Pore-Scale Imaging of Tertiary Low Salinity Waterflooding in a Heterogeneous Carbonate Rock at Reservoir Conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Selem ◽  
Nicolas Agenet ◽  
Martin J. Blunt ◽  
Branko Bijeljic
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Micro Ct ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding ◽  
Fluid Configuration

Abstract We investigated pore-scale oil displacement and rock wettability in tertiary low salinity waterflooding (LSW) in a heterogeneous carbonate sample using high-resolution three-dimensional imaging. This enabled the underlying mechanisms of the low salinity effect (LSE) to be observed and quantified in terms of changes in wettability and pore-scale fluid configuration, while also measuring the overall effect on recovery. The results were compared to the behavior under high salinity waterflooding (HSW). To achieve the wetting state found in oil reservoirs, an Estaillades limestone core sample was aged at 11 MPa and 80°C for threeweeks. The moderately oil-wet sample was then injected with high salinity brine (HSB) at a range of increasing flow rates, namely at 1, 2,4, 11, 22 and 42 µL/min with 10 pore volumes injected at each rate.Subsequently, low salinity brine (LSB) was injected following the same procedure. X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) was usedto visualize the fluid configuration in the pore space.A total of eight micro-CT images, with a resolution of 2.3 µm/voxel, wereacquired after both low salinity and high salinity floods.These high-resolution images were used to monitor fluid configuration in the porespace and obtain fluid saturations and occupancy maps. Wettabilitywascharacterized by measurements of in situ contactanglesand curvatures. The results show that the pore-scale mechanisms of improved recovery in LSW are consistent with the development of water micro-dropletswithin the oil and the expansion of thin water films between the oil and rock surface. Before waterflooding and during HSW, the measured contact angles were constant and above 110°, while the meancurvature and the capillary pressure values remained negative, suggesting that the HSB did not change the wettability state of the rock. However, with LSW the capillary pressure increased towards positive values as the wettability shifted towards a mixed-wet state. The fluidoccupancy analysis reveals a salinity-induced change in fluid configuration in the pore space. HSB invaded mainly the larger pores and throats, but with LSW brine invaded small-size pores and throats.Overall,our analysis shows that a change from a weakly oil-wet towards a mixed-wet state was observed mainly after LSW, leading to an incremental increase in oil recovery. This work established a combined coreflooding and imaging methodology to investigate pore-scale mechanisms and wettability alteration for tertiary LSW in carbonates.It improves our understanding of LSW asan enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method for potential field-scale applications. The data provides a valuable benchmark for pore-scale modelling as well as an insight into how even modest wettability changes can lead to additional oil recovery.

Pore-Scale Simulation of the Interplay between Wettability, Capillary Number, and Salt Dispersion on the Efficiency of Oil Mobilization by Low-Salinity Waterflooding

SPE Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Arman Namaee-Ghasemi ◽  
Shahab Ayatollahi ◽  
Hassan Mahani
Keyword(s):  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Capillary Number ◽  
Salinity Range ◽  
Pore Geometry ◽  
Side Channel ◽  
Dispersion Pattern ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding

