A technique for enhancing tight oil recovery by multi-field reconstruction and combined displacement and imbibition

A seepage-geomechanical coupled embedded fracture flow model has been established for multi-field coupled simulation in tight oil reservoirs,revealing the patterns of change in pressure field,seepage field,and stress field after long-term water injection in tight oil reservoirs.Based on this,a technique for enhanced oil recovery(EOR)combining multi-field reconstruction and combination of displacement and imbibition in tight oil reservoirs has been proposed.The study shows that after long-term water flooding for tight oil development,the pressure diffusion range is limited,making it difficult to establish an effective displacement system.The variation in geostress exhibits diversity,with the change in horizontal minimum principal stress being greater than that in horizontal maximum principal stress,and the variation around the injection wells being more significant than that around the production wells.The deflection of geostress direction around injection wells is also large.The technology for EOR through multi-field reconstruction and combination of displacement and imbibition employs water injection wells converted to production and large-scale fracturing techniques to restructure the artificial fracture network system.Through a full lifecycle energy replenishment method of pre-fracturing energy supplementation,energy increase during fracturing,well soaking for energy storage,and combination of displacement and imbibition,it effectively addresses the issue of easy channeling of the injection medium and difficult energy replenishment after large-scale fracturing.By intensifying the imbibition effect through the coordination of multiple wells,it reconstructs the combined system of displacement and imbibition under a complex fracture network,transitioning from avoiding fractures to utilizing them,thereby improving microscopic sweep and oil displacement efficiencies.Field application in Block Yuan 284 of the Huaqing Oilfield in the Ordos Basin has demonstrated that this technology increases the recovery factor by 12 percentage points,enabling large scale and efficient development of tight oil.

Unraveling the influence of surface roughness on oil displacement by Janus nanoparticles

Janus nanoparticles(JNPs)possess great potential in recovering the residual oil from reservoirs,however,the fundamental interaction mechanisms among nanoparticles,the oil,and reservoir wall characteristics remain to be elucidated.In this work,models of oil trapping grooves with different geometric features are subjected to molecular dynamics simulations for investigating the influences of roughness parameters on oil displacement dynamics by JNPs.Four key surface geometry parameters and different degrees of surface hydrophobicity are considered.Our results indicate that JNPs hold an outstanding performance in displacing residual oil on weakly to moderately hydrophobic surfaces.Overall,smaller entry and exit angles,the larger aspect ratio of the oil trapping grooves,and a bigger tip length of the rough ridges lead to superior oil recovery.Among the key geometric parameters,the aspect ratio of the oil trapping grooves plays the dominant role.These insights about the interaction of surface properties and JNPs and the resulting trapped oil displacement could serve as a theoretical reference for the application of JNPs for targeted reservoir conditions.

Molecular insight into the oil displacement mechanism of CO_(2) flooding in the nanopores of shale oil reservoir

With the increasing demand for petroleum,shale oil with considerable reserves has become an important part of global oil resources.The shale oil reservoir has a large number of nanopores and a complicated mineral composition,and the effect of nanopore confinement and pore type usually makes the effective development of shale oil challenging.For a shale oil reservoir,CO_(2) flooding can effectively reduce the oil viscosity and improve the reservoir properties,which can thus improve the recovery performance.In this study,the method of non-equilibrium molecular dynamics(NEMD)simulation is used to simulate the CO_(2) flooding process in the nanoscale pores of shale oil reservoir.The performance difference between the organic kerogen slit nanopore and four types of inorganic nanopores is discussed.Thus,the effects of nanopore type and displacement velocity on the nanoscale displacement behavior of CO_(2) are analyzed.Results indicate that the CO_(2) flooding process of different inorganic pores is different.In comparison,the displacement efficiency of light oil components is higher,and the transport distance is longer.The intermolecular interaction can significantly affect the CO_(2) displacement behavior in nanopores.The CO_(2) displacement efficiency is shown as montmorillonite,feldspar>quartz>calcite>kerogen.On the other hand,it is found that a lower displacement velocity can benefit the miscibility process between alkane and CO_(2),which is conducive to the overall displacement process of CO_(2).The displacement efficiency can significantly decrease with the increase in displacement velocity.But once the displacement velocity is very high,the strong driving force can promote the alkane to move forward,and the displacement efficiency will recover slightly.This study further reveals the microscopic oil displacement mechanism of CO_(2) in shale nanopores,which is of great significance for the effective development of shale oil reservoirs by using the method of CO_(2) injection.

