Application of Fractional Flow Theory for Analytical Modeling of Surfactant Flooding, Polymer Flooding, and Surfactant/Polymer Flooding for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery

Fractional flow theory still serves as a powerful tool for validation of numerical reservoir models, understanding of the mechanisms, and interpretation of transport behavior in porous media during the Chemical-Enhanced Oil Recovery (CEOR) process. With the enrichment of CEOR mechanisms, it is important to revisit the application of fractional flow theory to CEOR at this stage. For surfactant flooding, the effects of surfactant adsorption, surfactant partition, initial oil saturation, interfacial tension, and injection slug size have been systematically investigated. In terms of polymer flooding, the effects of polymer viscosity, initial oil saturation, polymer viscoelasticity, slug size, polymer inaccessible pore volume (IPV), and polymer retention are also reviewed extensively. Finally, the fractional flow theory is applied to surfactant/polymer flooding to evaluate its effectiveness in CEOR. This paper provides insight into the CEOR mechanism and serves as an up-to-date reference for analytical modeling of the surfactant flooding, polymer flooding, and surfactant/polymer flooding CEOR process.

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The Application of Fractional Flow Theory to Enhanced Oil Recovery

Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal ◽

10.2118/7660-pa ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 20 (03) ◽

pp. 191-205 ◽

Cited By ~ 174

Author(s):

Gary A. Pope

Keyword(s):

Oil Recovery ◽

Gas Flow ◽

Local Equilibrium ◽

Flow Theory ◽

Simple Extension ◽

Phase Flow ◽

Constant Composition ◽

Fractional Flow ◽

Continuous Injection ◽

Fractional Flow Theory

Introduction Fractional flow theory has been applied by various authors to waterflooding, polymer flooding, carbonated waterflooding, alcohol flooding, miscible flooding, steamflooding, and various types of surfactant flooding. Many of the assumptions made by these authors are the same and are necessary for obtaining simple analytical or graphical solutions to the continuity equations. Typically, the major assumptions, which are sometimes not stated explicitly, are:one dimensional flow in a homogeneous, isotropic, isothermal porous medium,at most, two phases are flowing,at most, three components are flowing,local equilibrium exists,the fluids are incompressible,for sorbing components, the adsorption isotherm depends only on one component and has negative curvature,dispersion is negligible,gravity and capillarity are negligible,no fingering occurs,Darcy's law applies,the initial distribution of fluids is uniform, anda continuous injection of constant composition is injected, starting at time zero. Several of these assumptions are relaxed easily. One of the most useful to relax is Assumption 12, continuous injection. The principles of chromatography can be applied to analyze the more interesting case of injecting one or more slugs. Most of these processes require slug injection of chemical or solvent to be economical. In fact, a lower bound on the slug size necessary to prevent slug breakdown can be obtained from a simple extension of fractional flow theory. In this and other extensions the common new feature is the need to evaluate more than one characteristic velocity. A second example of this is the extension of fractional flow theory from simultaneous immiscible two-phase flow (the classical Buckley-Leverett waterflood problem) to simultaneous immiscible three-phase flow (the classical oil/water/gas flow problem). A third example is the extension to nonisothermal cases. Here we need to consider the energy balance, mass balance, and velocity of a front of constant temperature. A fourth example is when one or more components are partitioning between phases. In all cases, mathematically, the extension is analogous to the generalization from the one-component adsorption problems (or two-component ion exchange problems with a stoichiometric constraint) to multicomponent sorption problems. The latter theory has been worked out in a very general way for many component systems using the concept of coherence. Pope et al. recently have applied this theory to reservoir engineering involving sorption problems. SPEJ P. 191＾

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An Overview on Polymer Retention in Porous Media

Energies ◽

10.3390/en11102751 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 2751 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Sameer Al-Hajri ◽

Syed Mahmood ◽

Hesham Abdulelah ◽

Saeed Akbari

Keyword(s):

Porous Media ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Polymer Flooding ◽

Mobility Ratio ◽

Reservoir Rock ◽

Polymer Molecules ◽

Modeling Techniques ◽

Proper Estimation ◽

Polymer Retention

Polymer flooding is an important enhanced oil recovery technology introduced in field projects since the late 1960s. The key to a successful polymer flood project depends upon proper estimation of polymer retention. The aims of this paper are twofold. First, to show the mechanism of polymer flooding and how this mechanism is affected by polymer retention. Based on the literature, the mobility ratio significantly increases as a result of the interactions between the injected polymer molecules and the reservoir rock. Secondly, to provide a better understanding of the polymer retention, we discussed polymer retention types, mechanisms, factors promoting or inhibiting polymer retention, methods and modeling techniques used for estimating polymer retention.

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Fractional-Flow Theory of Foam Displacements With Oil

SPE Journal ◽

10.2118/121579-pa ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 15 (02) ◽

pp. 260-273 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

E.. Ashoori ◽

T.L.M.. L.M. van der Heijden ◽

W.R.. R. Rossen

Keyword(s):