Summary Nonuniform mixing during low-salinity waterflooding (LSWF) is a function of the pore geometry and flow patterns within the porous system. Salinity-dependent wettability alteration (WA) changes the entry capillary pressure, which may mobilize the trapped oil depending on the flow regime and salt dispersion pattern. The complex interplay between the wettability, capillary number (NCa), and salt dispersion caused by pore-scale heterogeneity on the efficiency of LSWF is not well understood. In this paper, direct numerical simulations in a pore-doublet model (PDM) were carried out with OpenFOAM® (OpenCFD, Berkshire, UK) using the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method. Oil trapping and remobilization were studied at relevant NCa as low as 10−6 under different initial wettability states. Depending on the effective salinity ranges (ESRs) for the low-salinity effect (LSE), three WA models were implemented, and the effects of WA degree and salinity distribution on LSWF flow dynamics were investigated. The slow process of WA by means of thin film phenomena was captured by considering a diffuse interface at the three-phase contact line. Because of the pore structure of the pore doublet, only in nonwater-wet cases, oil is trapped in the narrower side channel (NSC) after high-salinity waterflooding (HSWF) and may be remobilized by LSWF. In strongly oil-wet cases, oil is recovered gradually by LSWF by means of a film-flow mechanism near the outlet. In moderately oil-wet cases, however, the entire trapped oil ganglion can be mobilized, provided that the entry capillary pressure is sufficiently reduced. The degree of WA, ESR, kinetics of WA, and the wettability of pore surface at the outlet are determining factors in the drainage of the trapped oil. The salt dispersion pattern in the flowing region [i.e., wider side channel (WSC)] controls the wettability distribution and the rate and magnitude of oil recovery from the stagnant region (i.e., NSC). The difference between the WA models is more apparent near the outlet, where the salinity profile is more dispersed. The ESR in which WA occurs determines the speed of the entry capillary pressure reduction and, thus, the recovery factor. In cases where WA occurs at a salinity threshold (ST), the highest recovery is obtained, whereas with the full-salinity-range WA model, the oil recovery performance is lowest. From the capillary desaturation perspective, it is found that the LSE becomes more pronounced when NCa is less than 10−5, and the dispersion regime is in the power-law interval. Because the adverse effect of salt dispersion in the flowing region is delayed, the LSE is intensified. For the simulations to be representative of the actual conditions in the porous medium, much lower NCa than currently used in many research works must be studied. Otherwise, the simulations may lead to over- or underestimation of the LSE. The synergetic or antagonistic effects caused by the interplay between viscous and capillary forces and dispersion may lead to total recovery or entrapment of oil, regardless of WA. Based on the pore geometry, initial wettability state, and balance of forces, the mobilized oil may flow past the conjunction (favorable) or in the backward direction (unfavorable) to the WSC and get retrapped. Successful drainage of oil from the pore system after WA is essential for observing incremental oil recovery by LSWF.

scholarly journals Effect of salinity on oil production: review on low salinity waterflooding mechanisms and exploratory study on pipeline scaling

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Yiteng Li ◽  
Chenguang Li ◽  
Shuyu Sun
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Phase Field Model ◽  
Scale Formation ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Reservoir Properties ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding

The past decades have witnessed a rapid development of enhanced oil recovery techniques, among which the effect of salinity has become a very attractive topic due to its significant advantages on environmental protection and economical benefits. Numerous studies have been reported focusing on analysis of the mechanisms behind low salinity waterflooding in order to better design the injected salinity under various working conditions and reservoir properties. However, the effect of injection salinity on pipeline scaling has not been widely studied, but this mechanism is important to gathering, transportation and storage for petroleum industry. In this paper, an exhaustive literature review is conducted to summarize several well-recognized and widely accepted mechanisms, including fine migration, wettability alteration, double layer expansion, and multicomponent ion exchange. These mechanisms can be correlated with each other, and certain combined effects may be defined as other mechanisms. In order to mathematically model and numerically describe the fluid behaviors in injection pipelines considering injection salinity, an exploratory phase-field model is presented to simulate the multiphase flow in injection pipeline where scale formation may take place. The effect of injection salinity is represented by the scaling tendency to describe the possibility of scale formation when the scaling species are attached to the scaled structure. It can be easily referred from the simulation result that flow and scaling conditions are significantly affected if a salinity-dependent scaling tendency is considered. Thus, this mechanism should be taken into account in the design of injection process if a sustainable exploitation technique is applied by using purified production water as injection fluid. Finally, remarks and suggestions are provided based on our extensive review and preliminary investigation, to help inspire the future discussions.

scholarly journals Novel insights into pore-scale dynamics of wettability alteration during low salinity waterflooding

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rimsha Aziz ◽  
Vahid Joekar-Niasar ◽  
Pedro J. Martínez-Ferrer ◽  
Omar E. Godinez-Brizuela ◽  
Constantinos Theodoropoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding

Surfactant-Aided Low-Salinity Waterflooding for Low-Temperature Carbonate Reservoirs

SPE Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Yue Shi ◽  
Chammi Miller ◽  
Kishore Mohanty
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Anionic Surfactants ◽  
Surfactant Solution ◽  
Carbonate Reservoirs ◽  
Spontaneous Imbibition ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding ◽  
Original Oil In Place

