Nonmonotonic Elasticity of the Crude Oil–Brine Interface in Relation to Improved Oil Recovery

Chávez-Miyauchi, Tomás Eduardo; Firoozabadi, Abbas; Fuller, Gerald G.

doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b04354

Cited by 149 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

103

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It was concluded that oil-brine interactions are dependant on the presence of natural surface active compounds in crude oil (both asphaltene and resin), as well as type and concentration of ions in brine. Similarly, it was shown that IFT of crude oil-brine interfaces is dependant on asphaltene content of crude oil as a function of monovalent and divalent cation (NaCl and MgCl 2 ) concentrations [175]. In a different work, the effect of different ions (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , SO 2− 4 ), as well as diluted and softened seawater on dynamic IFT of crude oil-brine interfaces was studied [176].…”

Section: Interfacial Tensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Salinity Waterflooding in Carbonate Reservoirs: Review of Interfacial Mechanisms

Derkani

Fletcher

Abdallah

et al. 2018

Colloids and Interfaces

158

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Carbonate rock reservoirs comprise approximately 60% of the world's oil and gas reserves. Complex flow mechanisms and strong adsorption of crude oil on carbonate formation surfaces can reduce hydrocarbon recovery of an oil-wet carbonate reservoir to as low as 10%. Low salinity waterflooding (LSW) has been confirmed as a promising technique to improve the oil recovery factor. However, the principal mechanism underpinning this recovery method is not fully understood, which poses a challenge toward designing the optimal salinity and ionic composition of any injection solution. In general, it is believed that there is more than one mechanism involved in LSW of carbonates; even though wettability alteration toward a more desirable state for oil to be recovered could be the main cause during LSW, how this alteration happens is still the subject of debate. This paper reviews different working conditions of LSW, previous studies, and field observations, alongside the proposed interfacial mechanisms which affect the colloidal interactions at oil-rock-brine interfaces. This paper provides a comprehensive review of studies on LSW in carbonate formation and further analyzes the latest achievements of LSW application in carbonates, which helps to better understand the challenges involved in these complicated multicomponent systems and potentially benefits the oil production industry.

show abstract

Section: Interfacial Tensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Salinity Waterflooding in Carbonate Reservoirs: Review of Interfacial Mechanisms

Derkani

Fletcher

Abdallah

et al. 2018

Colloids and Interfaces

158

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One of their fields of application is enhanced oil recovery (EOR) from petroleum reservoirs [1][2][3][4]. With sizes below 100 nm and high specific surface area, nanoparticles (NPs) are suitable for subsurface porous media applications since they can pass through the pore throats of porous media without blocking them and enhance oil recovery at relatively low volume concentrations [5,6] via wettability alteration [7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further, it can be concluded that NPs adsorption during these experiments led to significant reduction of calcite dissolution both in DIW and LSW. 4.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Silica Nanoparticles on Fluid/Rock Interactions during Low Salinity Water Flooding of Chalk Reservoirs

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The main objective of this work is to address the adsorption of Silica nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed in different brines on chalk surfaces and their effect on fluid/rock interaction. Isothermal static and dynamic adsorption on chalk are addressed here. Isothermal static adsorption showed increased adsorption of NPs at higher salinity. The tests were performed to cover wide range of injection scenarios with synthetic seawater (SSW) and low salinity water (LSW). The selected LSW composition here is based on 1:10 diluted SSW, which has shown to have superior performance compared to other ion compositions. The dynamic adsorption tests of NPs showed reduction of calcite dissolution of about 30% compared to LSW alone. That is, silica nanofluid hinders calcite dissolution i.e., has less effect on chalk matrix integrity which is a major concern in chalk reservoir, if low salinity is employed for enhanced oil recovery. Both scanning electron microscope images and pressure drop across the core during nanofluid injection indicated no throat blockage. Based on ion tracking and the monitored pH, the mechanism(s) for NP adsorption/desorption are suggested. The results from this study suggests a synergy wherein adding relatively small amount of silica NPs can improve the performance of low salinity floods.

show abstract

“…Another probable explanation in which twice-diluted seawater influences the trapped oil mobilization is by considering the effect of the viscoelastic interface. It has been recently suggested that when the low saline solutions come in contact with the polar organic components of oil, a highly viscoelastic film will be formed [56,57]. It has also been hypothesized that the interactions between the charged surface and the ions in electrolyte will lead to creating an ionic structure along the interface, known as the electrical double layer (EDL) [34, 58,59].…”

Section: Figure 8 Proposed Chemical Interactions Between Oil/brine/hmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pore-Scale Displacement Efficiency during Different Salinity Water Flooding in Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Microstructures

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous macroscopic core flooding tests have shown that injecting low salinity water improves oil recovery in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs through wettability alteration. However, consistent mechanistic clarification of the underlying physicochemical mechanisms involved in oil wettability at the porescale level is not fully understood. In this work, a microfluidic approach is used to provide in-situ visualization of oil-brine flow to give an indication of the micromechanisms affecting oil sweep efficiency. The potential of enhancing oil recovery by low-salinity flooding at the microscale is also investigated, which would help in predicting a reservoir's performance before committing to production processes at a large field scale. Two types of crude oils with various acid numbers were used, and hydrophilic and hydrophobic physical microstructures were used to mimic sandstones and carbonates. The results revealed a reduction by 7-10% in the residual oil for the water-wet microstructure when the seawater was diluted twice from its original concentration, apparently due to a decrease in the attractive forces. There is no change in the recovery factor for the oil-wet micromodel for the two kinds of crude oils examined. Tertiary low-salinity flooding did not show any effect on the initial wetting state of the hydrophobic surface, rendering it with a strongly oil-wet condition. It is also observed that flow dynamics of the two microstructures examined are different, as the snap-off-coalesce phenomenon dominants the flow in the water-wet system, while oil moved by a piston-like displacement with a stable or irregular front in the hydrophobic system. In contrast to some of the published macroscopic results, our pore-scale displacement shows that low salinity flooding seems to be an unsuitable choice for enhanced oil recovery for strongly oil-wet reservoirs.

show abstract

Nonmonotonic Elasticity of the Crude Oil–Brine Interface in Relation to Improved Oil Recovery

Cited by 149 publications

References 24 publications

Low Salinity Waterflooding in Carbonate Reservoirs: Review of Interfacial Mechanisms

Low Salinity Waterflooding in Carbonate Reservoirs: Review of Interfacial Mechanisms

Effect of Silica Nanoparticles on Fluid/Rock Interactions during Low Salinity Water Flooding of Chalk Reservoirs

Pore-Scale Displacement Efficiency during Different Salinity Water Flooding in Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Microstructures

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About