Effect of petroleum chemical fraction and residual oil content in saline lacustrine organic-rich shale: A case study from the Paleogene Dongpu Depression of North China

Halite and gypsum minerals in saline shale make the retention mechanism and chemical fractionation of residual oil unique. The Dongpu Depression in North China is a typically saline lacustrine basin with developing halite and gypsum. The effect of gypsum minerals on residual oil content and chemical fractionation remains unclear. In this study, shale samples with different gypsum contents were used in organic geochemical experiments, showing that the high total organic matter (TOC) content and type II kerogen leads to a high residual oil content, as shown by high values of volatile hydrocarbon (S1) and extractable organic matter (EOM). XRD and FE-SEM result indicate that the existence of gypsum in saline shale contributes to an enhanced pore space and a higher residual oil content in comparison to non-gypsum shale. Additionally, the increase in the gypsum mineral content leads to an increase in the saturated hydrocarbon percentage and a decrease in polar components percentage (resins and asphaltene). Furthermore, thermal simulation experiments on low-mature saline shale show that the percentage of saturated hydrocarbons in the residual oil is high and remains stable and that the storage space is mainly mesoporous (> 20 nm) in the oil expulsion stage. However, the saturated hydrocarbons percentage decreases rapidly, and oil exists in mesopores (> 20 nm and < 5 nm) in the gas expulsion stage. In general, gypsum is conducive to the development of pore space, the adsorption of hydrocarbons and the occurrence of saturated hydrocarbon, leading to large quantities of residual oil. The data in this paper should prove to be reliable for shale oil exploration in saline lacustrine basins.

Utilization mechanism of foam flooding and distribution situation of residual oil in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs

The development of fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs is extremely difficult because of the complex fractured-vuggy structure and strong heterogeneity.Foam flooding is a potential enhanced oil recovery(EOR)technology in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs.Based on the similarity criterion,three types of 2D visual physical models of the fractured-vuggy structure were made by laser ablation technique,and a 3D visual physical model of the fractured-vuggy reservoir was made by 3D printing technology.Then the physical analog experiments of foam flooding were carried out in these models.The experimental results show that foam can effectively improve the mobility ratio,control the flow velocity of the fluid in different directions,and sweep complex fracture networks.The effect of foam flooding in fractures can be improved by increasing foam strength and enhancing foam stability.The effect of foam flooding in vugs can be improved by reducing the density of the foam and the interfacial tension between foam and oil.Three types of microscopic residual oil and three types of macroscopic residual oil can be displaced by foam flooding.This study verifies the EOR of foam flooding in the fractured-vuggy reservoir and provides theoretical support for the application of foam flooding in fractured-vuggy reservoirs.

Reservoir heterogeneity controls of CO_(2)-EOR and storage potentials in residual oil zones:Insights from numerical simulations

Residual oil zones(ROZs)have large potential for CO_(2)enhanced oil recovery(EOR)and geologic storage.During CO_(2)injection,the migration of CO_(2)in ROZs controls the performance of both EOR and storage.However,it has not been clearly visualized and understood that how geological heterogeneity factors control the transport of CO_(2)in ROZs.In this study,the oil recovery performance and geologic storage potential during continuous CO_(2)injection in a representative ROZ are studied based on geostatistical modelling and high-fidelity three-phase flow simulation.We examined the influence of autocorrelation length of permeability,global heterogeneity(DykstraeParsons coefficient),and permeability anisotropy on cumulative oil recovery and CO_(2)retention fraction.Simulation results indicate that,as the permeability autocorrelation length increases,the cumulative oil recovery and CO_(2)storage efficiency decrease.This results from the accelerated migration of CO_(2)along high permeability zones(i.e.,gas channeling).The increase in global heterogeneity and permeability anisotropies can lead to low oil recovery and poor CO_(2)sequestration performance,depending on the degree of CO_(2)channeling.The net utilization ratio of CO_(2)(CO_(2)retained/oil produced)unfavorably increases with both autocorrelation length and Dykstra eParsons coefficient,but decreases with the increase in kv/kh.Such a decrease is attributed to enlarged swept volume induced by gravity override.The study provides important implications for fieldscale CO_(2)EOR and storage applications in ROZs.