Summary Carbonate reservoirs tend to be oil-wet/mixed-wet and heterogeneous because of mineralogy and diagenesis. The objective of this study is to improve oil recovery in low-temperature dolomite reservoirs using low-salinity and surfactant-aided spontaneous imbibition. The low-salinity brine composition was optimized using ζ-potential measurements, contact-angle (CA) experiments, and a novel wettability-alteration measure. Significant wettability alteration was observed on dolomite rocks at a salinity of 2,500 ppm. We evaluated 37 surfactants by performing CA, interfacial-tension (IFT), and spontaneous-imbibition experiments. Three (quaternary ammonium) cationic and one (sulfonate) anionic surfactants showed significant wettability alteration and produced 43–63% of original oil in place (OOIP) by spontaneous imbibition. At a low temperature (35°C), oil recovery by low-salinity effect is small compared with that by wettability-altering surfactants. Coreflood tests were performed with a selected low-salinity cationic surfactant solution. A novel coreflood was proposed that modeled heterogeneity and dynamic imbibition into low-permeability regions. The results of the “heterogeneous” coreflood were consistent with that of spontaneous-imbibition tests. These experiments demonstrated that a combination of low-salinity brine and surfactants can make originally oil-wet dolomite rocks more water-wet and improve oil recovery from regions bypassed by waterflood at a low temperature of 35°C.

scholarly journals Pore-scale imaging and analysis of low salinity waterflooding in a heterogeneous carbonate rock at reservoir conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Selem ◽  
Nicolas Agenet ◽  
Ying Gao ◽  
Ali Q. Raeini ◽  
Martin J. Blunt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Carbonate Rock ◽  
Pore Space ◽  
Contact Angles ◽  
Fluid Distribution ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding ◽  
Capillary Pressures ◽  
Micro Tomography

AbstractX-ray micro-tomography combined with a high-pressure high-temperature flow apparatus and advanced image analysis techniques were used to image and study fluid distribution, wetting states and oil recovery during low salinity waterflooding (LSW) in a complex carbonate rock at subsurface conditions. The sample, aged with crude oil, was flooded with low salinity brine with a series of increasing flow rates, eventually recovering 85% of the oil initially in place in the resolved porosity. The pore and throat occupancy analysis revealed a change in fluid distribution in the pore space for different injection rates. Low salinity brine initially invaded large pores, consistent with displacement in an oil-wet rock. However, as more brine was injected, a redistribution of fluids was observed; smaller pores and throats were invaded by brine and the displaced oil moved into larger pore elements. Furthermore, in situ contact angles and curvatures of oil–brine interfaces were measured to characterize wettability changes within the pore space and calculate capillary pressure. Contact angles, mean curvatures and capillary pressures all showed a shift from weakly oil-wet towards a mixed-wet state as more pore volumes of low salinity brine were injected into the sample. Overall, this study establishes a methodology to characterize and quantify wettability changes at the pore scale which appears to be the dominant mechanism for oil recovery by LSW.

scholarly journals Experimental study of combined low salinity and surfactant flooding effect on oil recovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Abdulmecit Araz ◽  
Farad Kamyabi
Keyword(s):  
Interfacial Tension ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Moderate Increase ◽  
Surfactant Flooding ◽  
Improved Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Saturation ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Salinity Water

A new generation improved oil recovery methods comes from combining techniques to make the overall process of oil recovery more efficient. One of the most promising methods is combined Low Salinity Surfactant (LSS) flooding. Low salinity brine injection has proven by numerous laboratory core flood experiments to give a moderate increase in oil recovery. Current research shows that this method may be further enhanced by introduction of surfactants optimized for lowsal environment by reducing the interfacial tension. Researchers have suggested different mechanisms in the literature such as pH variation, fines migration, multi-component ionic exchange, interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration for improved oil recovery during lowsal injection. In this study, surfactant solubility in lowsal brine was examined by bottle test experiments. A series of core displacement experiments was conducted on nine crude oil aged Berea core plugs that were designed to determine the impact of brine composition, wettability alteration, Low Salinity Water (LSW) and LSS flooding on Enhancing Oil Recovery (EOR). Laboratory core flooding experiments were conducted on the samples in a heating cabinet at 60 °C using five different brine compositions with different concentrations of NaCl, CaCl2 and MgCl2. The samples were first reached to initial water saturation, Swi, by injecting connate water (high salinity water). LSW injection followed by LSS flooding performed on the samples to obtain the irreducible oil saturation. The results showed a significant potential of oil recovery with maximum additional recovery of 7% Original Oil in Place (OOIP) by injection of LS water (10% LS brine and 90% distilled water) into water-wet cores compared to high salinity waterflooding. It is also concluded that oil recovery increases as wettability changes from water-wet to neutral-wet regardless of the salinity compositions. A reduction in residual oil saturation, Sor, by 1.1–4.8% occurred for various brine compositions after LSS flooding in tertiary recovery mode. The absence of clay swelling and fine migration has been confirmed by the stable differential pressure recorded for both LSW and LSS flooding. Aging the samples at high temperature prevented the problem of fines production. Combined LSS flooding resulted in an additional oil recovery of 9.2% OOIP when applied after LSW flooding. Surfactants improved the oil recovery by reducing the oil-water interfacial tension. In addition, lowsal environment decreased the surfactant retention, thus led to successful LSS flooding. The results showed that combined LSS flooding may be one of the most promising methods in EOR. This hybrid improved oil recovery method is economically more attractive and feasible compared to separate low salinity waterflooding or surfactant flooding.

