Experimentally investigation of the effects of nanoparticles‐enriched ASP formulations on the spontaneous imbibition in a fractured sandstone reservoir

Abstract

Among the chemical methods used in oil industry to boost the ultimate oil recovery, ASP (alkaline surfactant polymer) flooding has gained much attention because of beneficial effects related to simultaneous usage of three different chemical agents. This study is devoted to investigate the separate influences of each chemical agent in the ASP on the attained oil recovery. Furthermore, four different ASP formulations are prepared, and effects of hydrophilic nanoparticles are examined on the ASP spontaneous imbibition process. The utilized core sample in all experiment series belongs to one of the Iranian-fractured sandstone reservoirs. Interfacial tension and contact angle measurements were also included in the experiments to investigate the effects of chemical solutions as well as hydrophilic nanoparticles on the indicated parameters. Results of the experiments indicate that ASP is an appropriate Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) approach not only because effects of each chemical agent on the recovered oil but also because beneficial effects relevant to combination of these chemical solutions. It was also revealed that inclusion of the nanoparticles can significantly increase the ultimate oil recovery because of additional decrease in the interfacial tension of the system and altering the rock's wettability toward a more water-wetted one. Therefore, inclusion of the nanoparticles in the ASP systems should be considered for future ASP implementing schemes.

Importance of the Nanofluid Preparation for Ultra-Low Interfacial Tension in Enhanced Oil Recovery Based on Surfactant–Nanoparticle–Brine System Interaction

“…Recently, several authors have reported the use of nanotechnology in synergy with different conventional EOR techniques such as polymer flooding, − surfactant flooding, ,− and alkali–surfactant–polymer flooding , to increase its performance regarding areal sweep efficiency, wettability alteration, and interfacial tension for improving oil recovery. In this sense, Xu et al focused their work on the formulation of a nanofluid based on an anionic surfactant and commercial silica gel nanoparticles for obtaining ultra-low interfacial tension.…”

Influence of the Clay Content and Type of Algerian Sandstone Rock Samples on Water–Oil Relative Permeabilities

“…The experimental results related to the water-flooding process on the reservoir formation plugs are obtained by the displacement equipment described above. Produced oil from the core is monitored in all water-flooding processes, and recovery data are plotted against injected pore volume as a function of dimensionless time using the following formula: 48,49…”

“…The experimental results related to the water-flooding process on the reservoir formation plugs are obtained by the displacement equipment described above. Produced oil from the core is monitored in all water-flooding processes, and recovery data are plotted against injected pore volume as a function of dimensionless time using the following formula: , where t D is dimensionless time, σ is interfacial tension, k absolute permeability, ϕ porosity, μ w , μ o water and oil viscosity, and L is a core length. For the wettability effect, the experimental method used to evaluate the rock wettability is the Amott method, which consists of carrying out two types of displacements on a sample: a natural displacement created by the capillary phenomena, called spontaneous displacement, and a forced displacement under a pressure using a centrifuge or a Hassler device, called mechanical displacement.…”