Numerical analysis of water-alternating-CO_(2) flooding for CO_(2)-EOR and storage projects in residual oil zones

Residual oil zones(ROZs)have high residual oil saturation,which can be produced using CO_(2) miscible flooding.At the same time,these zones are good candidates for CO_(2) sequestration.To evaluate the coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage perfor-mance in ROZs for Water-Alternating-CO_(2)(WAG)flooding,a multi-compositional CO_(2) miscible model with molecular diffusion was developed.The effects of formation parameters(porosity,permeability,temperature),operation parameters(bottom hole pressure,WAG ratio,pore volume of injected water),and diffusion coeffcient on the coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage were investigated.Five points from the CO_(2) sequestration curve and the oil recovery factor curve were selected to help better analyze coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage.The results demonstrate that enhanced performance is observed when formation permeability is higher and a larger volume of water is injected.On the other hand,the performance diminishes with increasing porosity,molecular diffusion of gas,and the WAG ratio.When the temperature is around 100℃,coupled CO_(2)-EOR and storage performance is the worst.To achieve optimal miscible flooding,it is recommended to maintain the bottom hole pressure(BHP)of the injection well above 1.2 minimum miscibility pressure(MMP),while ensuring that the BHP of the production well remains sufficiently high.Furthermore,the tapered WAG flooding strategy proves to be profitable for enhanced oil recovery,as compared to a WAG ratio of 0.5:1,although it may not be as effective for CO_(2) sequestration.

CO_(2) gas stripped off membranous residual oil from pore surfaces: Effects of temperature, pressure and wettability

The threshold values of CO_(2) gas stripped off membranous residual oil from the pore walls are not clear under different temperatures, pressures and wettability conditions. The extent to which temperature, pressure and wettability influence CO_(2) flooding for enhancing the recovery of residual oil in membranous formations also remains uncertain. Therefore, further quantitative characterization is entailed. In this study, the molecular dynamics method was employed to explore CO_(2) flooding under different temperatures, pressures and wettability conditions, aiming to enhance the production of membranous residual oil. The results reveal that the interaction energy between CO_(2), decane molecules and pore walls exhibits a decrease with increasing temperature and an increase with increasing pressure, respectively, in distinct wettability scenarios. When the temperature was at or below 363 K and the pressure was not lower than 40 MPa, CO_(2) gas could detach the membranous residual oil from the pore walls in the water-wet systems. When the temperature was equal to 363 K and the pressure remained under 40 MPa, or the temperature surpassed 363 K, CO_(2) gas failed to detach the membranous residual oil from the pore walls in the water-wet systems. For the mixed-wet and oil-wet systems, CO_(2) molecules could not detach the membranous residual oil from the pore walls. The hierarchy of influence regarding temperature, pressure and wettability on the competitive adsorption capacity of CO_(2) and decane molecules on the pore walls emerged as follows: wettability > temperature > pressure. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the application of CO_(2) gas flooding for the exploitation of membranous residual oil on pore walls.

Necessity and feasibility of improving the residual resistance factor of polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs

The efficiency of water flooding in heavy oil reservoirs would be improved by increasing the viscosity of the displacing phase, but the sweep efficiency is not of significance due to the low mobility of the vicious oil. On the basis of mobility control theory, increasing the residual resistance factor not only reduces the water-oil mobility ratio but also decreases the requirement for viscosity enhancement of the polymer solution. The residual resistance factor caused by hydrophobic associating polymer solution is higher than that caused by polyacrylamide solution in brine containing high concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions. The results of numerical simulations show that the polymer flooding efficiency improved by increasing the residual resistance factor is far better than that by only increasing solution viscosity. The recovery factor of heavy oil reservoirs （70 mPa·s） can be enhanced by hydrophobic associating polymer solution of high residual resistance factor （more than 3） and high effective viscosity （24 mPa·s）. Therefore, increasing the residual resistance factor of the polymer solution not only decreases the requirement for the viscosity of polymer solution injected into heavy oil reservoirs but also is favorable to enhanced oil recovery during polymer flooding.

Effects of compression ratio on variation of stresses and residual oil of cake in pressing process of castor beans and its curve fitting

The relationships among compression ratio and stress, compression ratio and residual oil of cake in pressing process of castor beans were studied using the test equipment under different states of oilseeds and ways of pressing manners. The results show that variation of stress increases nonlinearly and residual oil rate decreases with the increase of compression ratio. Lower residual oil of cake was obtained by pressing gently and frequently. Curve fitting on both relationships had been built and parameters for the model were obtained by least square procedure and deepening research on pressing process of the castor beans for castor oil. By assuming that the value of oil production is equivalent to the value of energy consumption, the critical compression ratio of intact seeds is 6.2 while that of crushed seeds is 3.6.

