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Collaborating Authors
Energy
Abstract A systematic approach to characterize the mixed wet configurations of various reservoir rocks (sandstone and carbonates) by evaluating their surface energy distributions has been presented in this paper. This approach was tested against the macroscopic spatial distribution of oil-wet and water-wet sites and at different temperatures for validation. The new approach used to characterize the mixed wettability of a reservoir rock pertains to establishing a relation between the volume fraction of the mixed-wet reservoir rocks and surface energy of the mixture. This approach is based on an accurate description of the various physico-chemical interfacial forces present at the reservoir rock surface using Inverse Gas Chromatography (IGC). Mixed-wet configurations of various reservoir rocks are created by combining water-wet and oil-wet samples of the rock in different volume fractions and shaken together to establish uniform distribution. These samples are then subjected to the IGC analysis at different temperatures to deduce their surface energy distribution. The relation developed herein is tested against spatial heterogeneity by combining the oil-wet and water-wet rock samples in a layered fashion to validate the approach. The complete method to deduce the surface energy distribution of a rock surface using IGC has also been explained in detail. A definite and conclusive relationship between the surface energy and mixed wettability of silica glass beads, calcite, and dolomite samples was established in this study. The mixed-wet configurations of the rock samples ranged from 0% oil-wet (meaning water-wet samples) to 100% oil-wet samples. The findings indicated that the Lifshitz-van der Waals component of the rock mixture did not undergo any change with change in the wetting state of the system under study. However the acid base components showed a marked decrease with increasing oil wetness before plateauing. Temperature was found to have a profound impact on the surface energy of a rock surface. Spatial heterogeneity by way of layered and segregated distribution of oil-wet and water-wet sites did not affect the eventual surface energy distribution thereby validating the new approach.
- Overview (0.55)
- Research Report > New Finding (0.34)
- Geology > Rock Type > Sedimentary Rock > Carbonate Rock (0.36)
- Geology > Mineral > Carbonate Mineral > Calcite (0.31)
CO2 Foam Pilot in Salt Creek Field, Natrona County, WY: Phase III: Analysis of Pilot Performance
Mukherjee, Joydeep (The Dow Chemical Company) | Nguyen, Quoc P. (The University of Texas at Austin) | Scherlin, John (Fleurde Lis Energy) | Vanderwal, Paul (The Dow Chemical Company) | Rozowski, Peter (The Dow Chemical Company)
Abstract A supercritical CO2 foam pilot, comprised of a central injection well in an inverted 5-spot pattern, was implemented in September 2013 in Salt Creek field, Natrona County WY. In this paper we present a thorough analysis of the pilot performance data that has been collected to date from the field. A monitoring plan was developed to analyze the performance of the pilot area wells before and after the start of the foam pilot. The injection well tubing head pressure was controlled to maintain a constant bottom hole pressure and the fluid injection rates were monitored to capture the effect of foam generation on injectivity. Inter-well tracer studies were performed to analyze the change in CO2 flow patterns in the reservoir. Production response was monitored by performing frequent well tests. The CO2 injection rate profile monitored over several WAG cycles during the course of the implementation clearly indicates the formation and propagation of foam deep into the reservoir. CO2 soluble tracer studies performed before and after the start of the foam pilot indicate significant areal diversion of CO2. The production characteristics of the four producing wells in the pilot area indicate significant mobilization of reservoir fluids attributable to CO2 diversion in the pattern. The produced gas-liquid ratio has decreased in all four of the producing wells in the pattern. Analysis of the oil production rates shows a favorable slope change with respect to pore volumes of CO2 injected. Segregation of CO2 and water close to the injection well seems to be the primary factor adversely affecting CO2 sweep efficiency in the pilot area. Foam generation leads to a gradual expansion of the gas override zone. The gradual expansion of the gas override zone seems to be the principal mechanism behind the production responses observed from the pilot area wells.
