Coreflood experiments with surfactant systems for IOR: Computer tomography studies and numerical modelling

Alvestad, Jostein; Gilje, Eimund; Hove, Arvid O.; Langeland, Ole; Maldal, T.; Schilling, Birgitte E. R.

doi:10.1016/0920-4105(92)90016-t

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The salt composition was equivalent to seawater, i.e., a total salinity of 3.67 wt%. The composition of the brine is reported by Alvestad et al 11 The properties of Gullfaks reservoir oil are previously reported. 12 The resulting mixture of 82 wt% Gullfaks stock tank (stabilized) oil and 18 wt% n-pentane matched the optimum salinity and solubilization parameter for Gullfaks-reservoir oil.…”

Section: Laboratory Studiesmentioning

confidence: 86%

Evaluation and Economical Feasibility of Polymer-Assisted Surfactant Flooding for the Gullfaks Field, Norway

Maldal

Gilje

Kristensen

et al. 1998

SPE Reservoir Evaluation &Amp; Engineering

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This paper presents parts of the work performed to develop and qualify a polymer-assisted surfactant flooding (PASF) system for economical use in the Gullfaks Field, Norway. The paper addresses experimental work done in the laboratory, numerical simulation of PASF, and the evaluation of the potential for PASF in full-field scale.The experimental part comprises core-flooding experiments at different temperatures, pressures, and gas/oil ratios (GOR) to optimize the PASF system for the Gullfaks Brent formation conditions. The surfactant in the PASF system is a branched sulphonate (5,000 ppm) and xanthan (500 ppm). The surfactant-polymer slug is followed by a slug of xanthan (500 ppm) for mobility control. No cosolvent is used. In coreflood experiments more than 70% of the waterflood residual oil was recovered.Using reservoir simulation, a suitable pilot area was found in the Brent reservoir. Additional results from simulations were the amount of chemicals, the time needed for the pilot test, and additional oil recovery.Much effort was put into estimating the full field PASF potential. First, the areas of the field where PASF possibly could be used were selected. Key factors were existing and planned well locations, production data, and long-term production forecasts. Then, the amount of chemicals needed and the expected technical efficiency for each area were calculated. To verify these calculations, an area of the field containing two possible injection wells and three producers was selected for a simulation study. This area was considered the most promising area for PASF.The main conclusion from this work is that, with the present crude-oil price and chemical costs, the PASF process is not economically attractive for use in the Gullfaks field, mainly because the residual oil was considerably lower than believed at project start.

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Section: Laboratory Studiesmentioning

confidence: 86%

Evaluation and Economical Feasibility of Polymer-Assisted Surfactant Flooding for the Gullfaks Field, Norway

Maldal

Gilje

Kristensen

et al. 1998

SPE Reservoir Evaluation &Amp; Engineering

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“…Their experiments evaluated the one-phase flow of xanthan solutions and immiscible displacement using light refined oil. Alvestad et al (1992) [19] reported the use of CT for core-flood experiments applying surfactant. The CT data gave valuable information about the flow dynamics and the distribution of the residual oil in the core.…”

Section: Computed Tomography (Ct)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For calculating the saturation of fluids based on the CT monitoring were used the mathematic expressions proposed by Alvestad et al (1992) [19] named CT 1 , Sharma et al (1997) [22] named CT 2 , Chakravarthy et al (2004) [23] named CT 3 . The CT profiles of the references media i.e., the (measured) rock saturated with brine and the (calculated) rock saturated with oil for each step are presented in Figure 2.…”

Section: Data Imagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effectiveness of computed tomography for the experimental assessment of surfactant-polymer flooding

Hernández

Moreno

2020

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

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The Surfactant-Polymer (SP) process is a type of Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (CEOR) method. They are still a challenge for the petroleum oil industry mainly because of the difficulty in designing and forecasting the process behavior on the field scale. Therefore, understanding of the phenomena associated with a CEOR process is of vital importance. For these reasons, this work discusses the benefits of Computed Tomography (CT) uses for the experimental assessment of a SP process. The research includes a literature review that allows identifying the main CT usages for petroleum engineering and a discussion concerning the effectiveness of mathematic expressions proposed for the tomography images treatment of two-phase flow displacement. The conducted experimental methodology can be reproduced to assess the benefits of any chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) process with CT. Thus, this paper assesses the conventional waterflooding (WF) and SP flooding as secondary and tertiary oil recovery methods. The developed study allowed us to evaluate through CT images the porosity and the saturation profiles along the rock sample. Also, CT processed data enabled checking the volumetric material balance and determine the oil Recovery Factor (RF). The doubled checked SP data showed an RF increase of 17 and 10 percentage points for secondary and tertiary chemical injection schemes respect to conventional waterflooding. Finally, comparative results of the water cut (Wcut) evidenced the mobility ratio improvement and reduction on the remaining oil saturation.

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“…Alvestad et al [10] presented the dynamic behavior of some surfactant systems for EOR applications. They conducted phase behavior studies and core flood recovery process.…”

Section: Introduction 1 2 State Of the Artmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of a surfactant- polymer formulation for conditions in a Colombian field

Hernández

Moreno

2019

CT&F Cienc. Tecnol. Futuro

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The surfactant-polymer (SP) process is one of the Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (CEOR) methods used in the industry. It has been continuously studied; however, it is still a challenge for the petroleum industry due to the difficulty to design the solution to be injected and forecast process performance. This paper is intended to contribute to the design of fluids used in an SP process based on some previously known properties and conditions. Hence, reservoir and fluid properties of a Colombian Field were used as reference parameters to select the polymer and surfactant. Then, the effects of salts, temperature, and surfactant on tailor-made polymer solutions were determined through a rheological study. Ostwald-de Waele and Carreau-Yasuda models adjusted the measured viscosity data against shear rate, while Arrhenius equation fitted viscosity values at 7,8 s-1 against temperature. The surfactant performance was analyzed using phase behavior tests, and the Chun Huh equations determined the interfacial tension (IFT) values. The Bancroft’s rule was used as a qualitative verification tool of the kind of micro- emulsion formed. From rheology, we concluded that the viscous modulus is predominant for all polymer solutions, and the fluid thickness is reduced due to the presence of divalent cations and raise on temperature, salts or surfactant concentration. On the other hand, the observed phase behavior corresponded to a transition Winsor II to I without finding any Winsor III micro-emulsion. Therefore, some criteria were proposed to select the optimal conditions. For the desired conditions, the reduction of IFT reached values ranging in magnitudes of 10-3 to 10-4 [mN/m]. These values are usually associated with an improved oil recovery factor.

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Coreflood experiments with surfactant systems for IOR: Computer tomography studies and numerical modelling

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

Evaluation and Economical Feasibility of Polymer-Assisted Surfactant Flooding for the Gullfaks Field, Norway

Evaluation and Economical Feasibility of Polymer-Assisted Surfactant Flooding for the Gullfaks Field, Norway

The effectiveness of computed tomography for the experimental assessment of surfactant-polymer flooding

Assessment of a surfactant- polymer formulation for conditions in a Colombian field

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