Kuwait Oil Company has recognized the implications of the recent technological advances that are very likely to transform the oil industry and make chemical enhanced oil recovery methods such as alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding a hallmark of enhanced oil recovery. An ambitious program to apply chemical EOR to both sandstone and carbonate oil reservoirs in Kuwait is already underway. In this paper, we present the first field results of this effort. First we discuss the approach used to design a novel surfactant formulation for a high-salinity, high-temperature, highly heterogeneous carbonate reservoir, the Sabriyah-Mauddud in Kuwait, and the evaluation of the ASP process in three one-spot ASP pilots (i.e., three two-stage single well chemical tracer tests). We summarize the results of the surfactant laboratory experiments used to select the final ASP formulation and we present detailed results and interpretation of the subsequent single-well chemical tracer test (SWCTTs) results using ASP chemicals as well as details of the field operation including quality control measurements performed in the field lab. The residual oil saturations measured before and after the injection of the ASP slug and polymer drives clearly show that the chemical solution was effective in mobilizing and displacing residual oil saturation following injection of water. The injectivity of high molecular weight polyacrylamide polymer was excellent despite the low permeability of the formation.
The CHA Corporation has completed the U.S. Air Force Phase II Small Business Innovation Research program to investigate the feasibility of using a novel microwave-based process for the removal and destruction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in effluents from noncombustion sources, such as paint booth ventilation streams. Removal of solvents by adsorption, followed by the regeneration of saturated granular activated carbon (GAC) by microwave energy, was achieved in a single fixed-bed reactor. Microwave regeneration of the fixed-bed-saturated carbon restored the original GAC adsorption capacity. After 20 adsorption/regeneration cycles, the adsorption capacity dropped from 13.5 g methyl ethyl ketone (MEK)/100 g GAC to 12.5 g MEK/100 g GAC. During microwave regeneration of the GAC fixed bed, the concentrated desorbed paint solvent was oxidized by passing the solvent mixture through a fixed bed of an oxidation catalyst mixed with silicon carbide in a microwave reactor. A 98% oxidation efficiency was consistently achieved from the oxidation of VOCs in the microwave catalytic reactor.
Single-well-partitioning-tracer tests (SWTTs) are used to measure the saturation of oil or water near a wellbore. If used before and after injection of enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) fluids, they can evaluate EOR flood performance in a so-called one-spot pilot. Four alkaline/surfactant/polymer (ASP) one-spot pilots were recently completed in Kuwait's Sabriyah-Mauddud (SAMA) reservoir, a thick, heterogeneous carbonate operated by Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). UTCHEM (Delshad et al. 2013), the University of Texas chemical-flooding reservoir simulator, was used to interpret results of two of these one-spot pilots performed in an unconfined zone within the thick SAMA formation. These simulations were used to design a new method for injecting partitioning tracers for one-spot pilots. The recommended practice is to inject the tracers into a relatively uniform confined zone, but, as seen in this work, that is not always possible, so an alternative design was needed to improve the accuracy of the test.The simulations showed that there was a flow-conformance problem when the partitioning tracers were injected into a perforated zone without confinement after the viscous ASP and polymer-drive solutions. The water-conveyed-tracer solutions were being partially diverted outside of the ASP-swept zone where they contacted unswept oil. Because of this problem, the initial interpretation of the performance of the chemicals was pessimistic, overestimating the chemical residual oil saturation (ROS) by up to 12 saturation units. Additional simulations indicated that the oil saturation in the ASP-swept zone could be properly estimated by avoiding the post-ASP waterflood and injecting the post-ASP tracers in a viscous polymer solution rather than in water. An ASP one-spot pilot using the new SWTT design resulted in an estimated ROS of only 0.06 after injection of chemicals (Carlisle et al. 2014). These saturation values were obtained by history matching tracer-production data by use of both traditional continuously-stirred-tank (CSTR) models and compositional, reactivetransport reservoir models.The ability of the simulator to model every phase of the onespot pilot operation was crucial to the insight of modified SWTT design. The waterflood, first SWTT, ASP flood, and the final SWTT were simulated using a heterogeneous permeability field representative of the Mauddud formation. Laboratory data, field-ASP quality-control information, and injection strategy were all accounted for in these simulations. We describe the models, how they were used, and how the results were used to modify the SWTT design. We further discuss the implications for other SWTTs.The advantage of mechanistic simulation of multiple aspects of a one-spot pilot is an important theme of this study. Because the pore space investigated by the SWTTs can be affected by the previously injected EOR fluids (and vice versa), these interactions should be accounted for. This simulation approach can be used to identify and mitigate design problems during each phase of a challenging one-s...
Remaining oil saturation (ROS) and waterflood residual oil saturation (Sorw) are key parameters for reservoir modeling and waterflood management in a group of heterogeneous deepwater turbidite reservoirs. A large amount of laboratory special core analysis (SCAL) data indicated high Sorw values and a large target potential target for chemical EOR (enhanced oil recovery). Available SCAL data was not considered reliable. Acquiring additional core was considered to be too costly and too risky due to the highly deviated well paths required for new wells. Single Well Chemical Tracer Tests (SWCTT's) in producing wells were the only viable alternative. This paper describes – to our knowledge – the first applications of SWCTT in a deepwater setting. An early 2010 SWCTT showed ROS / Sorw to be much lower than expected but test interpretation was uncertain. The 1st SWCTT provided a valuable learning experience to improve test design and execution and to improve on significant logistical challenges in the deepwater setting. Using lessons learned we performed two additional SWCTT's in late 2010. The later SWCTT's included well integrity pre-tests and smaller completion intervals. Typical SWCTT volumes were ~5,000 bbl of seawater containing tracers with a depth of investigation of ~4 to 5 meters. All three SWCTT's indicated low Sorw values, ranging from 0.05 to 0.20 with a nominal average of 0.15. Similar results from all three SWCTT's indicate that microscopic displacement efficiency is very good; eliminating the option of chemical EOR. The current field development plan is focused on improving volumetric sweep efficiency. Properly designed and executed SWCTT's can be considered as large-scale "laboratory waterflood tests" at true reservoir conditions (e.g., live oil, wettability and stress history). Compared to conventional SCAL tests using small plug samples, SWCTT's see a much larger rock volume and avoid wettability alteration issues that plague modern cores taken with OBM (oil based mud). Though logistically challenging in deepwater, SWCTT's can be more cost- and time-effective than taking a new core.
The CHA microwave‐based gas cleanup process is designed to capture and destroy a wide variety of both chlorinated and non‐chlorinated VOCs, many of which are commonly found at industrial and military sites. In addition, the CHA process also removes the pollutants SO2 and NOx from flue gases. Recently, we constructed a microwave air purification system to remove solvents from spray painting operations and supply recovered solvent vapor to a biofilter field demonstration unit at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama, Florida. The potential applications and laboratory test results of the microwave air purification process are presented.
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