Low Salinity Water Flooding: Proof Of Wettability Alteration On A Field Wide Scale

Vledder, Paul; Gónzalez, Iván; Fonseca, Julio Carrera; Wells, Terence; Ligthelm, D.J.

doi:10.2523/129564-ms

Cited by 40 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…It was concluded based on historical field and coreflood data that no benefit was associated with low saline brine injection. Another documented proof of historical low saline brine injection, which was unintentionally implemented in the Omar Field in Syria for a period of ten years starting from 1991, was published by Vledder, et al [192]. Observations made from measurements at 21 wells presented abundant field-scale evidence of improved water-wetness, as evident from the dual steps in water cut development [193].…”

Section: Sandstone Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

 Brine-Dependent Recovery Processes (Smart-Water/Low-Salinity-Water) in Carbonate and Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs: Review of Laboratory-Field Studies, Interfacial Mechanisms and Modeling Attempts

Awolayo¹,

Sarma²,

Nghiem³

2018

Preprint

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Brine-dependent recovery process has seen much global research efforts in the past two decades because of their benefits over other oil recovery methods. The process involves the tweaking of the ionic composition and strength of the injected water to improve oil production. In recent years, several studies ranging from laboratory coreflood experiments by many researchers to field trials by several companies admit to the potential of recovering additional oil in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs. Sandstone and carbonate rocks are composed of completely different minerals, with varying degree of complexity and heterogeneity, but wettability alteration has been widely considered as the consequence rather than the cause of brine-dependent recovery. However, there is no consensus on the cause as several mechanisms have been proposed to relate the wettability changes to the improved recovery. This review paper aims to provide a state-of-the-art development in published research and various efforts of the industry. This review outlines an overview of laboratory and field observations, descriptions of underlying mechanisms and their validity, the complexity of the oil-brine-rock interactions, modelling works, and comparison between sandstone and carbonate rocks. The provided information is intended to provide the reader with up-to-date information, point to relevant studies for those who are new and those implementing either laboratory- or field-scale projects to speed up the process of further investigations in this research area. Overall, the outcome of this review would potentially be of immense benefit to the oil industry.

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Section: Sandstone Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

 Brine-Dependent Recovery Processes (Smart-Water/Low-Salinity-Water) in Carbonate and Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs: Review of Laboratory-Field Studies, Interfacial Mechanisms and Modeling Attempts

Awolayo¹,

Sarma²,

Nghiem³

2018

Preprint

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“…Over the last 10 years, a great deal of research has been conducted to clarify the effect of ion species and injection water salinity on ultimate oil recovery [1][2][3][4]. Laboratory studies and field experiments have shown that ultimate oil recovery from sandstone reservoirs can be increased when the salinity of injection water is decreased or the injection water composition is manipulated using divalent ions [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. However, Low Salinity Effect (LSE) in carbonates and the underlying mechanisms leading to trapped oil mobilization have been less investigated compared with sandstones.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of divalent ions, temperature, and crude oil during water injection into dolomitic carbonate oil reservoirs

Mehraban

Ayatollahi

Sharifi

2019

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

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Although wettability alteration has been shown to be the main control mechanism of Low Salinity and Smart Water (LS-SmW) injection, our understanding of the phenomena resulting in wettability changes still remains incomplete. In this study, more attention is given to direct measurement of wettability through contact angle measurement at ambient and elevated temperatures (28 °C and 90 °C) during LS-SmW injection to identify trends in wettability alteration. Zeta potential measurement is utilized as an indirect technique for wettability assessment in rock/brine and oil/brine interfaces in order to validate the contact angle measurements. The results presented here bring a new understanding to the effect of temperature and different ions on the wettability state of dolomite particles during an enhanced oil recovery process. Our observations show that increasing temperature from 28 °C to 90 °C reduces the contact angle of oil droplets from 140 to 41 degrees when Seawater (SW) is injected. Besides, changing crude oil from crude-A (low asphaltene content) to crude-B (high asphaltene content) contributes to more negative surface charges at the oil/brine interface. The results suggest that the sulphate ion (SO42-) is the most effective ion for altering dolomite surface properties, leading to less oil wetness. Our study also shows that wettability alteration at ambient and elevated temperatures during LS-SmW injection can be explained by Electrical Double Layer (EDL) theory.