Capillary Pressure Effects on Estimating the Enhanced-Oil-Recovery Potential During Low-Salinity and Smart Waterflooding

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (01) ◽  
pp. 481-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pål Østebø Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Capillary Pressure ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Residual Oil ◽  
Oil Saturation ◽  
Residual Oil Saturation ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Smart Water ◽  
Relative Permeability Curves

Summary Many experimental studies have investigated smart water and low-salinity waterflooding and observed significant incremental oil recovery after changes in the injected-brine composition. The common approach to model such enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) mechanisms is by shifting the input relative permeability curves, particularly including a reduction of the residual oil saturation. Cores that originally display oil-wetness can retain much oil at the outlet of the flooded core because of the capillary pressure being zero at a high oil saturation. This end effect is difficult to overcome in highly permeable cores at typical laboratory rates. Injecting a brine that changes the wetting state to less-oil-wet conditions (represented by zero capillary pressure at a lower oil saturation) will lead to a release of oil previously trapped at the outlet. Although this is chemically induced incremental oil, it represents a reduction of remaining oil saturation, not necessarily of residual oil saturation. This paper illustrates the mentioned issues of interpreting the difference in remaining and residual oil saturation during chemical EOR and hence the evaluation of potential smart water effects. We present a mathematical model representing coreflooding that accounts for wettability changes caused by changes in the injected composition. For purpose of illustration, this is performed in terms of adsorption of a wettability-alteration (WA) component coupled to the shifting of relative permeability curves and capillary pressure curves. The model is parameterized in accordance with experimental data by matching brine-dependent saturation functions to experiments where wettability alteration takes place dynamically because of the changing of one chemical component. It is seen that several effects can give an apparent smart water effect without having any real reduction of the residual oil saturation, including changes in the mobility ratio, where the oil already flowing is pushed more efficiently, and the magnitude of capillary end effects can be reduced because of increased water-wetness or because of a reduction in water relative permeability giving a greater viscous drag on the oil.

Double-Layer Expansion: Is It a Primary Mechanism of Improved Oil Recovery by Low-Salinity Waterflooding?

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. 49-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramez A. Nasralla ◽  
Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din
Keyword(s):  
Double Layer ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Improved Oil Recovery ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Ph Values ◽  
Low Salinity Water ◽  
Primary Mechanism ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding ◽  
Salinity Water

Summary Literature review shows that improved oil recovery (IOR) by low-salinity waterflooding could be attributed to several mechanisms, such as sweep-efficiency improvement, interfacial-tension (IFT) reduction, multicomponent ionic exchange, and electrical-double-layer (EDL) expansion. Although these mechanisms might contribute to IOR by low-salinity water, they may not be the primary mechanism. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate if the mechanism of EDL expansion could be the principal reason for IOR during low-salinity waterflooding. Low-salinity water results in a thicker EDL when compared to high-salinity water, so we tried to eliminate the effect of low-salinity brines on double-layer expansion to show to what extent IOR is related to EDL expansion caused by low-salinity water. The double-layer expansion is dependent on the electric surface charge, which is a function of the pH of brine; therefore, the pH levels of low-salinity brines were decreased in this study to provide low-salinity brines that can produce a thinner EDL, similar to high-salinity brines. ζ-potential measurements were performed on both rock/brine and oil/brine interfaces to demonstrate the effect of brine pH and salinity on EDL. Contact angle and coreflood experiments were conducted to test different brine salinities at different pH values, which could assess the effect of water salinity and pH on rock wettability and oil recovery, and hence involvement of EDL expansion in the IOR process. ζ-potential results in this study showed that decreasing the pH of low-salinity brines makes the electrical charges at both oil/brine and brine/rock interfaces slightly negative, which reduces the double-layer expansion caused by low-salinity brine. As a result, the rock becomes more oil-wet, which was confirmed by contact-angle measurements. Moreover, coreflood experiments indicated that injecting low-salinity brine at lower pH values recovered smaller amounts of oil when compared to the original pH because of the elimination of the low-salinity-water effect on the thickness of the double layer. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that expansion of the double layer is a dominant mechanism of oil-recovery improvement by low-salinity waterflooding.

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