Experimental investigation on using CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion with high water cut in enhanced oil recovery

CO_(2) emulsions used for EOR have received a lot of interest because of its good performance on CO_(2)mobility reduction.However,most of them have been focusing on the high quality CO_(2) emulsion(high CO_(2) fraction),while CO_(2) emulsion with high water cut has been rarely researched.In this paper,we carried out a comprehensive experimental study of using high water cut CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion for enhancing oil recovery.Firstly,a nonionic surfactant,alkyl glycosides(APG),was selected to stabilize CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion,and the corresponding morphology and stability were evaluated with a transparent PVT cell.Subsequently,plugging capacity and apparent viscosity of CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion were measured systematically by a sand pack displacement apparatus connected with a 1.95-m long capillary tube.Furthermore,a high water cut(40 vol%) CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion was selected for flooding experiments in a long sand pack and a core sample,and the oil recovery,the rate of oil recovery,and the pressure gradients were analyzed.The results indicated that APG had a good performance on emulsifying and stabilizing CO_(2) emulsion.An inversion from H_(2)O/CO_(2) emulsion to CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion with the increase in water cut was confirmed.CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsions with lower water cuts presented higher apparent viscosity,while the optimal plugging capacity of CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion occurred at a certain water cut.Eventually,the displacement using CO_(2)/H_(2)O emulsion provided 18.98% and 13.36% additional oil recovery than that using pure CO_(2) in long sand pack and core tests,respectively.This work may provide guidelines for EOR using CO_(2) emulsions with high water cut.

Exploitation of fractured shale oil resources by cyclic CO_2 injection

With shale oil reservoir pressure depletion and recovery of hydrocarbons from formations, the fracture apertures and conductivity are subject to reduction due to the interaction between stress effects and proppants. Suppose most of the proppants were concentrated in dominant fractures rather than sparsely allocated in the fracture network, the fracture conductivity would be less influenced by the induced stress effect. However, the merit of uniformly distributed proppants in the fracture network is that it increases the contact area for the injection gas with the shale matrix. In this paper, we address the question whether we should exploit or confine the fracture complexity for CO2-EOR in shale oil reservoirs. Two proppant transport scenarios were simulated in this paper： Case 1-the proppant is uniformly distributed in the complex fracture system, propagating a partially propped or un-propped fracture network; Case 2-the proppant primarily settles in simple planar fractures. A series of sensitivity studies of the fracture conductivity were performed to investigate the conductivity requirements in order to more efficiently produce from the shale reservoirs. Our simulation results in this paper show the potential of CO2 huff-n-puff to improve oil recovery in shale oil reservoirs. Simulation results indicate that the ultra-low permeability shales require an interconnected fracture network to maximize shale oil recovery in a reasonable time period. The well productivity of a fracture network with a conductivity of 4 mD ft achieves a better performance than that of planar fractures with an infinite conductivity. However, when the conductivity of fracture networks is inadequate,the planar fracture treatment design maybe a favorable choice. The available literature provides limited information on the relationship between fracture treatment design and the applicability of CO2 huff-n-puff in very low permeability shale formations. Very limited field test or laboratory data are available on the investigation of conductivity requirements for cyclic CO2 injection in shale oil reservoirs. In the context of CO2 huff-n-puff EOR, the effect of fracture complexity on well productivity was examined by simulation approaches.

Visualization of CO_2 and oil immiscible and miscible flow processes in porous media using NMR micro-imaging

CO2 flooding is considered not only one of the most effective enhanced oil recovery （EOR） methods, but also an important alternative for geological CO2 storage. In this paper, the visualization of CO2 flooding was studied using a 400 MHz NMR micro-imaging system. For gaseous CO2 immiscible displacement, it was found that CO2 channeling or fingering occurred due to the difference of fluid viscosity and density. Thus, the sweep efficiency was small and the final residual oil saturation was 53.1%. For supercritical CO2 miscible displacement, the results showed that piston-like displacement occurred, viscous fingering and the gravity override caused by the low viscosity and density of the gas was effectively restrained, and the velocity of CO2 front was uniform. The sweep efficiency was so high that the final residual oil saturation was 33.9%, which indicated CO2 miscible displacement could enhance oil recovery more than CO2 immiscible displacement. In addition, the average velocity of CO2 front was evaluated through analyzing the oil saturation profile. A special core analysis method has been applied to in-situ oil saturation data to directly evaluate the local Darcy phase velocities and capillary dispersion rate.