- North America > United States > Wyoming > Johnson County (0.61)
- North America > United States > Texas > Kent County (0.61)
- North America > United States > Wyoming > Natrona County (0.61)
- North America > United States > West Virginia > Rock Creek Field (0.99)
- North America > United States > Texas > Permian Basin > Salt Creek Field (0.99)
- North America > United States > Kansas > Estes Field (0.99)
- (12 more...)
Abstract This is the final installment in a series of three papers examining iron mineralogy and its effect on surfactant adsorption in reservoir and outcrop rock samples. The goal of these studies is to establish best practices for obtaining surfactant adsorption values representative of those in a reduced oil reservoir, despite performing experiments in an oxidizing laboratory atmosphere. This article follows two others examining the abundance and form of iron in the reservoir and in core samples (Part I: Levitt et al., 2015), and a proposed core restoration technique utilizing iron-reducing bacteria (Part II: Harris et al., 2015). In this Part III, chemical reduction methods are examined. Surfactant retention is a leading uncertainty in economic forecasting of chemical EOR, in large part due to the order-of-magnitude effects of artifacts such as improper core preservation. The industry standard is to (a) limit atmospheric contact of cores to the extent feasible, and (b) when necessary, reduce oxidized cores using strong reducing agents such as sodium dithionite, along with buffering and chelating agents such as sodium bicarbonate and EDTA or sodium citrate. However few studies have been performed to determine whether such invasive treatments are necessary, or what unintended effects the use of such reactive chemicals may have. The most striking conclusion from these studies is the lack of clear evidence of any advantage of electrochemical reduction versus a simpler treatment with chelators such as sodium citrate or EDTA. Wang (1993) suggests that oxidation of reservoir cores leads to higher surfactant adsorption due to the reduction of clays, which yields a more negative surface charge. Static experiments with montmorillonite clay, as well as an oxidized outcrop containing significant clay and iron content, illustrate that rinsing with non-reducing agents such as sodium bicarbonate, EDTA, or sodium citrate can lower adsorption as much as a strong reducing agent such as sodium dithionite. In the case of montmorillonite, cation exchange appears to be the mechanism by which adsorption is lowered, and so NaCl alone is sufficient to lower adsorption to near-zero values. For the iron- and clay-containing outcrop material, initial measurements indicating "adsorption" far in excess of a dense bilayer were due in fact to the precipitation of sulfonate surfactant with calcium, which eluded from the dissolution of small amounts of anhydrite. An alkyl alkoxy sulfonate surfactant showed higher calcium tolerance, and did not yield "multilayer" adsorption when equilibrated with the anhydrite-containing core sample. While treatment with a citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite solution does indeed lower adsorption several-fold further, solutions of either sodium bicarbonate or EDTA are at least as effective, and sodium citrate is almost as effective. These non-reductive treatments remove small amounts (~0.1% โ ~0.2% of rock mass) of Fe and Al, and fines are invariably apparent in treatment fluids, both of which suggest removal of small amounts of trivalent Fe/Al colloids. Wang (1993) suggests reduction or removal of trivalent iron from clay surfaces as a possible mechanism of lowered adsorption under electrochemically reducing conditions. These results suggest that removal of trivalent cations, with concomitant lowering of anionic surfactant adsorption, is possible with non-reductive chelators such as sodium citrate or sodium EDTA. Sodium bicarbonate is equally effective at lowering adsorption, but does not result in elution of Fe or Al, indicating that these are likely reprecipitated. PIPES buffer, which is used in biological applications for its low propensity to form ligands, lowers adsorption as much and no more than a 10% NaCl rinse, suggesting only anhydrite removal and possibly cation exchange with clays occurs. While these results suggest that non-reductive means may be used to remove artifacts introduced by core oxidation, they come with an important caveat: even rinsing with a brine solution can result in significant alteration of mineralogy. The use of chelating agents will invariably result in dissolution of any soluble minerals present such as gypsum or anhydrite, which can be an important contributor to surfactant (in particular ABS) consumption. In cases where iron removal is necessary due to polymer degradation issues, PIPES buffer is proposed for use as an alternative to bicarbonate, the latter having a greater tendency for ligand formation. The combination of borohydride and bisulfite is suggested as an alternative to dithionite as a reducing agent, resulting in more complete iron removal under some conditions, and anecdotally less tendency for polymer degradation upon subsequent oxidation, though both of these claims should be verified.
