Performance of Foriegn and Local Agents for Enhanced Oil Recovery of Nigerian Crude

Abstract

Nigeria is gradually advancing into the secondary stage of oil recovery, necessitating preparation for tertiary oil recovery especially enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Considering the high cost of EOR agents, it is imperative to investigate the performance of available local EOR agents against foreign agents when these agents (such as surfactants and polymers) are used in combination. Oil displacement experiments were thus conducted using foreign and local surfactant-polymer (SP) and alkaline-polymer (AP) agents on Nigerian crude and their results were compared. The experiments entailed using different percentage ratios of surfactants to polymers and alkaline to polymer. Four kinds of Alkaline were also used to displace residual oil from sand to find out what type of alkaline displaces oil better. The displacement efficiencies obtained from experimental results showed that the foreign EOR agents performed better than the local EOR agents. For the SP agents, the foreign SP displaced above 90% of both light and medium crude at about 45/55 percentage and 0/100 percentage respectively. The local SP displaced a maximum of about 35% of the light crude and 75% of medium crude at an SP ratio of about 20/80 for both cases. The use of Alkaline-Polymer results showed that the foreign agents performed better than the local agents. The maximum displacement efficiency of the foreign AP was 78.13% at a ratio of 40/60 while the maximum displacement efficiency of the local AP was 64% at a ratio of 60/40. The displacement of residual oil experiments performed using four kinds of alkaline showed that potassium hydroxide (KOH) enhances recovery better than NaOH, Na2CO3 and Palm bunch ash (a local source of alkaline). It was also observed that oil displacement efficiency increased as pH value of the alkaline increased.

Evaluation of modified cashew nutshell liquid as natural surfactants for chemical flooding in sandstone oil reservoirs

“…Thus, the nonionic surfactants produced possess ester and amine hydrophilic head groups and alkylated (pentadecyl) benzene groups as hydrophobic tail. As noted by Ogolo et al [29], such chemical modifications yield more effective derivatives. This paper presents novel application of CNSL-based surfactants (developed from natural cashew nutshell liquid by esterification with triethanolamine) in enhanced oil recovery process at elevated temperatures.…”

Properties of Biodegradable Polymer from Terrestrial Mushroom for Potential Enhanced Oil Recovery

“…The highest polymer viscosity of about 26 cP was obtained at the highest polymer concentration investigated at 5000 ppm. As a polysaccharide, this biopolymer can behave as a non-Newtonian and pseudoplastic fluid, exhibiting shearthinning behavior like other polysaccharide biopolymers such as Brachystigia eurycoma and Irvingia gabonensis [24,32] and aqueous beans [26]. From the previous study, a higher concentration of polymer, which could provide higher viscosity is required to recover more oil from the reservoir, as the mobility ratio between the displacing fluid to the displaced fluid is more favorable, resulting in improvement of sweep efficiency [33].…”

“…Their rigid structure and long polysaccharides chains make them suitable to withstand the harsh reservoir conditions. The natural polymers that have been investigated for EOR application at laboratory scale are mushroom and cabbage [18]; Saccharomyces cerevisiae [19]; okra [20]; cassava starch [21]; Detarium microcarpum [22]; gum Arabic [23]; Irvingia gabonensis [21,24]; Brachystegia eurycoma [24]; exudate gum [25]; aqueous beans [26] and schizophyllan [27].…”

Orange Mesocarp Extract as a Natural Surfactant: Impact on Fluid–Fluid and Fluid–Rock Interactions during Chemical Flooding

“…Interestingly, recent studies − reported the efficiency of certain natural products obtained from plant and animal sources (biobased surfactants) as preferred alternatives to conventional synthetic surfactants. Saponin-rich plant sources have been widely used due to their foaming ability. , Saponins are among the most abundant plant-based products and belong to the group of nonionic surfactants, which are mostly used as cosurfactants due to their high resistance to salinity and their capacity to improve surfactant–brine–oil phase behavior .…”