  
Eric Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Control Method ◽  
Pressure Profile ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Fractional Flow ◽  
Water Viscosity ◽  
Flow Mobility

Abstract We introduce a pseudoisation method to upscale polymer flooding in order to capture the flow behaviour of fine scale models. This method is also designed to improve the predictability of pressure profiles during this process. This method controls the numerical dispersion of coarse grid models so that we are able to reproduce the flow behaviour of the fine scale model. To upscale polymer flooding, three levels of analysis are required such that we need to honour (a) the fractional flow solution, (b) the water and oil mobility and (c) appropriate upscaling of single phase flow. The outcome from this analysis is that a single pseudo relative permeability set that honours the modification that polymer applies to water viscosity modification without explicitly changing it. The shape of relative permeability can be chosen to honour the fractional flow solution of the fine scale using the analytical solution. This can result in a monotonic pseudo relative permeability set and we call it the Fractional-Flow method. To capture the pressure profile as well, individual relative permeability curves must be chosen appropriately for each phase to ensure the correct total mobility. For polymer flooding, changes to the water relative permeability included the changes to water viscosity implicitly thus avoiding the need for inclusion of a polymer solute. We call this type of upscaling as Fractional-Flow-Mobility control method. Numerical solution of the upscaled models, obtained using this method, were validated against fine scale models for 1D homogenous model and as well as 3D models with randomly distributed permeability for various geological realisations. The recovery factor and water cut matched the fine scale model very well. The pressure profile was reasonably predictable using the Fractional-Flow-Mobility control method. Both Fractional-Flow and Fractional-flow-Mobility control methods can be calculated in advance without running a fine scale model where the analysis is based on analytical solution even though produced a non-monotonic pseudo relative permeability curve. It simplified the polymer model so that it is much easier and faster to simulate. It offers the opportunity to quickly predict oil and water phase behaviour.

Exploring Low-IFT Foam EOR in Fractured Carbonates: Success and Particular Challenges of Sub-10-md Limestone

SPE Journal ◽  
1900 ◽  
Vol 25 (02) ◽  
pp. 867-882
Author(s):  
Pengfei Dong ◽  
Maura Puerto ◽  
Guoqing Jian ◽  
Kun Ma ◽  
Khalid Mateen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Mineral Dissolution ◽  
Mobility Control ◽  
Matrix Permeability ◽  
Geochemical Properties ◽  
Remaining Oil ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Incremental Oil Recovery ◽  
Foam Flooding

Summary The high formation heterogeneity in naturally fractured limestone reservoirs requires mobility control agents to improve sweep efficiency and boost oil recovery. However, typical mobility control agents, such as polymers and gels, are impractical in tight sub-10-md formations due to potential plugging issues. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of a low-interfacial-tension (low-IFT) foam process in fractured low-permeability limestone reservoirs and to investigate relevant geochemical interactions. The low-IFT foam process was investigated through coreflood experiments in homogeneous and fractured oil-wet cores with sub-10-md matrix permeability. The performance of a low-IFT foaming formulation and a well-known standard foamer [alpha olefin sulfonate (AOS) C14-16] were compared in terms of the efficiency of oil recovery. The effluent ionic concentrations were measured to understand how the geochemical properties of limestone influenced the low-IFT foam process. Aqueous stability and phase behavior tests with crushed core materials and brines containing various divalent ion concentrations were conducted to interpret the observations in the coreflood experiments. Low-IFT foam process can achieve significant incremental oil recovery in fractured oil-wet limestone reservoirs with sub-10-md matrix permeability. Low-IFT foam flooding in a fractured oil-wet limestone core with 5-md matrix permeability achieved 64% incremental oil recovery compared to waterflooding. In this process, because of the significantly lower capillary entry pressure for surfactant solution compared to gas, the foam primarily diverted surfactant solution from the fracture into the matrix. This selective diversion effect resulted in surfactant or weak foam flooding in the tight matrix and hence improved the invading fluid flow in the matrix. Meanwhile, the low-IFT property of the foaming formulation mobilized the remaining oil in the matrix. This oil mobilization effect of the low-IFT formulation achieved lower remaining oil saturation in the swept zones compared with the formulation lacking low-IFT property with oil. The limestone geochemical instability caused additional challenges for the low-IFT foam process in limestone reservoirs compared to dolomite reservoirs. The reactions of calcite with injected fluids—such as mineral dissolution and the exchange of calcium and magnesium—were found to increase the Ca2+ concentration in the produced fluids. Because the low-IFT foam process is sensitive to brine salinity, the additional Ca2+ may cause potential surfactant precipitation and unfavorable over-optimum conditions. It, therefore, may cause injectivity and phase-trapping issues especially in the homogeneous limestone. Results in this work demonstrated that despite the challenges associated with limestone dissolution, the low-IFT foam process can remarkably extend chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in fractured oil-wet tight reservoirs with matrix permeability as low as 5 md.

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