Micro-mechanisms of residual oil mobilization by viscoelastic fluids

Four typical types of residual oil, residual oil trapped in dead ends, oil ganglia in pore throats, oil at pore corners and oil film adhered to pore walls, were studied. According to main pore structure characteristics and the fundamental morphological features of residual oil, four displacement models for residual oil were proposed, in which pore-scale flow behavior of viscoelastic fluid was analyzed by a numerical method and micro-mechanisms for mobilization of residual oil were discussed. Calculated results indicate that the viscoelastic effect enhances micro displacement efficiency and increases swept volume. For residual oil trapped in dead ends, the flow field of viscoelastic fluid is developed in dead ends more deeply, resulting in more contact with oil by the displacing fluid, and consequently increasing swept volume. In addition, intense viscoelastic vortex has great stress, under which residual oil becomes small oil ganglia, and finally be carried into main channels. For residual oil at pore throats, its displacement mechanisms are similar to the oil trapped in dead ends. Vortices are developed in the depths of the throats and oil ganglia become smaller. Besides, viscoelastic fluid causes higher pressure drop on oil ganglia, as a driving force, which can overcome capillary force, consequently, flow direction can be changed and the displacing fluid enter smaller throats. For oil at pore corners, viscoelastic fluid can enhance displacement efficiency as a result of greater velocity and stress near the corners. For residual oil adhered to pore wall, viscoelastic fluid can provide a greater displacing force on the interface between viscoelastic fluid and oil, thus, making it easier to exceed the minimum interfacial tension for mobilizing the oil film.

Residual oil evolution based on displacement characteristic curve

The purpose of this study was to determine the displacement and dynamic distribution characteristics of the remaining oil in the two development stages of water flooding and subsequent alkaline surfactant polymer(ASP) flooding. The well pattern types in the water and ASP flooding stages are a longdistance determinant well pattern and short-distance five-point well pattern, respectively. The type A displacement characteristic curve can be obtained using the production data, and the slope of the straight-line section of the curve can reflect the displacement strength of the oil displacement agent. A numerical simulation was carried out based on the geological model. The results revealed that the injected water advances steadily with a large-distance determinant water-flooding well pattern. The single-well water production rate increases monotonically during water flooding. There is a significant positive correlation between the cumulative water-oil ratio and the formation parameter. Differential seepage between the oil and water phases is the main factor causing residual oil formation after water flooding, while the residual oil is still relatively concentrated. The effect of the chemical oildisplacement agent on improving the oil-water two-phase seepage flow has distinct stages during ASP flooding. The remaining oil production is extremely sporadic after ASP flooding.

Study of Oil/Water Interfacial Tension of Vacuum Residual Fractions from Iranian Light Crude Oil

The vacuum residual from Iranian Light crude oil are separated into a series of 16 narrow fractions according to the molecular weight by the supercritical fluid extraction and fractional (SFEF) technology. The chemical element and the UV spectrum of each fraction are analyzed. The effects of several factors on the interfacial tension are investigated, which are the fraction concentration in oil phase, the ratio of oil component, the salts dissolved in the water phase and the pH value. The interfacial tension decreases rapidly as the concentration of the residual fraction in the oil increases, showing a higher interfacial activity of the fraction. The interfacial tension changes, as the amount of absorption or the state of the fractions in the interface changes resulting from different ratios of oil, different kinds or concentrations of salts in water, and different pH values. It is concluded that the intrfacial tension changes regularly, corresponding to the regular molecular parameters of the vacuum residual fractions.

Displacement of polymer solution on residual oil trapped in dead ends

For waterflooding reservoir,oil trapped in pore's dead ends is hardly flushed out,and usually becomes one typical type of residual oil.The microscopic displacement characteristics of polymer solution with varied viscoelastic property were studied by numerical and experimental method.According to main pore structure characteristics and rheological property of polymer solution through porous media,displacement models for residual oil trapped in dead ends were proposed,and upper-convected Maxwell rheological model was used as polymer solution's constitutive equation.The flow and stress field was given and displacement characteristic was quantified by introducing a parameter of micro swept coefficient.The calculated and experimental results show that micro swept coefficient rises with the increase of viscoelasticity;for greater viscoelasticity of polymer solution,vortices in the dead end have greater swept volume and displacing force on oil,and consequently entraining the swept oil in time.In addition,micro swept coefficient in dead end is function of the inclination angle(θ) between pore and dead end.The smaller of θ and 180-θ,the flow field of viscoelastic fluid is developed in dead ends more deeply,resulting in more contact with oil and larger swept coefficient.

