The effect of rock composition and microstructure on steam foam rheology in sandstone reservoirs

Han

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

Despite rapid advances in renewable energy extraction and utilization, global oil demand continues to rise. Oil displacement technologies are widely studied and applied because they can extract more oil in depleted reservoirs or recover unconventional ones. This study introduces research methods and mechanisms of four oil displacement technologies, i.e., water flooding, chemical flooding, gas flooding, and steam flooding. Although oil displacement technologies are helping to meet the growing demand for oil and energy, there are still some challenges for industrial applications. Some agents adopted in the oil displacement have shortcomings in the corrosion of mining equipment and damage to the reservoir structure. Therefore, solutions to the problem are crucial and are investigated widely in the literature using experiments and simulations. For experimental research, a diffusion framework for studying mass transfer in the oil displacement process and an experimental system for simulating oil displacement in offshore reservoirs should be built, which will facilitate the widespread industrial application of oil displacement technology. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the accuracy and expand the application range of the experimental system. As for numerical simulation, reaction kinetics research is essential for selecting displacement agent materials and preventing harmful gas leakage for industrial applications. However, the dynamics of foam flooding and CO2 flooding are not thoroughly studied. Moreover, it is an acceptable research topic that reducing the uncertainty of discrete regions is an effective method to improve the accuracy of numerical simulation results. For the broader application of oil displacement technology to industry, several mechanisms regarding the research field could be studied more thoroughly and comprehensively in the future, i.e., (1) the influence mechanisms of some impurities and complex reservoir physical properties, (2) the method of combining various oil displacement technologies, (3) the T-H-M-C multifield coupling oil displacement mechanism at micro/nanoscale, (4) the cement failure mechanism caused by CO2 and H2S, and (5) the tube brittle fracture mechanism caused by stress corrosion. For the sustainable development and efficient utilization of oil displacement, this review summarizes the extensive information about four oil displacement technologies, thus encouraging and providing research topics for further development and applications.

Section: Literature Review and Discussion On Different Oil Displaceme...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The higher foam displacement rate is not conducive to enhancing oil recovery. M'barki et al 191 investigated the influence of rock microstructure and mineralogy on the behavior of steam foam in the reservoir. The results show that steam foam has the ability to reduce fluidity in high permeable layers.…”

Section: Nanosized Oil Displacement Agentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review on Oil Displacement Technologies of Enhanced Oil Recovery: State-of-the-Art and Outlook

Han

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

“…[17] Based on the above problems, it is necessary to increase the gas viscosity of steam, reduce the influence of gravity stratification, and plug the thief zone, so the steam foam process has received extensive attention. [18][19][20] To improve steam sweep efficiency and oil recovery rate, the steam foam is an effective method. Surfactants are generally used as foaming agents in steam foaming process.…”

Section: Doi: 101002/ente202100988mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of High‐Temperature Foam for Improving Steam Flooding Effect: Mechanism and Application of Foam

Zhao

et al. 2022

Energy Tech

With the exploitation of light oil approaching saturation, the exploitation of heavy oil is of particular importance. Thermal recovery technology is typically used in heavy oil recovery, such as steam flooding (SF), steam‐assisted gravity drainage, and cyclic steam stimulation. However, SF technology brings problems such as gravity overlap, viscous fingering, and channeling, reducing the sweep efficiency and oil recovery efficiency. Some studies have proposed that foam and steam should be injected into the reservoir together to plug, turn, and reduce viscosity. Heavy oil production occurs mostly under high‐temperature conditions, which require that the foaming agents have good foaming ability in this environment. The generated foam should have good stability. Meanwhile, the mechanism of steam foam enhancing oil recovery (EOR) also changes. Therefore, the research on the mechanism and application of steam foam technology is discussed. First, the basic theory of foam is introduced, and the research on the mechanism of steam foam EOR is discussed. Second, the application of steam foam in the laboratory and the field is summarized. Finally, the full text is summarized and some prospects are made, to provide some help for future research.

“…Jianguo and Zhu and Qi-Hu et al [13,14] introduced damage variables from different angles and established a rock damage creep model. M'Barki et al [15] studied the influence of rock composition and microstructure on the rheology of steam foam in sandstone reservoirs. Souley et al [16] conducted in situ measurement of granite permeability and numerical simulation of permeability changes caused by microcrack propagation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the Creep Damage Characteristics of Shale under the Combined Action of Osmotic Pressure and Disturbance Load

Qing-rong

et al. 2021

Geofluids

In the in situ modified fluidized mining engineering, the surrounding rock of the shaft wall is prone to creep instability damage under the action of disturbance and seepage water pressure, which seriously affects the stability of the surrounding rock of the deep in situ modified fluidized mining. In order to study the nonlinear creep damage and fracture characteristics of deep rocks under the combined action of seepage water pressure and disturbance load, a self-developed rock perturbation creep test rig under the action of seepage water pressure was used, and shale was used as the rock sample. In the method of staged loading, the rock uniaxial compression perturbation creep test under static axial pressure, different perturbation frequencies, and different seepage water pressures was carried out, and the creep characteristics of shale under the combined action of perturbation and seepage were studied. The results show that with the increase of seepage water pressure, the creep failure time of the rock decreases, and the ultimate strain value increases; with the increase of the disturbance frequency, the creep failure mode of the rock gradually transitions from shear failure to tension failure. When water pressure and disturbance load exist at the same time, rock creep is more sensitive to seepage water pressure; based on experimental results, a shale perturbation creep damage model considering the influence of seepage water pressure and disturbance frequency is established, and the model is verified. The research results have important theoretical significance for guiding the wellbore stability control of in situ modified fluidized mining engineering.