Effect of CO2 on the dynamic and equilibrium interfacial tension between crude oil and formation brine for a deepwater Pre-salt field

Drexler, Santiago; Correia, Elton L.; Jerdy, Ana Carolina; Cavadas, Leandro A.; Couto, Paulo

doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2020.107095

Cited by 27 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Pendant drop method, commonly known as axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA), is commonly used for determining the IFT at reservoir conditions. , The IFT400 apparatus, illustrated in Figure , was used for determining the IFT between different solutions and the crude oil. The maximum operating temperature and pressure of the apparatus were 204 °C (400 °F) and 414 bar (6000 psi), respectively.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanistic Investigation of LSW/Surfactant/Alkali Synergism for Enhanced Oil Recovery: Fluid–Fluid Interactions

et al. 2020

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The combination of chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) and low salinity water (LSW) flooding is one of the most attractive enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. While several studies on CEOR have been performed to date, there still exists a lack of mechanistic understanding on the synergism between surfactant, alkali and LSW. This synergism, in terms of fluid–fluid interactions, is experimentally investigated in this study, and mechanistic understanding is gained through fluid analysis techniques. Two surfactants, one cationic and one anionic, namely an alkyltrimethylammonium bromide (C19TAB) and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS), were tested, together with NaOH used as the alkali, diluted formation brine used as the LSW, and the crude oil was collected from an Iranian carbonate oil reservoir. Fluids were analyzed using pendant drop method for interfacial tension (IFT) measurement, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for determination of aqueous and oleic phase chemical interaction. The optimum concentration of LSW for IFT reduction was investigated to be 1000 ppm. Additionally, both surfactants reduced IFT significantly, from 28.86 mN/m to well below 0.80 mN/m, but in the presence of optimal alkali concentration the IFT dropped further to below 0.30 mN/m. IFT reduction by alkali was linked to the production of three different types of in situ anionic surfactants, while in the case of anionic and cationic surfactants, saponification reactions and the formation of the C19TAOH alcohol, respectively, were linked to IFT reduction. The critical micelle concentration and optimal alkali concentration when using cationic C19TAB were significantly lower than with the anionic surfactant; respectively: 335 vs 5000 ppm, and 500 vs 5000 ppm. However, it was found that SDBS was more compatible with NaOH than C19TAB, due to occurrence of alkali deposition with the latter beyond the optimal point.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanistic Investigation of LSW/Surfactant/Alkali Synergism for Enhanced Oil Recovery: Fluid–Fluid Interactions

et al. 2020

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“…This result is consistent with some critiques in the literature on the categorization of IFT reduction as a primary mechanism influencing CWI porescale displacement efficiency. 104 3.3.2.3. Interfacial Curvature and Capillary Pressure.…”

Section: Effect Of Brine Ionicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbonated Water Injection in Oil-Wet Carbonate Rock Samples: A Pore-Scale Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Brine Composition

2022

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Research into the application of carbonated water injection (CWI) for oil recovery has primarily focused on sandstone reservoirs. Therefore, characteristic pore-scale mechanisms that principally depend on the injected brine composition in oil-wet carbonates are still poorly understood. This study uses a pore-scale approach that incorporates core flooding with microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) imaging to investigate underlying mechanisms during CWI with different brine compositions and salinities in oil-wet carbonate rocks. The results reveal that mere carbonation of brine deficient in potential determining ions (PDIs)Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and SO 4 2− does not improve the oil displacement efficiency in oil-wet carbonates. Particularly, certain pore-scale phenomenawettability reversal and interfacial tension (IFT) reductionthat control the oil displacement efficiency do not significantly change toward desirable states. Extant oil-wet conditions were maintained as we observed a marginal reduction in the average in situ contact angle. In addition, the equilibrium oil−brine IFT was similar to that of oil−brine systems characterized by high brine salinity. Contrarily, enriching low-salinity seawater, containing definite amounts of PDIs, with CO 2 promoted superior oil recovery within all pore-size groups with an overall incremental value as high as 24%. This enhanced performance was evidenced by a dominance of wettability reversal to near-neutral states, which created a more favorable capillary pressure required for pore-level displacements. Wettability alteration originated from the reduction in electrostatic attraction between oil−brine and brine−rock interfaces through surface adsorption of SO 4 2− ions in low-pH environments. These observations establish wettability reversal aided by PDIs as the overriding pore-scale oil-recovery mechanism in oil-wet carbonates during CWI.

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“…Additionally, basins in offshore Angola, Gabon, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Namibia have been proposed as analogous prospects to the Brazilian Pre-Salt with outstanding potential for hydrocarbon reserves (Koch et al, 2013;Jameson et al, 2011). The formation brines in fields from South Atlantic pre-salt reservoirs can have TDS values over 150 000 mg/L (Drexler et al, 2019(Drexler et al, , 2020. Given the economic relevance of these reservoirs, it is important to study an adequate and efficient method for measuring the TDS of their brines, which are outside the range of the correlations present in the literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlations between TDS and electrical conductivity for high-salinity formation brines characteristic of South Atlantic pre-salt basins

Rebello

Siepman

Drexler

2020

WSA

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Total dissolved solids (TDS) is an important property in the characterization of natural waters for diversified applications, such as in geochemistry and the petroleum industry. Under appropriate circumstances, the determination of this parameter through correlations with the electrical conductivity (EC) of aqueous systems yields considerable advantages over the gravimetric method. However, the development of empirical equations correlating TDS and EC is still required due to the physical-chemical complexity of charge transport in multicomponent natural waters. Most existing correlations were built considering systems in the lower or medium salinity range. In this context, this research aims to provide experimental correlations between TDS and EC in a broad concentration range for high salinity formation brines characteristic of the pre-salt reservoirs. It contributes to filling a gap in the literature for geochemical systems of this nature. Moreover, correlations were also obtained for a concentrated desulphated seawater and an aqueous sodium chloride solution in the same salinity range. For all aqueous solutions, the polynomial fittings of degree greater than one fit the experimental data better compared to both linear and exponential equations. In addition, the solutions with higher concentration of divalent ions had lower EC than the solutions dominated by monovalent ions with the same ionic strength. This evidences the effect of ion pairing on the EC, particularly in solutions of high ionic strength. Therefore, the use of a general correlation to represent solutions with dramatic variations in chemical composition carries substantial error, particularly in the high salinity range. Thus, a specific correlation must be developed to represent brines with similar composition.

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Effect of CO2 on the dynamic and equilibrium interfacial tension between crude oil and formation brine for a deepwater Pre-salt field

Cited by 27 publications

References 29 publications

Mechanistic Investigation of LSW/Surfactant/Alkali Synergism for Enhanced Oil Recovery: Fluid–Fluid Interactions

Mechanistic Investigation of LSW/Surfactant/Alkali Synergism for Enhanced Oil Recovery: Fluid–Fluid Interactions

Carbonated Water Injection in Oil-Wet Carbonate Rock Samples: A Pore-Scale Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Brine Composition

Correlations between TDS and electrical conductivity for high-salinity formation brines characteristic of South Atlantic pre-salt basins

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