Effects of cosolvents on CO_(2) displacement of shale oil and carbon storage

Molecular dynamics method was used to establish composite wall/inorganic nanopores of three pore sizes, three shale oil systems, five CO_(2)-cosolvent systems, and pure CO_(2) system. The process of CO_(2)-cosolvent displacement of crude oil in shale nanopores and carbon storage was simulated and the influencing factors of displacement and storage were analyzed. It is shown that the attraction of the quartz wall to shale oil increases with the degree of hydroxylation. The higher the degree of quartz hydroxylation, the more difficult it is to extract the polar components of shale oil. Nanopore size also has a great impact on shale oil displacement efficiency. The larger the pore size, the higher the shale oil displacement efficiency. The closer the cosolvent molecules are to the polarity of the shale oil, the higher the mutual solubility of CO_(2) and shale oil. The more the non-polar components of shale oil, the lower the mutual solubility of CO_(2) and shale oil with highly polar cosolvent. Ethyl acetate is more effective in stripping relatively high polar shale oil, while dimethyl ether is more effective in stripping relatively low polar shale oil. Kerogen is highly adsorptive, especially to CO_(2). The CO_(2) inside the kerogen is not easy to diffuse and leak, thus allowing for a stable carbon storage. The highest CO_(2) storage rate is observed when dimethyl ether is used as a cosolvent, and the best storage stability is observed when ethyl acetate is used as a cosolvent.

Study on Oil Displacement Efficiency of Binary Compound Flooding in Heterogeneous Reservoir

Heterogeneous reservoir characteristics for oilfield, choose HS-1 non-ionic surfactant and polymer formation in binary combination flooding system can significantly improve the rate of production of low permeability reservoir in heterogeneous reservoir. According to the core flooding experiment analyzed longitudinal heterogeneous models, single surfactant and a single polymer and polymer flooding of table binary complex drive effect. Studies show that binary combination flooding recovery effect is best, followed by polymer flooding, minimum of surfactant flooding, in heterogeneous reservoir.

Mechanisms of oil displacement by ASP-foam and its influencing factors

ASP-foam （ASPF） is a system prepared by injecting natural gas into the conventional alkali- surfactant-polymer （ASP） system. Foam can be formed in the porous media by the interaction of gas and surfactant in the ASP system. With the ASPF system, oil recovery is improved as the interfacial tension （IFT） is reduced to a relatively low level, and the swept volume is enlarged. In this paper, four surfactants were evaluated and characterized by IFT between ASP system and oil and the foaming performance. AI- kyl benzene sulfonate （ORS-41） was chosen as the surfactant to best reduce IFT between displacement fluids and oil and improve the foaming performance. The mechanisms of ASPF flooding were studied in this paper, the results show that the ASPF flooding not only enlarges the swept volume but also enhances the displacement efficiency. The effects of reservoir heterogeneity, the gas-liquid ratio of ASPF system, and the concentrations of polymer and surfactant on the displacement efficiency were studied. A field trial of ASPF flooding has also been conducted. Both the laboratory results and the field trial results show that the ASPF flooding can significantly increase the oil recovery, with a 30% increase in the proportion of the original oil in place recovered compared with water flooding.

Comparison of oil displacement mechanisms and performances between continuous and dispersed phase flooding agents

To compare the oil displacement mechanisms and performances of continuous phase flooding agent(traditional polymer solution) and dispersed phase flooding agent(particle-type polymer SMG dispersion), the particle phase separation of SMG dispersion migrating in pores was simulated by using the microfluidic technology. Theoretically guided by the tree fork concentration distribution of red cells in biological fluid mechanics, the concentration distribution mathematical model of SMG in different pores is established. Furthermore, the micro and macro physical simulation experiments of continuous and dispersed phase flooding agents were carried out. The results show that the continuous flooding agent enters all the swept zones and increases the flow resistance in both larger and small pores. On the contrary, the particle phase separation phenomenon occurs during the injection process of dispersed flooding agent. The SMG particles gather in the larger pore to form bridge blinding, and the carrier fluid displace oil in the small pore. Working in cooperation, the SMG particle and carrier fluid drive the residual oil in the low permeability layers step by step and achieve the goal of enhanced oil recovery. The laboratory experimental results indicate that, the oil increment and water reduction effect of dispersed flooding agent is much better than that of continuous flooding agent, which is consistent with the field test results.