- Materials > Chemicals > Commodity Chemicals > Petrochemicals (1.00)
- Energy > Oil & Gas > Upstream (1.00)
- Well Drilling > Drilling Fluids and Materials > Drilling fluid selection and formulation (chemistry, properties) (1.00)
- Reservoir Description and Dynamics > Improved and Enhanced Recovery > Chemical flooding methods (1.00)
- Reservoir Description and Dynamics > Formation Evaluation & Management > Core analysis (1.00)
Abstract With the synergy of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques, commercial production of Unconventional Liquid Reservoirs (ULR) has been successfully demonstrated. Due to the low recovery factor of these reservoirs, it is inevitable that Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) will ensue. Experimental results have shown promising oil recovery potential using CO2. This study investigates oil production mechanisms from the matrix into the fracture by simulating two laboratory experiments as well as several field-scale studies, and evaluates the potential of using CO2 huff-n-puff process to enhance the oil recovery in ULR with nano-Darcy range matrix permeability in complex natural fracture networks. This study fully explores mechanisms contributing to the oil recovery with numerical modeling of experimental work, and provides a systematic investigation of the effects of various parameters on oil recovery. The core scale modeling utilizes two methods of determining properties that are used to construct 3D heterogeneous models. The findings are then upscaled to the field scale where both simple and complex fractures in a single stage are modeled. The effects of reservoir properties and operational parameters on oil recovery are then investigated. In addition, this study is the first to present simulation results of CO2 huff-n-puff using complex fracture networks which are generated from microseismic-constraint stochastic models. Diffusion is proven to be the dominant oil recovery mechanism at the laboratory scale. However, the field-scale reservoir simulation indicates diffusion is negligible compared to the well-known mechanisms accompanying multi-contact miscibility. This includes swelling, viscosity reduction, and gas expansion in the matrix. Overall, the CO2 huff-n-puff process was found to be beneficial in both models in terms of enhancing the ultimate oil recovery in ULR.
- North America > United States > Texas (1.00)
- Europe (1.00)
- North America > Canada (0.68)
- (2 more...)
- Overview (0.48)
- Research Report (0.46)
- Geology > Geological Subdiscipline > Geomechanics (0.93)
- Geology > Petroleum Play Type > Unconventional Play (0.67)
Abstract This paper presents the integrated approach for the redevelopment of the waterflood in Howard-Glasscock field located primarily in Howard County, Texas. Originally discovered in 1925, the majority of production is now commingled across the Guadalupe, Glorieta and Clearfork formations. This is a mature field which is currently in the midst of a 5 and 10 acre infill drilling program that began in 2009. Emphasis has primarily been focused on drilling producing wells, but the basis for this project was to optimize an existing waterflood to guide the development strategy of the field moving forward. A study of the production of the wells drilled since 2009 identified stronger performance in wells with offset waterflood support. On average, waterflood was responsible for a 22% improvement in the expected recovery per well, despite a lack of patterns or a comprehensive waterflood management plan. As a result, a multi-disciplined team was commissioned to design a strategy for the redevelopment of the flood and more active management of the daily operations. Geology and reservoir engineering aspects were used to characterize the reservoir in conjunction with classical waterflood methods to understand the current performance and validate the expectations for secondary recovery. Fracture orientation was studied based on cases of early breakthrough and was utilized in pattern identification and well placement to maximize sweep and discourage direct communication between injectors and producers. Further, the success of the waterflood in Howard-Glasscock relies on the ability to control the flow of water over a 2,000 foot vertical interval. To address this, the team has implemented a surveillance plan with improved monitoring and communication with the operations team to enhance the collection of data and in order to react to the dynamics of a waterflood. The rapid response to injection observed in this field requires proper surveillance and timely control of water flow which ultimately drives the success of the program by moving water from high water cut intervals to bypassed oil zones. This paper details the systematic approach that was used to design the redevelopment plan for a waterflood in a 90 year old field. The scope of work is being implemented and represents an adjustment in the development plan of Howard-Glasscock moving forward. Ultimately, the enhanced performance observed in recent drilling programs and the continued success of development in this mature field hinges on understanding and managing the waterflood moving forward.
