A Review of CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery with a Simulated Sensitivity Analysis

Abstract

This paper reports on a comprehensive study of the CO 2 -EOR (Enhanced oil recovery) process, a detailed literature review and a numerical modelling study. According to past studies, CO 2 injection can recover additional oil from reservoirs by reservoir pressure increment, oil swelling, the reduction of oil viscosity and density and the vaporization of oil hydrocarbons. Therefore, CO 2 -EOR can be used to enhance the two major oil recovery mechanisms in the field: miscible and immiscible oil recovery, which can be further increased by increasing the amount of CO 2 injected, applying innovative flood design and well placement, improving the mobility ratio, extending miscibility, and controlling reservoir depth and temperature. A 3-D numerical model was developed using the CO 2 -Prophet simulator to examine the effective factors in the CO 2 -EOR process. According to that, in pure CO 2 injection, oil production generally exhibits increasing trends with increasing CO 2 injection rate and volume (in HCPV (Hydrocarbon pore volume)) and reservoir temperature. In the WAG (Water alternating gas) process, oil production generally increases with increasing CO 2 and water injection rates, the total amount of flood injected in HCPV and the distance between the injection wells, and reduces with WAG flood ratio and initial reservoir pressure. Compared to other factors, the water injection rate creates the minimum influence on oil production, and the CO 2 injection rate, flood volume and distance between the flood wells have almost equally important influence on oil production.

CO2 Miscible Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery

“…If all results are positive, reservoir simulation is Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration carried out to (a) scale-up the EOR process to an entire oil field and (b) define the optimum design of the WAG ratio and hydrocarbon pore volume injection volumes for maximum oil recovery [75]. The performance of a flooding process evaluated by exploring the slug of CO 2 and water, the performance of oil-production wells, gas-oil ratio and water cut, and the injection wells for fluid distribution among various reservoir layers, since these parameters greatly effect on the recovery factor [76].…”

Analysis of CO2 transmission pipelines for CO2 enhanced oil recovery networks: gas field X to oil field Y

“…For economic analysis, total investment along with gross revenue for each year will be simulated by using cashflow analysis for a 20-year period. Using a production-sharing contract (PSC) of government 70 % and contractor 30 % of investment mechanism, analysis will be performed for 9 % and 12 % rates of interest [18,19].…”

Effects of geochemistry and interphase transport of CO2on hybrid carbonated low salinity waterflood to improve oil recovery and CO2sequestration

“…The CO 2 EOR increases oil production, incorporating some advantages such as miscibility, oil viscosity reduction, and oil swelling . CO 2 injection has been widely used in the USA since the mid‐1980s, in the Permian Basin, West Texas, and Eastern New Mexico . During CO 2 injection, the CO 2 dissolves in the oil, reducing oil viscosity and swelling oil .…”

“…17 CO 2 injection has been widely used in the USA since the mid-1980s, in the Permian Basin, West Texas, and Eastern New Mexico. 18 During CO 2 injection, the CO 2 dissolves in the oil, reducing oil viscosity and swelling oil. 19 In addition to the EOR potential, it potentially sequestrates the greenhouse gas of CO 2 in depleted reservoirs.…”