The Effects of Ultrasonic Treatment on the Molecular Structure of Residual Oil

To upgrade residual oil, the residual oil was subjected to ultrasonic treatment with an output of 800 W, at a temperature of 70 ℃ and at intervals ranging from 0 to 11 minutes. The experiment illustrated that 7 minutes of ultrasonic treatment reduced viscosity and carbon residue by 14.1% and 7.4%, respectively. This also produced an increase in saturates content and a decrease in the content of aromatics, resins and asphaltenes. Furthermore, the parameters of the average molecular structure were characterized by FT-IR, and ~1 H-NMR, while an increasingly greater change in the parameters were produced by an ultrasonic treatment interval of up to 7 minutes. The mechanical stirring and cavitation from ultrasonic treatment caused a series of changes in the molecules of residual oil. Microscopic changes affected the parameters of the average molecular structure, as usually shown in SARA fractions. The changes in the thermal reaction properties of residual oil after ultrasonic treatment were analyzed by thermogravimetry. As the ultrasonic treatment time increased, the apparent activation energy needed for pyrolysis decreased gradually, as did the temperature.

Effects of Fe^(2+), Co^(2+) and Ni^(2+) Ions on Biological Methane Production from Residual Heavy Oil

On the basis of single factor tests, the effect of trace elements—Fe2+, Co2+ and Ni2+ ions—on biological methane production from heavy oil was investigated by the response surface method. A three-level Box-Behnken design was employed to study the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable by applying initial Fe2+, Co2+ and Ni2+ concentration as the independent variables(factors) and using the methane production after 270 days of cultivation as the dependent variable(response). A prediction model of quadramatic polynomial regression equation was obtained. The results showed that the methane production could be as high as 240.69 μmol after optimization compared with 235.74 μmol obtained under un-optimized condition. Furthermore, the microbial communities before and after biodegradation were analyzed by PCR-DGGE method. The dominant bands were recovered and sequenced. Three strains were obtained; the strain T1 has 97% similarity with Bacillus thermoamylovorans, the strain H3 has 97% similarity with Bacillus thermoamylovorans and the strain H4 has 99% similarity with Bacillus vietnamensis.

Numerical Calculation of Viscous-Elastic Fluid Flooding Residual Oil Film in the Complex Pore

In order to analyze the stress and deformation of different permeability of residual oil film in the complex pore, which are affected by the viscous-elasticity of the fluid, the hydrodynamic displacement mechanism is explored from the stand-point of hydrodynamics, that is, the residual oil film displaced by alternating injection of different concentrations of the polymer solution, viscous-elastic fluid flow equation is established in the complex pore by choosing continuity equation, motion equation and the upper convected Maxwell constitutive equation. The flow field is computed by using the method of numerical analysis. Not only the stress and deformation of residual oil film on the different permeability of micro pores, but also the analysis of the flooding mechanism of alternating injection of different concentrations of the polymer solution is got. The results show that the larger the viscous-elasticity of polymer solution is, the bigger the normal deviatoric stress acting on the residual oil film is;the distribution of normal deviatoric stress has the abrupt change. The stronger the viscous-elasticity of the polymer solution is, the bigger the horizontal stress difference acting on the residual oil film is and the more obvious the deformation is;the high-concentration polymer solution is suitable for high-permeability micro pores. Low-concentration polymer solution is suitable for medium and low-permeability micro pores. Alternating injection of polymer solution can improve Volumetric Sweep Efficiency and increase the deformation of residual oil film, which is conducive to enhancing oil recovery.

Mechanical Analysis of Viscous-Elastic Fluid Acting on Residual Oil in the Micro Pore

In order to analyze the normal deviatoric stress that viscous-elastic fluid acting on the residual oil under the situation of different flooding conditions and different permeabilities, Viscous-elastic fluid flow equation is established in the micro pore by choosing the continuity equation, motion equation and the upper-convected Maxwell constitutive equation, the flow field is computed by using numerical analysis, the forces that driving fluid acting on the residual oil in micro pore are got, and the influence of flooding conditions, pore width and viscous-elasticity of driving fluid on force is compared and analyzed. The results show that: the more viscous-elasticity of driving fluid increases, the greater the normal deviatoric stress acting on the residual oil increases;using constant pressure gradient flooding, the lager the pore width is, the greater normal deviatoric stress acting on the residual oil will be.

