Methane foam performance evaluation in fractured oil-wet carbonate systems at elevated pressure and temperature conditions

Youssif, Magda Ibrahim; Sharma, Keerti Vardhan; Shoukry, Aktham Ehab; Goual, Lamia; Piri, Mohammad

doi:10.1016/j.jece.2024.112444

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2024.112444

|View full text |Cite

Methane foam performance evaluation in fractured oil-wet carbonate systems at elevated pressure and temperature conditions

Magda Ibrahim Youssif,

Keerti Vardhan Sharma,

Aktham Ehab Shoukry

et al.

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...

Citation Types

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Year Published

2024

Publication Types

Select...

Article4

Relationship

Self Cite0

Independent4

Authors

Journals

Cited by 4 publications

References 61 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Impacts of hydrophobic chain length on foam stability and CO2 geo-sequestration capacity of sugar-based nonionic surfactants: Molecular dynamics simulation and laboratory experiments

Wen,

Zeng,

et al. 2024

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Impacts of hydrophobic chain length on foam stability and CO2 geo-sequestration capacity of sugar-based nonionic surfactants: Molecular dynamics simulation and laboratory experiments

Wen,

Zeng,

et al. 2024

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Review on Foam-Assisted Gas Injection in Fractured Carbonates for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Youssif,

Piri,

Goual

2024

Energy Fuels

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Foam-assisted gas injection in fractured unconventional reservoirs has garnered considerable attention as a result of its potential to address challenges associated with gas flooding, such as gas fingering, breakthrough, and gravity override. Foams can enhance gas mobility and conformance control by diverting gas flow from high-permeability zones (fractures) to low-permeability zones (matrices), leading to significantly improved oil sweep efficiency. However, foam capacity, stability, and propagation hinge on two primary factors: reservoir characteristics and operational parameters. Reservoir characteristics include permeability, adverse wettability, fracture connectivity, degree of heterogeneity, pressure, temperature, and salinity. On the other hand, operational parameters include injection rate, gas fractional flow, foaming agent formulations and their concentrations, foam stabilizers, gas type, and injection strategy. This review offers a comprehensive analysis of foam-assisted gas injection in fractured carbonates for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Fundamentals of foam behavior in porous media, particularly fractured rocks, are presented together with the most efficient foaming agents and stabilizers. Furthermore, the factors influencing foam performance in porous media in terms of foam capacity and stability are provided from different aspects. The physics of foam displacement mechanisms during several field trials are also discussed. Lastly, this review pinpoints challenges and knowledge gaps associated with foams and proposes strategies for incorporating experimental insights into performance evaluation and simulation models. The ultimate goal is to enhance the current understanding of foam EOR projects and their potential applicability in fractured carbonates.

show abstract

The Effects of Brine Salinity and Surfactant Concentration on Foam Performance in Fractured Media

Youssif,

Shoukry,

Sharma

et al. 2024

Energy Fuels

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hydrocarbon foam performance in oil-wet fractured carbonate systems was experimentally evaluated using multiphase core flooding, surface tension measurements, micromodel flow tests, and fluorescence microscopy. The macro-scale tests were conducted at conditions of an unconventional reservoir (3500 psi and 115 °C) using two foaming chemicals with anionic and amphoteric natures. We investigated the effects of varying surfactant concentrations and brine salinities on in situ foam behavior. The foam performance was quantified in terms of the foam's apparent viscosity, mobility reduction factor (MRF), and oil recovery from the matrix. The results from the macro-scale foam flooding indicated that the optimal concentrations for the anionic and amphoteric surfactants, leading to maximum oil recovery, were 4000 and 6000 ppm, respectively. Surface tension measurements revealed that low salinity brine has a detrimental effect on the performance of the selected foaming agents, particularly at low shear rates and high foam quality. These findings were supported by the results from micromodel investigations, which demonstrated that the smaller bubble sizes were generated at a higher brine salinity of 200,000 ppm than those formed at lower brine salinities. Furthermore, fluorescence microscopy showed the alteration of proppant wettability from oil-wet to water-wet due to the injection of foam using low brine salinity. This revealed the challenges in generating foam in such environments due to surfactant adsorption onto the surfaces of porous media. By combining the key findings from these multiscale investigations, we were able to draw robust conclusions about the effectiveness and mechanisms of surfactant-based foams in gas-injection processes.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

customersupport@researchsolutions.com

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Methane foam performance evaluation in fractured oil-wet carbonate systems at elevated pressure and temperature conditions

Cited by 4 publications

References 61 publications

Impacts of hydrophobic chain length on foam stability and CO2 geo-sequestration capacity of sugar-based nonionic surfactants: Molecular dynamics simulation and laboratory experiments

Impacts of hydrophobic chain length on foam stability and CO2 geo-sequestration capacity of sugar-based nonionic surfactants: Molecular dynamics simulation and laboratory experiments

Review on Foam-Assisted Gas Injection in Fractured Carbonates for Enhanced Oil Recovery

The Effects of Brine Salinity and Surfactant Concentration on Foam Performance in Fractured Media

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About