Oil recovery and wettability alteration in carbonates due to carbonate water injection

Ruidiaz, Eddy; Winter, Alessandra; Trevisan, Osvair Vidal

doi:10.1007/s13202-017-0345-z

Cited by 40 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…However, direct investigation of the rock-fluid interactions by these methods is limited, as they yield the average wettability indexes on macroscale (mm), and cannot account for rock surface roughness, pore structure or chemical rock composition, which strongly affect fluids flow properties 21 . The average wettability has been measured for many sandstone and carbonate rocks 22–27 , whereas there is a serious lack of information about microscale wettability characterization of pores, where the majority of hydrocarbons resides.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Organic Layer in Oil Carbonate Reservoir Rocks and its Effect on Microscale Wetting Properties

Ivanova

Mitiurev

Cheremisin

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Effective production of oil from carbonate reservoirs often requires the application of improved oil recovery technologies such as waterflooding. However, conventional waterflooding in carbonates usually results in low hydrocarbon recovery as most of these formations exhibit a complex pore throats structure and are mostly oil-wet. Therefore, improved insight into the causes of hydrophobic wetting behavior of such reservoirs is important for understanding the fluid distribution, displacement and enhancing recovery processes. The characterization of fluid-rock interactions is, however, challenging with existing laboratory methods, which are typically based on macroscale (mm) observations. In this experimental study, an advanced imaging technique, namely environmental scanning electron microscope, was applied for the comprehensive investigation of microscale (µm) wettability variations in carbonate rocks covered with organic layers. For the first time, the presence of organic layers on the sample was proved using energy dispersive X-ray mapping. Furthermore, the chemical bond of this layer and carbonate rock surfaces was determined using the transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The thickness of layer was estimated by using image processing software. These findings show that the application of combined microscopic techniques reveals important details about the reason of hydrophobic wetting properties of real carbonate rocks.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Organic Layer in Oil Carbonate Reservoir Rocks and its Effect on Microscale Wetting Properties

Ivanova

Mitiurev

Cheremisin

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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“…Carbonated water reduces the IFT leading to an increase in capillary number (Nc) by orders of magnitude enhancing, in turn, the oil recovery significantly 6,35,36,37 concluded from a set of repeatable experiments that carbonated water would not effectively alter the wettability. Furthermore, Ruidiaz et al 38 reported that the wettability alteration is independent of the brine concentration and the presence of CO 2 in the water. They concluded that the CO 2 or its derived ions might prevent the wettability alteration mechanism.…”

Section: Wettability Alterationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanistic study of the carbonated smart water in carbonate reservoirs

2021

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Carbonated smart water (CSMW) injection has drawn considerable interest, especially in the last decade. This interest stems from its results in the recovery factor enhancement and the storage of carbon dioxide. This method has been mainly studied for sandstone formations, and less devotion has been given to carbonates, especially in naturally fractured reservoirs. This paper examines the effect of the CSMW on the recovery factor in carbonate homogenous and fractured reservoirs and investigates the most effective mechanisms. Furthermore, the capability of the CSMW to store the CO 2 in the reservoir has been tested. This work has been established based on core flooding experimental data, using a compositional simulator, and extending the core results to a pilot model. The composition and salinity values of the CSMW have been specified using optimization and sensitivity analysis tools. Geochemical reactions and CO 2 solubility in the CSMW have been simulated using the PHREEQC. In the core scale, the CSMW showed 14, 7.6, 26.8% more oil recovery than Smart Water (SMW), Carbonated Seawater (CSW), and Seawater (SW), respectively. In the pilot model, CSMW recovered more oil than the SMW by 5-8% based on the heterogeneity and fracture availability. Viscosity reduction is one of the main mechanisms behind the oil recovery increment. More than 30% of viscosity reduction was observed for all studied cases. Ions exchange and mineral dissolution processes were also pivotal. A higher recovery has been obtained in the fractured reservoir after the breakthrough due to the CO 2 diffusion from the fractures into the matrices and the spontaneous imbibition process, where those mechanisms need a long time to act effectively. More than 50% of the injected CO 2 within the CSMW has been captured in the reservoir's residual oil and water. It has been concluded that the stored CO 2 in the reservoir depends on the amount of residual oil saturation, where the higher the remaining oil in the reservoir, the higher the stored CO 2 amount.

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“…The efforts seeking its atmospheric reduction are receiving widespread attention in recent times. One of the methods is to utilize CO 2 on large scale for underground storage and the oil recovery optimization, where CO 2 is expected to create enough miscibility with trapped oil and mobilize its lighter hydrocarbon components towards surface (Chaturvedi et al, 2018;Chaturvedi et al, 2019a;Honarvar et al, 2017;Ruidiaz et al, 2018). However, CO 2 being the lighter gas than the crude oil, results in its early breakthrough due to bypassing and the viscous fingering effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Low Salinity Water Injection on CO2 Storage and Oil Recovery for Improved CO2 Utilization

Chaturved

Ravilla

Kaleem

et al. 2021

Chemical Engineering Science

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CO 2 utilization for oil recovery applications is often impacted by the challenges such as viscous fingering and its premature breakthrough. Injection of slugs of water-alternating-gas (WAG) generally aims to overcome these challenges though the control of CO 2 mobility. Moreover, the oil recovery potential of WAG is largely dependent on the injection water salinity and the subsequent CO 2 dissolution and storage. Therefore, the effect of varying salinity (0-4 wt% NaCl) on CO 2 loading capacity of water is investigated in this study, at two test temperatures of 323 K and 363 K and three confining pressures of 4, 8, and 12 bar, and subsequently, the flooding experiments were performed to find the low salinity (LS)-WAG process suitability in oil recovery applications from porous sandstone rocks. The inclusion of salt was found to significantly affect CO 2 loading capacity of water. At higher NaCl concentration (4 wt%), CO 2 loading decreased by 50% as demonstrated by absorption kinetic study. LS-WAG suggested maximum oil recovery 55-58% of original oil in place for water salinity of 2 wt% NaCl at both the test temperatures. Increment in pressure had a positive impact on CO 2 loading while increasing temperature showed reverse behavior. As a result of LS in WAG and kinetic adsorption study, it is anticipated that the reduction in water salinity is a favorable factor in the CO 2 storage and oil recovery performance of CO 2 injection. The instance of CO 2 injection was also varied for LS-WAG process and its effect on oil recovery from sand-packs was reported. Oil recovery results demonstrated that WAG was similarly effective in all the stages of the injection cycle as long as water salinity remained lower than 2 wt% NaCl. Based on the findings in this study, it is recommended to implement the WAG in conjunction with low salinity water (LSW) in moderate saline conditions, which is of key importance for various applications where water salinity differs on a large scale.

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Oil recovery and wettability alteration in carbonates due to carbonate water injection

Cited by 40 publications

References 19 publications

Characterization of Organic Layer in Oil Carbonate Reservoir Rocks and its Effect on Microscale Wetting Properties

Characterization of Organic Layer in Oil Carbonate Reservoir Rocks and its Effect on Microscale Wetting Properties

Mechanistic study of the carbonated smart water in carbonate reservoirs

Impact of Low Salinity Water Injection on CO2 Storage and Oil Recovery for Improved CO2 Utilization

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