Single Well Chemical Tracer Applied to Measuring Residual Oil Saturation in Shengli Oilfields

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Elimination of Oil Residual inside the Copper Pipe Using Ladder Technique

This study presents the methodology to eliminate oil residual in copper pipe due to rolling process for manufacturing coil used in air conditioner. The pressure caused by Nitrogen flow rate was applied starting from 0, 5, 10, and 15 bar, respectively which was depending on time delay and pipe length. The developed system was divided into 2 modules: Parallel pressure ladder module (PPLM) [1] and Serial pressure ladder module (SPLM) which were experimented with 2 sizes of copper pipe: diameter 7.29 mm, thickness 0.25 mm, and length 10 km, and diameter 8 mm, thickness 0.25 mm, and length 10 km. From experiment, it can be noted that PPLM would perform better in elimination of oil residual compared to SPLM. About 97.44% (0.04 mg/m) and 97.59% (0.05 mg/m) of oil residual can be respectively eliminated from diameter 7.29 mm pipe and diameter 8 mm pipe which exceeded the standard allowance of 30% or 0.1 mg/m. Moreover, the cost of Nitrogen can be reduced by 6.25% per month.

Assessment of residual oil saturation with time-differentiated variable multiple material balance model

This study aims to improve the evaluation of residual oil saturation in water flooded zones based on the material balance model(MBM)with variable multiple for injected water.We investigated the change patterns of rock-electro parameters during waterflooding through the analysis of displacement tests.Our work differentiated the waterflooding into numerous displacement processes and accordingly propose an improved time-differentiated variable multiple MBM.The calculation results of the improved model are more consistent with the displacement experiment data of cores.Furthermore,the improved method was integrated into the comprehensive interpretation platform of offshore logging to analyze water flooded zones of a well in the A oilfield.As a result,the residual oil saturation calculated is in close agreement with the results of experiments on cores.Our results indicate that the time-differentiation and variable multiplier for injected water can effectively enhance the assessment accuracy of the residual oil saturation of water-flooded zones.

Continued Diagnostic Difficulties in Preoperatively Differentiating Lipiodized Oil and Residual Metallic Material: A Case Report

Retained foreign objects in the abdomen and pelvis are serious clinical problems yet the imaging required can present difficulties. Prolonged retention of lipiodized oil used for hysterosalpingography over years is very rare. However, lipiodized oil had previously been misdiagnosed as residual metallic material. We are reporting a case in which the latest computed tomography (CT) equipment seemed inadequate for obtaining a clear pre-operative diagnosis. Here, we describe the case of a 33-year-old Japanese female whose pelvis had contained retained lipiodized oil that had been suspected as residual metallic material. The preoperative diagnosis was very difficult and included three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) of unclear results despite expectations of resolution. By laparoscopic surgery, we removed a cyst of approximately 2 cm containing a yellowish oily fluid. Postoperatively, we demonstrated that the fluid was lipiodized oil. A postoperative experiment to attempt distinguishing lipiodized oil from metal through gemstone spectral CT imaging did not offer clarity either. Distinguishing between retained lipiodized oil and metallic material in the abdominal cavity may still present unexpected difficulties even with the latest medical equipments.

Study on Residual Oil HDS Process with Mechanism Model and ANN Model

Based on the Residual Oil Hydrodesulfurization Treatment Unit (S-RHT), the n-order reaction kinetic model for residual oil HDS reactions and artificial neural network (ANN) model were developed to determine the sulfur content of hydrogenated residual oil. The established ANN model covered 4 input variables, 1 output variable and 1 hidden layer with 15 neurons. The comparison between the results of two models was listed. The results showed that the predicted mean relative errors of the two models with three different sample data were less than 5% and both the two models had good predictive precision and extrapolative feature for the HDS process. The mean relative error of 5 sets of testing data of the ANN model was 1.62%—3.23%, all of which were smaller than that of the common mechanism model (3.47%— 4.13%). It showed that the ANN model was better than the mechanism model both in terms of fitting results and fitting difficulty. The models could be easily applied in practice and could also provide a reference for the further research of residual oil HDS process.