The impact of connate water saturation and salinity on oil recovery and CO2 storage capacity during carbonated water injection in carbonate rock

Carbonated water injection(CWI)is known as an efficient technique for both CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery(EOR).During CWI process,CO2 moves from the water phase into the oil phase and results in oil swelling.This mechanism is considered as a reason for EOR.Viscous fingering leading to early breakthrough and leaving a large proportion of reservoir un-swept is known as an unfavorable phenomenon during flooding trials.Generally,instability at the interface due to disturbances in porous medium promotes viscous fingering phenomenon.Connate water makes viscous fingers longer and more irregular consisting of large number of tributaries leading to the ultimate oil recovery reduction.Therefore,higher in-situ water content can worsen this condition.Besides,this water can play as a barrier between oil and gas phases and adversely affect the gas diffusion,which results in EOR reduction.On the other hand,from gas storage point of view,it should be noted that CO2 solubility is not the same in the water and oil phases.In this study for a specified water salinity,the effects of different connate water saturations(Swc)on the ultimate oil recovery and CO2 storage capacity during secondary CWI are being presented using carbonate rock samples from one of Iranian carbonate oil reservoir.The results showed higher oil recovery and CO2 storage in the case of lower connate water saturation,as 14%reduction of Swc resulted in 20%and 16%higher oil recovery and CO2 storage capacity,respectively.

Advanced treatment of oil recovery wastewater from polymer flooding by UV/H_2O_2/O_3 and fine filtration

In order to purify oil recovery wastewater from polymer flooding （ORWPF） in tertiary oil recovery in oil fields, advanced treatment of UV/H2O2/O3 and fine filtration were investigated. The experimental results showed that polyacrylamide and oil remaining in ORWPF after the conventional treatment process could be effectively removed by UV/H2O2/O3 process. Fine filtration gave a high performance in eliminating suspended solids. The treated ORWPF can meet the quality requirement of the wastewater-bearing polymer injection in oilfield and be safely re-injected into oil reservoirs for oil recovery.

Research and Application of CO₂Flooding Enhanced Oil Recovery in Low Permeability Oilfield

This paper discusses the new progress and field application of CO2 flooding in low permeability reservoirs enhanced oil recovery. The study shows that CO2 flooding can improve the oil recovery rate of low permeability oilfield by more than 10%. The practice shows that the liquid CO2 injection in low permeability reservoir is easier than water injection, and the reservoir generally has better CO2 storage.

Nuclear magnetic resonance experimental study of CO_(2) injection to enhance shale oil recovery

Factors affecting CO_(2) flooding of shale oil reservoir were studied by nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) experiments, the effects of time, pressure, temperature on the recovery of CO_(2) flooding in shale oil reservoir were analyzed based on nuclear magnetic resonance T2 spectrum, and the effect of fracture development degree on recovery of CO_(2) flooding in shale oil reservoir was analyzed based on NMR images. In the process of CO_(2) flooding, the recovery degree of the shale oil reservoir gradually increases with time. With the rise of pressure, the recovery degree of the shale oil reservoir goes up gradually. With the rise of temperature, the recovery degree of shale oil increases first and then decreases gradually. For CO_(2) flooding in matrix core, the crude oil around the core surface is produced in the initial stage, with recovery degree going up rapidly;with the ongoing of CO_(2) injection, the CO_(2) gradually diffuses into the inside of core to produce the oil, and the increase of recovery degree slows down gradually. For CO_(2) flooding in matrix core with fractures, in the initial stage, the oil in and around the fractures are produced first, and the recovery degree goes up fast;with the extension of CO_(2) injection time, CO_(2) diffuses into the inside of the core from the fractures and the core surface to produce the oil inside the core, and the increase of recovery degree gradually slows down. Fractures increase the contact area between injected CO_(2) and crude oil, and the more the fractures and the greater the evaluation index of fractures, the greater the recovery degree of shale oil will be.