The Description of Oil Displacement Mechanism in Steam Injection of Multi-Field Synergy with Exergy Transfer

Steam injection is a most effective way for improving heavy oil recovery efficiency, and it has academic and practical significance for the mechanism of multi-field synergy oil displacement. Mechanism of “diversified” oil displacement which is obtained by traditional study methods in the exploitation territory of oil and gas fields has both respective roles and mutual cross shortages. To describe and analyze the displacement process of multi-field coupling with exergy transfer can simplify this kind of problem by introducing a unified goal-driving exergy. It needs to use the method of theoretical modeling, numerical simulation and experimental validation to study the basic law of exergy transfer in the oil displacement process of multi-field synergy, make a thorough research for the flooding process of steam injection with exergy transfer theory and reveal the oil displacement mechanism in steam injection of multi-field synergy. Thus the theory instruction and technical support can be provided to improve reservoirs producing degree and extraction ratio.

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 mechanism of hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement to enhance oil recovery in low and medium permeability reservoirs

Aiming at the technology of hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement which combines hydraulic fracturing,seepage and oil displacement,an experimental system of energy storage and flowback in fracturing assisted oil displacement process has been developed and used to simulate the mechanism of percolation,energy storage,oil displacement and flowback of chemical agents in the whole process.The research shows that in hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement,the chemical agent could be directly pushed to the deeper area of the low and medium permeability reservoirs,avoiding the viscosity loss and adhesion retention of chemical agents near the pay zone;in addition,this technology could effectively enlarge the swept volume,improve the oil displacement efficiency,replenish formation energy,gather and exploit the scattered residual oil.For the reservoir with higher permeability,this measure takes effect fast,so to lower cost,and the high pressure hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement could be adopted directly.For the reservoir with lower permeability which is difficult to absorb water,hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement with surfactant should be adopted to reduce flow resistance of the reservoir and improve the water absorption capacity and development effect of the reservoir.The degree of formation energy deficit was the main factor affecting the effective swept range of chemical agents.Moreover,the larger the formation energy deficit was,the further the seepage distance of chemical agents was,accordingly,the larger the effective swept volume was,and the greater the increase of oil recovery was.Formation energy enhancement was the most important contribution to enhanced oil recovery(EOR),which was the key to EOR by the technology of hydraulic fracturing assisted oil displacement.

Preparation and Field Application of a Novel Micro-emulsion as Heavy Oil Displacement Agent

A novel micro-emulsion was prepared by mixing an oil-soluble viscosity reducer,which was screened to aim at improving the heavy oil properties of Shengli oilfield with water-soluble surfactant and co-surfactant.The static viscosity reduction and oil washing performance of the micro-emulsion were investigated,and the field application of the microemulsion used as heavy oil displacement agent was also reported.Results showed that the micro-emulsion exhibited excellent viscosity reduction performance for the studied heavy oil samples.When heavy oil was mixed with 0.5%of the micro-emulsion,a stable oil-in-water heavy oil emulsion could be formed.After the content of the micro-emulsion was increased to 3.0%,the oil removing rate reached up to 80%.Field application of the micro-emulsion to the Pai-601-Ping-115 well and the Pai-601-Ping-123 well was shown to be effective by increasing the periodic oil production up to 203 tons.

Experimental investigation on stable displacement mechanism and oil recovery enhancement of oxygen-reduced air assisted gravity drainage

The effects of gravity,capillary force,and viscous force on the migration characteristics of oil and gas interface in oxygen-reduced air-assisted gravity drainage(OAGD)were studied through a two-dimensional visualization model.The effects of bond number,capillary number and low-temperature oxidation on OAGD recovery were studied by long core displacement experiments.On this basis,the low-temperature oxidation number was introduced and its relationship with the OAGD recovery was established.The results show that the shape and changing law of oil and gas front are mainly influenced by gravity,capillary force and viscous force.When the bond number is constant(4.52×10-4),the shape of oil-gas front is controlled by capillary number.When the capillary number is less than 1.68×10-3,the oil and gas interface is stable.When the capillary number is greater than 2.69×10-2,the oil and gas interface shows viscous fingering.When the capillary number is between 1.68×10-3 and 2.69×10-2,the oil and gas interface becomes capillary fingering.The core flooding experiments results show that for OAGD stable flooding,before the gas breakthrough,higher recovery is obtained in higher gravity number and lower capillary number.In this stage,gravity is predominant in controlling OAGD recovery and the oil recovery could be improved by reducing injection velocity.After gas breakthrough,higher recovery was obtained in lower gravity and higher capillary numbers,which means that the viscous force had a significant influence on the recovery.Increasing gas injection velocity in this stage is an effective measure to improve oil recovery.The low-temperature oxidation number has a good correlation with the recovery and can be used to predict the OAGD recovery.

