Screening and field application of microbial-flooding activator systems

This study aims to further enhance the oil recovery of reservoirs in the Zhong-2 Block of the Gudao Oilfield by identifying the most effective microbial-flooding activator systems and applying them in the field.We began by analyzing the structure of the reservoirs'endogenous microbial communities to understand the potential impact of microbial flooding.This was followed by determining commonly used activator systems based on their abilities to stimulate oil-displacement functional bacteria.Through laboratory experiments on oil displacement efficiency and sweep characteristics,we determined the optimal activator injection method(injection ratio)and the requisite bacterial concentration for maximal microbial-flooding efficacy.Finally,we selected the optimal activator systems and applied them to field tests.Our findings suggest the target block is highly receptive to microbial-flooding.In terms of performance,the activator systems ranked as No.3>No.4>No.1>No.2.Interestingly,a deep activator system,when compared to the top-performing No.3 system,exhibited a higher bacterial concentration peak and longer peaking duration.Optimal oil displacement effects were observed at a 1:4 vol ratio between the No.3 activator and deep activator systems,with bacterial concentrations of up to 106 cells/mL or above.Field tests with the selected activator systems,following a specific injection protocol,demonstrated a notable increase in oil production and a reduction in water cut.

Experimental Study and Numerical Simulation of Polymer Flooding

The numerical simulation of polymer flooding is a complex task as this process involves complex physical and chemical reactions,and multiple sets of characteristic parameters are required to properly set the simulation.At present,such characteristic parameters are mainly obtained by empirical methods,which typically result in relatively large errors.By analyzing experimentally polymer adsorption,permeability decline,inaccessible pore volume,viscosity-concentration relationship,and rheology,in this study,a conversion equation is provided to convert the experimental data into the parameters needed for the numerical simulation.Some examples are provided to demonstrate the reliability of the proposed approach.

The Selection and Breeding of a Novel Microorganism Strain I and Investigation of Core Model Experiment for MEOR

This paper introduces the results of selecting and breeding a micro-organism, Strain I, and its core model experiment investigation for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). Strain I was separated from the formation water of the Dagang oil field, with analytical results showing that Strain I is a gram-positive bacillus. A further study revealed that this strain has an excellent tolerance of environmental stresses: It can survive in conditions of 70℃, 30 wt% salinity and pH3.5-9.4. Strain I can metabolize biosurfactants that could increase the oil recovery ratio, use crude oil as the single carbon source, and decompose long-chain paraffin with a large molecular weight into short-chain paraffin with a small molecular weight. The core model experiment shows that Strain I enhances oil recovery well. Using 2 vol% of the fermentation solution of Strain I to displace the crude oil in the synthetic plastic bonding core could increase the recovery ratio by 21.6%.

Automatic measurement of three-phase contact angles in pore throats based on digital images

With the help of digital image processing technology, an automatic measurement method for the three-phase contact angles in the pore throats of the microfluidic model was established using the microfluidic water flooding experiment videos as the data source. The results of the new method were verified through comparing with the manual measurement data.On this basis, the dynamic changes of the three-phase contact angles under flow conditions were clarified by the contact angles probability density curve and mean value change curve. The results show that, for water-wetting rocks, the mean value of the contact angles is acute angle during the early stage of the water flooding process, and it increases with the displacement time and becomes obtuse angle in the middle-late stage of displacement as the dominant force of oil phase gradually changes from viscous force to capillary force. The droplet flow in the remaining oil occurs in the central part of the pore throats, without three-phase contact angle. The contact angles for the porous flow and the columnar flow change slightly during the displacement and present as obtuse angles in view of mean values, which makes the remaining oil poorly movable and thus hard to be recovered. The mean value of the contact angle for the cluster flow tends to increase in the flooding process, which makes the remaining oil more difficult to be recovered. The contact angles for the membrane flow are mainly obtuse angles and reach the highest mean value in the late stage of displacement, which makes the remaining oil most difficult to be recovered. After displacement, the remaining oils under different flow regimes are just subjected to capillary force, with obtuse contact angles, and the wettability of the pore throat walls in the microfluidic model tends to be oil-wet under the action of crude oil.