Discussion on the sweep efficiency of hybrid steam-chemical process in heavy oil reservoirs: An experimental study

Non-condensable gas(NCG),foam and surfactant are the three commonly-used additives in hybrid steam-chemical processes for heavy oil reservoirs.Their application can effectively control the steam injection profile and increase the sweep efficiency.In this paper,the methods of microscale visualized experiment and macroscale 3D experiment are applied to systematically evaluate the areal and vertical sweep efficiencies of different hybrid steam-chemical processes.First,a series of static tests are performed to evaluate the effect of different additives on heavy oil properties.Then,by a series of tests on the microscale visualized model,the areal sweep efficiencies of a baseline steam flooding process and different follow-up hybrid EOR processes are obtained from the collected 2D images.Specifically,they include the hybrid steam-N_(2)process,hybrid steam-N2/foam process,hybrid steam-surfactant process and hybrid steam-N2/foam/surfactant process(N2/foam slug first and steam-surfactant co-injection then).From the results of static tests and visualized micromodels,the pore scale EOR mechanisms and the difference between them can be discussed.For the vertical sweep efficiencies,a macroscale 3D experiment of steam flooding process and a follow-up hybrid EOR process is conducted.Thereafter,combing the macroscale 3D experiment and laboratory-scaled numerical simulation,the vertical and overall sweep efficiencies of different hybrid steam-chemical processes are evaluated.Results indicate that compared with a steam flooding process,the areal sweep efficiency of a hybrid steam-N2process is lower.It is caused by the high mobility ratio in a steam-N2-heavy oil system.By contrast,the enhancement of sweep efficiency by a hybrid steam-N2/foam/surfactant process is the highest.It is because of the high resistance capacity of NCG foam system and the performance of surfactant.Specifically,a surfactant can interact with the oil film in chief zone and reduce the interfacial energy,and thus the oil droplets/films formed during steam injection stage are unlocked.For NCG foam,it can plug the chief steam flow zone and thus the subsequent injected steam is re-directed.Simultaneously,from the collected 2D images,it is also observed that the reservoir microscopic heterogeneity can have an important effect on their sweep efficiencies.From the 3D experiment and laboratory-scaled numerical simulation,it is found that a N2/foam slug can increase the thermal front angle by about 150 and increase the vertical sweep efficiency by about 26%.Among the four processes,a multiple hybrid EOR process(steam-N2/foam/surfactant process) is recommended than the other ones.This paper provides a novel method to systematically evaluate the sweep efficiency of hybrid steam-chemical process and some new insights on the mechanisms of sweep efficiency enhancement are also addressed.It can benefit the expansion of hybrid steam-chemical processes in the post steamed heavy oil reservoirs.

Enhanced flushing of polychlorinated biphenyls contaminated sands using surfactant foam: Effect of partition coefficient and sweep efficiency

Foam flushing is an in situ soil remediation technology based on the traditional surfactant flushing method. The contribution of mobility control to contaminant removal by foam is helpful for improving this technology. Foam flushing of polychlorinated biphenyl （PCB）- contaminated unconsolidated media was performed to evaluate the effect of the partition coefficient （PC） and sweep efficiency （SE） on PCB removal. Column flushing with surfactant solution and foam with different types and concentrations of surfactant was carried out for PCB removal. Two types of quartz sand were investigated to evaluate the Jamin effect on the SE value of the washing agent. The results demonstrate that a small PC value and large SE value are necessary to achieve high PCB removal for foam flushing. Compared with solution flushing, the introduction of foam can effectively control the mobility of the washing agent. Similar to solution flushing, solubilization is a key factor which dominates the removal of PCBs in foam flushing, In addition, the SE value and PCB removal by foam flushing is less affected by particle size. Therefore, foam flushing was proved to be more effective in porous media with low hydraulic conductivity and high porosity. An integrated flushing with water, surfactant solution and foam was performed and the results prove that this technology successfully combines the advantages of solution solubilization and mobility control by foam, and thus further increases the remediation efficiency of PCBs to 94.7% for coarse sand.

A Research Progress of CO_(2)-Responsive Plugging Channeling Gels

In the heterogeneous reservoirs,CO_(2) flooding easily leads to CO_(2) gas channeling,which can seriously affect sweeping efficiency and reduce oil recovery.After thoroughly investigating the advantages and shortcomings of various CO_(2) plugging technologies,this paper focuses on the feasibility of improving conventional water-alternating gas(WAG)through CO_(2)-responsive gel materials.Based on the different chemical reaction mechanisms between the unique chemical structure and CO_(2),changes in the material’s physical and chemical properties can respond to CO_(2).The feasibility of utilizing these property changes for CO_(2)-responsive plugging is explored.Various CO_(2)-responsive gels and gel nanoparticles have been extensively researched in different fields,such as energy,medicine,and biology.This paper surveys the molecular structures,chemical compositions,response mechanisms,and changes of these CO_(2)-responsive gels,aiming to draw insights into the carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery(CO_(2)-EOR)field.Finally,the key issues and future development direction of CO_(2)-responsive plugging gels were analyzed.