Effect of CO_(2)flooding in an oil reservoir with strong bottom-water drive in the Tahe Oilfield,Tarim Basin,Northwest China

The dissolution and diffusion of CO_(2)in oil and water and its displacement mechanism were investigated by laboratory experiment and numerical simulation for Block 9 in the Tahe oilfield,a sandstone oil reservoir with strong bottom-water drive in Tarim Basin,Northwest China.Such parameters were analyzed as solubility ratio of CO_(2)in oil,gas and water,interfacial tension,in-situ oil viscosity distribution,remaining oil saturation distribution,and oil compositions.The results show that CO_(2)flooding could control water coning and increase oil production.In the early stage of the injection process,CO_(2)expanded vertically due to gravity differentiation,and extended laterally under the action of strong bottom water in the intermediate and late stages.The CO_(2)got enriched and extended at the oil-water interface,forming a high interfacial tension zone,which inhibited the coning of bottom water to some extent.A miscible region with low interfacial tension formed at the gas injection front,which reduced the in-situ oil viscosity by about 50%.The numerical simulation results show that enhanced oil recovery(EOR)is estimated at 5.72%and the oil exchange ratio of CO_(2)is 0.17 t/t.

Gas channeling control with an in-situ smart surfactant gel during water-alternating-CO_(2) enhanced oil recovery

Undesirable gas channeling always occurs along the high-permeability layers in heterogeneous oil reservoirs during water-alternating-CO_(2)(WAG)flooding,and conventional polymer gels used for blocking the“channeling”paths usually suffer from either low injectivity or poor gelation control.Herein,we for the first time developed an in-situ high-pressure CO_(2)-triggered gel system based on a smart surfactant,N-erucamidopropyl-N,N-dimethylamine(UC22AMPM),which was introduced into the aqueous slugs to control gas channeling inWAG processes.The water-like,low-viscosity UC22AMPM brine solution can be thickened by high-pressure CO_(2) owing to the formation of wormlike micelles(WLMs),as well as their growth and shear-induced structure buildup under shear flow.The thickening power can be further potentiated by the generation of denser WLMs resulting from either surfactant concentration augmentation or a certain range of heating,and can be impaired via pressurization above the critical pressure of CO_(2) because of its soaring solvent power.Core flooding tests using heterogeneous cores demonstrated that gas channeling was alleviated by plugging of high-capacity channels due to the in-situ gelation of UC22AMPM slugs upon their reaction with the pre-or post-injected CO_(2) slugs under shear flow,thereupon driving chase fluids into unrecovered low-permeability areas and producing an 8.0% higher oil recovery factor than the conventional WAG mode.This smart surfactant enabled high injectivity and satisfactory gelation control,attributable to low initial viscosity and the combined properties of one component and CO_(2)-triggered gelation,respectively.This work could provide a guide towards designing gels for reducing CO_(2) spillover and reinforcing the CO_(2) sequestration effect during CO_(2) enhanced oil recovery processes.

Experimental investigation into Fe3O4/SiO2 nanoparticle performance and comparison with other nanofluids in enhanced oil recovery

Nanofluids because of their surface characteristics improve the oil production from reservoirs by enabling different enhanced recovery mechanisms such as wettability alteration,interfacial tension(IFT)reduction,oil viscosity reduction,formation and stabilization of colloidal systems and the decrease in the asphaltene precipitation.To the best of the authors’ knowledge,the synthesis of a new nanocomposite has been studied in this paper for the first time.It consists of nanoparticles of both SiO2 and Fe3O4.Each nanoparticle has its individual surface property and has its distinct effect on the oil production of reservoirs.According to the previous studies,Fe3O4 has been used in the prevention or reduction of asphaltene precipitation and SiO2 has been considered for wettability alteration and/or reducing IFTs in enhanced oil recovery.According to the experimental results,the novel synthesized nanoparticles have increased the oil recovery by the synergistic effects of the formed particles markedly by activating the various mechanisms relative to the use of each of the nanoparticles in the micromodel individually.According to the results obtained for the use of this nanocomposite,understanding reservoir conditions plays an important role in the ultimate goal of enhancing oil recovery and the formation of stable emulsions plays an important role in oil recovery using this method.

2D Janus polymer nanosheets for enhancing oil recovery:From material ppreparation to property evaluation