Geochemical characteristics of oils among real cores in displacement model

Physical simulation experiment on oil displacement is an important approach to understand the mechanism and efficiency of displacement. Physical simulation experiments on water-flooding and chemical flood-ing in real cores with different lithologies and physical properties, reservoir Rock-Eval, TLC-FID, GC of saturated hydrocarbon fractions and GC-MS of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions were performed to investigate differences in the geochemistry of residual oils in the cores processed by water-flooding and chemical flooding. After fine sandstone was displaced with the two methods, the preferable replacement efficiency was displayed by the chemical constitutions of residual oils. As to glutenite, water-flooding is less effective, while chemical flooding has excellent performance according to changes in chemical compounds in oils. The results showed that the geochemical characteristics of the reservoir oils and lithology and physical properties of reservoir bed need to be considered in selecting replacement methods. In addition, the geochemical parameters for residual oils slightly changed during water-flooding and chemical flooding, which suggested the water-flooding and chemical flooding could not affect the application of these parameters in geochemistry.

Mechanism of expanding swept volume by nano-sized oil-displacement agent

The effect of expanding swept volume by iNanoW1.0 nanoparticles in ultra-low permeability core was studied by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance(LF-NMR)technology,and the mechanism of expanding swept volume was explained by oxygen spectrum nuclear magnetic resonance(17O-NMR)experiments and capillarity analysis.The results of the LF-NMR experiment show that the nano-sized oil-displacement agent iNanoW1.0 could increase the swept volume by 10%-20%on the basis of conventional water flooding,making water molecules get into the low permeable region with small pores that conventional water flooding could not reach.17O-NMR technique and capillary analysis proved that iNanoW1.0 nanoparticles could weaken the association of hydrogen bonds between water molecules,effectively change the structure of water molecular clusters,and thus increasing the swept volume in the low permeable region.The ability of weakening association of hydrogen bonds between water molecules of iNanoW1.0 nanoparticles increases with its mass fraction and tends to be stable after the mass fraction of 0.1%.

Progress and prospect of carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage in CNPC oilfields

The development history of carbon capture,utilization and storage for enhanced oil recovery(CCUS-EOR)in China is comprehensively reviewed,which consists of three stages:research and exploration,field test and industrial application.The breakthrough understanding of CO_(2) flooding mechanism and field practice in recent years and the corresponding supporting technical achievements of CCUS-EOR project are systematically described.The future development prospects are also pointed out.After nearly 60 years of exploration,the theory of CO_(2) flooding and storage suitable for continental sedimentary reservoirs in China has been innovatively developed.It is suggested that C7–C15 are also important components affecting miscibility of CO_(2) and crude oil.The mechanism of rapid recovery of formation energy by CO_(2) and significant improvement of block productivity and recovery factor has been verified in field tests.The CCUS-EOR reservoir engineering design technology for continental sedimentary reservoir is established.The technology of reservoir engineering parameter design and well spacing optimization has been developed,which focuses on maintaining miscibility to improve oil displacement efficiency and uniform displacement to improve sweep efficiency.The technology of CO_(2) capture,injection and production process,whole-system anticorrosion,storage monitoring and other whole-process supporting technologies have been initially formed.In order to realize the efficient utilization and permanent storage of CO_(2),it is necessary to take the oil reservoir in the oil-water transition zone into consideration,realize the large-scale CO_(2) flooding and storage in the area from single reservoir to the overall structural control system.The oil reservoir in the oil-water transition zone is developed by stable gravity flooding of injecting CO_(2) from structural highs.The research on the storage technology such as the conversion of residual oil and CO_(2) into methane needs to be carried out.

Migration and accumulation mechanisms and main controlling factors of tight oil enrichment in a continental lake basin

Based on the typical dissection of various onshore tight oil fields in China,the tight oil migration and accumulation mechanism and enrichment-controlling factors in continental lake basins are analyzed through nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)displacement physical simulation and Lattice Boltzmann numerical simulation by using the samples of source rock,reservoir rock and crude oil.In continental lake basins,the dynamic forces driving hydrocarbon generation and expulsion of high-quality source rocks are the foundational power that determines the charging efficiency and accumulation effect of tight oil,the oil migration resistance is a key element that influences the charging efficiency and accumulation effect of tight oil,and the coupling of charging force with pore-throat resistance in tight reservoir controls the tight oil accumulation and sweet spot enrichment.The degree of tight oil enrichment in continental lake basins is controlled by four factors:source rock,reservoir pore-throat size,anisotropy of reservoir structure,and fractures.The high-quality source rocks control the near-source distribution of tight oil,reservoir physical properties and pore-throat size are positively correlated with the degree of tight oil enrichment,the anisotropy of reservoir structure reveals that the parallel migration rate is the highest,and intralayer fractures can improve the migration and accumulation efficiency and the oil saturation.