Oil Recovery ◽

Flow Theory ◽

High Water ◽

High Water Content ◽

Fractional Flow ◽

Two Phase ◽

Water Fraction ◽

Speed Of Propagation ◽

First Contact ◽

Fractional Flow Theory

Summary Fractional-flow theory provides key insights into complex foam enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) displacements and acts as a benchmark for foam simulators. In some cases with mobile oil present, the process can be represented as a two-phase displacement. We examine three such cases. A first-contact-miscible (FCM) gasflood with foam injection includes a chemical shock defining the surfactant front and a miscible shock defining the gas front. The optimal water fraction for the foam, that which gives the fastest oil recovery in 1D, maintains the gas front slightly ahead of the foam (surfactant) front. The success of a foam process with FCM CO2 and surfactant dissolved in the (supercritical) CO2 depends on the strength of foam at very low water fractional flow, such as for a surfactant- alternating-gas (SAG) process with surfactant dissolved in water. The speed of propagation of the foam front depends on surfactant adsorption on rock and on the partitioning of surfactant between water and CO2 but is always less than the velocity of the foam front in a SAG flood with surfactant ahead of the gas. A foam with surfactant that partitions preferentially into water rather than into CO2 would propagate slowly, regardless of the surfactant's absolute solubility or the level of adsorption on rock. An aqueous surfactant preflush can speed the advance of foam, however. An idealized model of a surfactant flood pushed by foam suggests that it is best to inject a relatively high water content into the foam to ensure that the gas front remains behind the surfactant front as the flood proceeds. Any gas that passes ahead of the surfactant front would finger through the oil and be wasted. We present simulations to verify the solutions obtained with fractional-flow methods and illustrate the challenges of accurate simulation of these processes.

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Application of Fractional-Flow Theory To 3-Phase, 1-Dimensional Surfactant Flooding

ECMOR I - 1st European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery ◽

10.3997/2214-4609.201411310 ◽

1989 ◽

Author(s):

S. I. Aanonsen

Keyword(s):

Phase 1 ◽

Flow Theory ◽

Surfactant Flooding ◽

Fractional Flow ◽

Fractional Flow Theory

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Mechanisms of polymer retention in porous media

Proceedings of OilGasScientificResearchProjects Institute SOCAR ◽

10.5510/ogp20200300453 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 126-134

Author(s):

E.F. Veliyev ◽

Keyword(s):

Porous Medium ◽

Porous Media ◽

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Field Research ◽

Polymer Flooding ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Key Factors ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Polymer Retention

Polymer flooding is one of the main enhanced oil recovery methods that have been actively used since the late 1960s. However, despite the significant gained experience of both laboratory and field research, this technology still continues to develop from year to year, revealing more and more new factors and challenges that are necessary aspects for successful implementation. Estimation of retained polymer amount by the porous medium is one of the key factors. The article discusses the main mechanisms and factors affecting retention process, as well as methods for determining the amount of retained polymer when flooding the solution through porous medium in laboratory conditions.

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Hybrid Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques: A Simulation Study

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym12071086 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 1086 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Haiyan Zhou ◽

Afshin Davarpanah

Keyword(s):

Enhanced Oil Recovery ◽

Oil Recovery ◽

Field Data ◽

Polymer Flooding ◽

Oil Field ◽

Recovery Factor ◽

Surfactant Flooding ◽

Conformance Control ◽

Recovery Techniques ◽

Polymer Surfactant

Simultaneous utilization of surfactant and preformed particle gel (henceforth; PPG) flooding on the oil recovery enhancement has been widely investigated as a preferable enhanced oil recovery technique after the polymer flooding. In this paper, a numerical model is developed to simulate the profound impact of hybrid chemical enhanced oil recovery methods (PPG/polymer/surfactant) in sandstone reservoirs. Moreover, the gel particle conformance control is considered in the developed model after polymer flooding performances on the oil recovery enhancement. To validate the developed model, two sets of experimental field data from Daqing oil field (PPG conformance control after polymer flooding) and Shengli oil field (PPG-surfactant flooding after polymer flooding) are used to check the reliability of the model. Combination of preformed gel particles, polymers and surfactants due to the deformation, swelling, and physicochemical properties of gel particles can mobilize the trapped oil through the porous media to enhance oil recovery factor by blocking the high permeable channels. As a result, PPG conformance control plays an essential role in oil recovery enhancement. Furthermore, experimental data of PPG/polymer/surfactant flooding in the Shengli field and its comparison with the proposed model indicated that the model and experimental field data are in a good agreement. Consequently, the coupled model of surfactant and PPG flooding after polymer flooding performances has led to more recovery factor rather than the basic chemical recovery techniques.

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Fractional Flow Theory for Non-Newtonian Polymer Flooding

IOR 2011 - 16th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery ◽

10.3997/2214-4609.201404777 ◽

2011 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Venkatraman ◽

R. T. Johns ◽

W. Rossen

Keyword(s):

Flow Theory ◽

Polymer Flooding ◽

Fractional Flow ◽

Fractional Flow Theory

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Fast Evaluation Model of Surfactant Flooding Based on Modification Fractional Flow Theory

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202127104003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 271 ◽

pp. 04003

Author(s):

Ye Cui

Keyword(s):

Evaluation Model ◽

Flow Theory ◽

Low Permeability ◽

Surfactant Flooding ◽

Fractional Flow ◽

Fast Evaluation ◽

Correction Model ◽

Heavy Workload ◽

Simulation Results ◽

Fractional Flow Theory

At present, the numerical simulation of surfactant flooding is implemented by commercial software, which requires a lot of input data, resulting in slow calculation speed and heavy workload. So it was not suitable for surfactant flooding revovery evaluation in a large number of oilfields. This paper presents a fast evaluation model of surfactant flooding based on modification fractional flow theory. Viral expansion, interfacial tension calculation formula, and the relative permeability correction model are introduced to simulate the surfactant displacement mechanism. The simulation model is applied in a low permeability reservoir, and the simulation results are compared with the eclipse software results. Their results are similar, which show that this model presents certain reliability.

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

SN Applied Sciences ◽

10.1007/s42452-021-04360-7 ◽

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.

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