Janus amphiphilic polymer nanosheets(JAPNs)with anisotropic morphology and distinctive perfor-mance have aroused widespread interest.However,due to the difficulty in synthesis and poor dispersion stability,JAPNs have been scarcely reported in the field of enhancing oil recovery(EOR).Herein,a kind of organic-based flexible JAPNs was prepared by paraffin emulsion methods.The lateral sizes of JAPNs were ranging from hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers and the thickness was about 3 nm.The organic-based nanosheets were equipped with remarkably flexible structures,which could improve their injection performance.The dispersion and interfacial properties of JAPNs were studied systematically.By modification of crosslinking agent containing multiple amino groups,the JAPNs had excellent hydro-philicity and salt resistance compared with conventional inorganic or composite nanosheets.The settling time of nanosuspension with NaCl and CaCl_(2) at a low salinity of 1000 mg/L was over 240 h.The value could also remain 124 h under the salinity of 10,000 mg/L NaCl.With the dual functionalities of Janus amphiphilic nature and nanoparticles'Pickering effect,JAPNs could change rock wettability and form emulsions as"colloidal surfactants",In particular,a new technology called optical microrheology was pioneered to explore the destabilization state of nanosuspensions for the first time.Since precipitation lagged behind aggregation,especially for stable suspension systems,the onset of the unstable behavior was difficult to be detected by conventional methods,which should be the indicator of reduced effec-tiveness for nanofluid products.In addition,the oil displacement experiments demonstrated that the JAPNs could enhance oil recovery by 17.14%under an ultra-low concentration of 0.005%and were more suitable for low permeability cores.The findings can help for a better understanding of the material preparation of polymer nanosheets.We also hope that this study could shed more light on the nano-flooding technology for EOR.

Utilization of CO2 Injection to Improve Oil Recovery of the Handsworth Bakken Formation

The Bakken formation has become a prominent oil resource for south-east Saskatchewan, especially with the advent of horizontal well technology and new hydraulic fracturing methods. As more wells are drilled, there is a desire to determine whether there is potential for improved oil recovery and to evaluate the economic feasibility. This paper evaluates the benefit of implementing waterflooding, CO2 injection or WAG （water-alternating-gas） recovery methods for improved oil recovery of the Bakken formation. A simulation model resembling the study area was built using CMG-GEM （computer modeling group-generalized equation of state model） reservoir simulation package and a history match of the primary recovery data available was performed. Based on the simulation results, it was concluded that waterflooding had a significant influence on the oil recovery factor, although COz provided the highest increase in crude oil recovery, The capital expenditure for surface facilities and cost of injected fluid was the most economically viable for implementation of waterflooding. The WAG injection simulation results were similar to CO2 injection, except that reservoir pressure was able to be better maintained. Given that high-quality source water is available, waterflooding is the most economically feasible choice according to the simulation results obtained from this study.

Review of CO_(2)-kerogen interaction and its effects on enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration in shale oil reservoirs

Shale oil resources have proven to be quickly producible in large quantities and have recently revolutionized the oil and gas industry.The oil content in a shale oil formation includes free oil contained in pores and trapped oil in the organic material called kerogen.The latter can represent a significant portion of the total oil and yet pro-duction of shale oil currently targets only the free oil rather than the trapped oil in kerogen.Shale oil reservoirs also have a substantial capacity to store CO_(2)by dissolving it in kerogen.In this paper,recent progress in the research of CO_(2)-kerogen interaction and its applications in CO_(2)enhanced oil recovery and carbon sequestration in shale oil reservoirs are reviewed.The relevant topics reviewed for this relatively new area include charac-terization of organic matter,supercritical CO_(2)extraction of oil in shale,experimental and simulation study of CO_(2)-hydrocarbons counter-current diffusion in organic matter,recovery of oil in kerogen during CO_(2)huff‘n’puffprocess,and changes in microstructure of shale caused by CO_(2)-kerogen interaction.The results presented in this paper show that at reservoir conditions,supercritical CO_(2)can spontaneously replace the hydrocarbons from the organic matter of shale formations.This mass transfer process is the key to releasing organic oil saturation and maximizing the capacity of carbon storage of a shale oil reservoir.It also presents a concern of the structure change of organic materials for long term CO_(2)sequestration with shale or mudstone as the sealing rocks.

利用CO_2改善韦5稠油油藏开采效果

针对江苏油田韦5中低渗复杂小断块薄层稠油油藏进行CO2开采方式研究,为同类型稠油油藏利用CO2开采提供有益的借鉴。用数值模拟方法研究了CO2吞吐的敏感因素,结果认为,周期注气量、注气速度和生产过程的井底流压是影响吞吐效果的重要因素,浸泡时间对效果影响不大。以增产油量和换油率作为评价依据的计算结果表明,在大注气量、高注气速度和合理控制的生产井底流压下存在最优吞吐轮次,可以得到较好的CO2吞吐效果。