Nanoparticle-reinforced foam system for enhanced oil recovery(EOR):Mechanistic review and perspective

Boosted by economic development and rising living standards,the world's carbon dioxide emissions remain high.Maintaining temperature rises below 1.5℃ by the end of the century requires rapid global carbon capture and storage implementation.The successful application of carbon capture,utilization,and storage(CCUS)technology in oilfields has become the key to getting rid of this predicament.Foam flooding,as an organic combination of gas and chemical flooding,became popular in the 1950s.Notwithstanding the irreplaceable advantages,as a thermodynamically unstable system,foam's stability has long restricted its development in enhanced oil and gas recovery.With special surface/interface effects and small-size effects,nanoparticles can be used as foam stabilizers to enhance foam stability,thereby improving foam seepage and oil displacement effects in porous media.In this paper,the decay kinetics and the stabilization mechanisms of nanoparticle-reinforced foams were systematically reviewed.The effects of nanoparticle characteristics,including particle concentration,surface wettability,particle size,and type,and reservoir environment factors,including oil,temperature,pressure,and salinity on the foam stabilization ability were analyzed in detail.The seepage and flooding mechanisms of nanoparticle-reinforced foams were summarized as:improving the plugging properties of foams,enhancing the interaction between foams and crude oil,and synergistically adjusting the wettability of reservoir rocks.Finally,the challenges in the practical application of nanoparticle-reinforced foams were highlighted,and the development direction was proposed.The development of nanoparticle-reinforced foam can open the way toward adaptive and evolutive EOR technology,taking one further step towards the high-efficiency production of the petroleum industry.

Investigation of feasibility of alkali-cosolvent flooding in heavy oil reservoirs

Cold production is a challenge in the case of heavy oil because of its high viscosity and poor fluidity in reservoir conditions.Alkali-cosolvent-polymer flooding is a type of microemulsion flooding with low costs and possible potential for heavy oil reservoirs.However,the addition of polymer may cause problems with injection in the case of highly viscous oil.Hence,in this study the feasibility of alkali-cosolvent(AC)flooding in heavy oil reservoirs was investigated via several groups of experiments.The interfacial tension between various AC formulations and heavy crude oil was measured to select appropriate formulations.Phase behavior tests were performed to determine the most appropriate formulation and conditions for the generation of a microemulsion.Sandpack flooding experiments were carried out to investigate the displacement efficiency of the selected Ac formulation.The results showed that the interfacial tension between an AC formulation and heavy oil could be reduced to below 1o-3 mN/m but differed greatly between different types of cosolvent.A butanol random polyether series displayed good performance in reducing the water-oil interfacial tension,which made it possible to form a Type Il microemulsion in reservoir conditions.According to the results of the phase behavior tests,the optimal salinity for different formulations with four cosolvent concentrations(0.5 wt%,1 wt%,2 wt%,and 3 wt%)was 4000,8000,14000,and 20000 ppm,respectively.The results of rheological measurements showed that Type Ill microemulsion had a viscosity that was ten times that of water.The results of sandpack flooding experiments showed that,in comparison with waterflooding,the injection of a certain Ac formulation slug could reduce the injection pressure.The pressure gradient during waterflooding and AC flooding was around 870 and 30-57 kPa/m,respectively.With the addition of an AC slug,the displacement efficiency was 30%-50%higher than in the case of waterflooding.

Optimization of shut-in time based on saturation rebalancing in volume-fractured tight oil reservoirs

Based on imbibition replacement of shut-in well in tight oil reservoirs, this paper expounds the principle of saturation rebalancing during the shut-in process after fracturing, establishes an optimization method for shut-in time after horizontal well volume fracturing with the goal of shortening oil breakthrough time and achieving rapid oil breakthrough, and analyzes the influences of permeability, porosity, fracture half-length and fracturing fluid volume on the shut-in time. The oil and water imbibition displacement in the matrix and fractures occurs during the shut-in process of wells after fracturing. If the shut-in time is too short, the oil-water displacement is not sufficient, and the oil breakthrough time is long after the well is put into production. If the shut-in time is too long, the oil and water displacement is sufficient, but the energy dissipation in the formation near the bottom of the well is severe, and the flowing period is short and the production is low after the well is put into production. A rational shut-in time can help shorten the oil breakthrough time, extend the flowing period and increase the production of the well. The rational shut-in time is influenced by factors such as permeability, porosity, fracture half-length and fracturing fluid volume. The shortest and longest shut-in times are negatively correlated with porosity, permeability, and fracture half-length, and positively correlated with fracturing fluid volume. The pilot test in tight oil horizontal wells in the Songliao Basin, NE China, has confirmed that the proposed optimization method can effectively improve the development effect of horizontal well volume fracturing.