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“…The technique is effective when applied to mixed-oil-wet sandstone reservoirs. According to the available literature [7][8][9], flooding with low salinity (LS) water causes desorption of petroleum heavy ends from the clays present on the pore wall resulting in a more water wet rock surface, a lower remaining oil saturation, and higher oil recovery [7]. In spite of the research, both at laboratory and reservoir scales, a full understanding and recognized explanation of the chemical and physical phenomena behind the technique is not yet available, and studies are still ongoing.…”

Section: Low Salinity Water Injection To Maximize Oil Recoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, authors agree that the methodology provides significant improvement in oil recovery. One of the main appeals of LS flooding is that it is operationally identical to conventional water flooding and does not require expensive or toxic chemicals [7]. Further advantages associated with LSWI are the mitigation of the reservoir scaling and souring risks, improvement of injectivity due to lower suspended solid content, and reduction of corrosion [10].…”

Section: Low Salinity Water Injection To Maximize Oil Recoverymentioning

confidence: 99%

Graphene-Based Membrane Technology: Reaching Out to the Oil and Gas Industry

Castro¹,

Cocuzza

Lamberti

et al. 2018

Geofluids

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This paper presents a critical review and the state of the art of graphene porous membranes, a brand-new technology and backdrop to discuss its potential application for efficient water desalination in low salinity water injection (LSWI). LSWI technology consists in injecting designed, adequately modified, filtered water to maximize oil production. To this end, desalination technologies already available can be further optimized, for example, via graphene membranes, to achieve greater efficiency in water-oil displacement. Theoretical and experimental applications of graphene porous membranes in water desalination have shown promising results over the last 5-6 years. Needless to say, improvements are still needed before graphene porous membranes become readily available. However, the present work simply sets out to demonstrate, at least in principle, the practical potential graphene membranes would have in hydrocarbon recovery processes.

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Low Salinity Water Flooding: Proof Of Wettability Alteration On A Field Wide Scale

Cited by 40 publications

References 0 publications

Brine-Dependent Recovery Processes (Smart-Water/Low-Salinity-Water) in Carbonate and Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs: Review of Laboratory-Field Studies, Interfacial Mechanisms and Modeling Attempts

Brine-Dependent Recovery Processes (Smart-Water/Low-Salinity-Water) in Carbonate and Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs: Review of Laboratory-Field Studies, Interfacial Mechanisms and Modeling Attempts

Role of divalent ions, temperature, and crude oil during water injection into dolomitic carbonate oil reservoirs

Graphene-Based Membrane Technology: Reaching Out to the Oil and Gas Industry

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Low Salinity Water Flooding: Proof Of Wettability Alteration On A Field Wide Scale

Cited by 40 publications

References 0 publications

&nbsp;Brine-Dependent Recovery Processes (Smart-Water/Low-Salinity-Water) in Carbonate and Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs: Review of Laboratory-Field Studies, Interfacial Mechanisms and Modeling Attempts

&nbsp;Brine-Dependent Recovery Processes (Smart-Water/Low-Salinity-Water) in Carbonate and Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs: Review of Laboratory-Field Studies, Interfacial Mechanisms and Modeling Attempts

Role of divalent ions, temperature, and crude oil during water injection into dolomitic carbonate oil reservoirs

Graphene-Based Membrane Technology: Reaching Out to the Oil and Gas Industry

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Brine-Dependent Recovery Processes (Smart-Water/Low-Salinity-Water) in Carbonate and Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs: Review of Laboratory-Field Studies, Interfacial Mechanisms and Modeling Attempts

Brine-Dependent Recovery Processes (Smart-Water/Low-Salinity-Water) in Carbonate and Sandstone Petroleum Reservoirs: Review of Laboratory-Field Studies, Interfacial Mechanisms and Modeling Attempts