多周期CO_2吞吐研究与应用

通过数值模拟和室内、现场试验 ,对多周期CO2 吞吐进行了系统研究。在实践的基础上 ,得出了在低渗透油田进行多周期CO2 单井吞吐是可行的 ,并且具有较好的经济效益的结论。两口井 7个周期表明 ,单井最大吞吐周期可达 4次。

CO_2吞吐效果的影响因素分析

由于CO2 与原油接触时要求的混相压力低 ,且CO2 能使原油的粘度降低和体积膨胀 ,因而成为注气采油中优先选用的气体。影响CO2 吞吐效果的因素很多 ,通过对CO2 吞吐机理的研究 ,结合室内实验和矿场分析 ,综合考察了油层孔隙介质和油层流体的性质、原油中胶质与沥青质的含量、自由气含量、实验压力、施工中流体的配伍性等因素对CO2 吞吐效果的影响。结果表明 ,原油中胶质、沥青质的含量越高 ,吞吐效果越差 ;压力降低导致的CO2 脱气可降低油的产量。

大庆油田萨南东部过渡带注CO_2驱油先导性矿场试验研究

１９８８年大庆油田在萨南东部过渡带开辟了注ＣＯ２试验区，１９９０年至１９９５年底先后对葡Ⅰ２油层和萨Ⅱ１０～１４油层进行了非混相ＣＯ２驱油先导性矿场试验。两次试验均采用先进行前期水驱，尔后进行水、气交替注入方式，ＣＯ２气体注入总量各为０．２ＰＶ左右。矿场试验用的ＣＯ２是大庆炼油厂的副产品，纯度为９６％。这两次矿场试验结果表明，降低了水油比和水驱剩余油饱和度，采收率提高６．０％ＯＯＩＰ，每增采１ｔ原油需注入２２００ｍ３ＣＯ２气体。

油藏条件下溶解CO_2的稀油相特性实验研究

以胜利大芦湖油田樊 12 4区块稀油油藏为例 ,利用高温高压PVT物性分析仪 ,通过CO2 对地层油的膨胀降粘、多次脱气和多次接触实验 ,研究了用不同量CO2 饱和的稀油相特性 ,给出了大量CO2 溶解引起的原油相特性参数的变化规律 ,解释了CO2 驱提高原油采收率的机理。实验结果表明 ,CO2 可有效地使地层原油膨胀 ,改善原油的流动特性。同时还可大量萃取地层油中的轻烃 ,使气相不断富化 ,从而达到动态混相 ,最终提高原油采收率。

中深层稠油水平井前置CO_(2)蓄能压裂技术

利用准噶尔盆地西北缘乌夏地区中深层稠油油藏参数,对水平井前置CO_(2)蓄能压裂技术的开发机理、关键操作参数及开发效果进行了详细研究。研究结果表明:①伴随压裂—焖井—生产等开发阶段的延伸,前置CO_(2)蓄能压裂后的油井逐步显现出增能改造、扩散降黏、膨胀补能、释压成泡沫油流等特性,井底流压提高了2~4MPa,CO_(2)扩散至油藏的1/3,原油黏度降至500mPa·s以下,泡沫油流明显;②研究区最优压裂段间距为60m、裂缝半长为90m、裂缝导流能力为10t/m,CO_(2)最佳注入强度为1.5m3/m,注入速度为1.8m3/min,油井焖井时间为30d,油藏采收率提高了2%~3%;③通过与常规压裂生产效果进行对比,前置CO_(2)蓄能压裂技术可使产油量提高5.2t/d,预测CO_(2)换油率达2.45,开发效果显著提升。

低渗砂岩油田CO_(2)驱化学机理及提高采收率研究

针对低渗砂岩油藏进行了CO_(2)驱开发技术研究,分析了CO_(2)驱油化学机理及主要影响因素。基于目标油藏流体特征进行了PVT拟合,确定其CO_(2)驱最小混相压力,明确了不同压力及注入时机对CO_(2)驱采收率、气油比、含水率及驱动压差等的影响规律,探究了CO_(2)泡沫驱在提高采收率方面的效用。结果表明:24.5 MPa为目标区域CO_(2)驱的最小混相压力,采收率会随着压力的升高而增加,28 MPa时CO_(2)驱提高采收率可达30.57%。气体突破时间、总采收率与CO_(2)注入时机密切相关,CO_(2)注入越早,越有利于采收率的提高,出口含水率为60%时注入可提高采收率39.13%。CO_(2)泡沫驱可以在一定程度上起到提高采收率的效用。