Understanding aqueous foam with novel CO2-soluble surfactants for controlling CO2 vertical sweep in sandstone reservoirs

The ability of a novel nonionic CO2 -soluble surfactant to propagate foam in porous media was compared with that of a conventional anionic surfactant（aqueous soluble only）through core floods with Berea sandstone cores.Both simultaneous and alternating injections have been tested.The novel foam outperforms the conventional one with respect to faster foam propagation and higher desaturation rate.Furthermore,the novel injection strategy,CO2 continuous injection with dissolved CO2 -soluble surfactant,has been tested in the laboratory.Strong foam presented without delay.It is the first time the measured surfactant properties have been used to model foam transport on a field scale to extend our findings with the presence of gravity segregation.Different injection strategies have been tested under both constant rate and pressure constraints.It was showed that novel foam outperforms the conventional one in every scenario with much higher sweep efficiency and injectivity as well as more even pressure redistribution.Also,for this novel foam,it is not necessary that constant pressure injection is better,which has been concluded in previous literature for conventional foam.Furthermore,the novel injection strategy,CO2 continuous injection with dissolved CO2 -soluble surfactant,gave the best performance,which could lower the injection and water treatment cost.

CO_2-triggered gelation for mobility control and channeling blocking during CO_2 flooding processes

CO2 flooding is regarded as an important method for enhanced oil recovery （EOR） and greenhouse gas control. However, the heterogeneity prevalently dis- tributed in reservoirs inhibits the performance of this technology. The sweep efficiency can be significantly reduced especially in the presence of ＂thief zones＂. Hence, gas channeling blocking and mobility control are important technical issues for the success of CO2 injection. Normally, crosslinked gels have the potential to block gas channels, but the gelation time control poses challenges to this method. In this study, a new method for selectively blocking CO2 channeling is proposed, which is based on a type of CO2-sensitive gel system （modified polyacry- lamide-methenamine-resorcinol gel system） to form gel in situ. A CO2-sensitive gel system is when gelation or solidification will be triggered by CO2 in the reservoir to block gas channels. The CO2-sensitivity of the gel system was demonstrated in parallel bottle tests of gel in N2 and CO2 atmospheres. Sand pack flow experiments were con- ducted to investigate the shutoff capacity of the gel system under different conditions. The injectivity of the gel system was studied via viscosity measurements. The results indi- cate that this gel system was sensitive to CO2 and had good performance of channeling blocking in porous media. Advantageous viscosity-temperature characteristics were achieved in this work. The effectiveness for EOR in heterogeneous formations based on this gel system was demonstrated using displacement tests conducted in double sand packs. The experimental results can provide guideli- nes for the deployment of theCO2-sensitive gel system for field applications.

FINITE VOLUME METHOD FOR SIMULATION OF VISCOELASTIC FLOW THROUGH A EXPANSION CHANNEL

A finite volume method for the numerical solution of viscoelastic flows is given. The flow of a differential Upper-Convected Maxwell （UCM） fluid through an abrupt expansion has been chosen as a prototype example. The conservation and constitutive equations are solved using the Finite Volume Method （FVM） in a staggered grid with an upwind scheme for the viscoelastic stresses and a hybrid scheme for the velocities. An enhanced-in-speed pressure-correction algorithm is used and a method for handling the source term in the momentum equations is employed. Improved accuracy is achieved by a special discretization of the boundary conditions. Stable solutions are obtained for higher Weissenberg number （We）, further extending the range of simulations with the FVM. Numerical results show the viscoelasticity of polymer solutions is the main factor influencing the sweeo efficiency.

Displacement and development characteristics of fire flooding of vertical wells in old heavy oil areas

As the vertical-well fire flooding technology is industrially applied in the steam-injection old heavy oil areas of Xinjiang and Liaohe oilfields,its enhanced oil recovery potential is gradually clear.According to laboratory experiment,field test and reservoir engineering,the displacement characteristics of verticalwell fire flooding in the steam-injection old heavy oil areas are systematically investigated.Laboratory experiments and core data show that the vertical-well fire flooding has significantly high flooding ef-ficiency,no residual oil are remained in the firing front sweeping zone,and the lateral sweep efficiency and ultimate recovery can be achieved.The vertical-well fire flooding is a strategic replacement technology to enhance the recovery greatly.Development characteristics and advantages of areal and linear fire flooding are well investigated,and research results are applied in the design of industrial test plan of fire flooding in the Hongqian block,Xinjiang.The research shows that the linear well pattern has advantages of easy construction of ground facilities and management,less well of stage management,simple matching technology and easy achievement of purposeful control for fire front;the areal well pattern has advantages in reducing the air/oil ratio during the fire flooding period,increasing the total recovery rate of reservoirs and reducing the geological and reservoir management risks.To select well patterns of fire flooding,some factors such as geology,reservoir,fluid properties,oil price,and reservoir development degree should be mainly considered.In the Hongqian block,an improved linear well pattern with a combination of new wells and old wells is applied,this not only absorb experiences of linear well pattern pilot test,but also use advantages of areal well pattern.