- Geology > Rock Type > Sedimentary Rock (0.69)
- Geology > Sedimentary Geology > Depositional Environment (0.47)
- North America > United States > Texas > Permian Basin > Yeso Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > Texas > Permian Basin > Yates Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > Texas > Permian Basin > Wolfcamp Formation (0.99)
- (33 more...)
Abstract Use of foams to control CO2 floods conformance is attracting a renewed interest in recent years due its flexibility and ease of application. This application becomes even more attractive in current times of low oil price, as it can be an inexpensive mean to maximize CO2 utilization efficiency and increase production at no capital expenses. However, it is generally recognized that to maximize chances of success of a pilot application, an appropriate foaming formulation must be designed for a given reservoir and characterized in petrophysics lab. This usually requires an extensive laboratory work that is not always compatible with cost constraints. We present a new cost-effective workflow that focuses on evaluating two formulation performance indicators derived from the population balance model: foam creation (related to foaming power) and resistance to foam destruction (related to foam stabilization against coarsening and coalescence). We assess these two parameters in representative reservoir conditions by measuring foam mobility reduction in porous media and foam lifetimes. Experimental results and simple scaling arguments show that these two measurements, both of importance to the application, are mostly independent. This shed light on a recurring question pertaining to the relevance of bulk foam experiments to predict foam efficiency in porous media. With this in mind, we present a new approach for measuring mobility reduction in porous media with a higher throughput than usual corefloods experiments. This methodology is based on sandpack experiments as well as serial coreflood experiments that allow multiple successive formulations testing. We show that the link between sandpack and coreflood results is far from being straightforward, and depends on static (geometrical) as well as dynamic (flow) parameters. Overall, this work provides new insights on the major performance indicators used to evaluate foam efficiency for gas conformance control in oil reservoirs. We build on this understanding to present a novel approach that can help developing more efficient foam EOR solutions. In particular, it allows tailoring foaming agents properties (such as foaminess and foam stabilization) to specific conditions of a given application (oil saturation, vertical heterogeneity, etcโฆ).
- Europe > Norway > North Sea > Northern North Sea > East Shetland Basin > PL 375 > Block 34/7 > Snorre Field > Statfjord Group (0.99)
- Europe > Norway > North Sea > Northern North Sea > East Shetland Basin > PL 375 > Block 34/7 > Snorre Field > Lunde Formation (0.99)
- Europe > Norway > North Sea > Northern North Sea > East Shetland Basin > PL 375 > Block 34/4 > Snorre Field > Statfjord Group (0.99)
- (9 more...)
Abstract Polymer transport and preparation can present a key challenge in chemical EOR project implementation. Hydrolyzed polyacrylamide in emulsion form presents some advantages, including an easier transportation and a simplification of the injection process. The trade off is a lower active concentration (~30% - 50%), which increases the volumes to be transported, as well as the presence of oil and emulsifiers, which may have unintended effects in the reservoir. In this article, we compare two industrial and commercially-available polymers, one in powder form from the gel process, and the other in an inverse emulsion, with similar viscosifying power. Properties of both polymers are investigated through rheological and screen factor measurements, filterability tests on bulk solutions, shear thickening behavior and resistance to shear degradation in porous medium. The likely origin of the observed differences is discussed in light of the two polymerization methods (bulk vs. emulsion) that lead to differences in polydispersity. Mobility reduction and residual resistance factor measurements during propagation tests at low velocity give some insight on the propagation of the stabilized oil droplets coming from the injected emulsion. Finally, oil recovery efficiency is investigated through secondary polymer injections on sandpacks. No significant difference was observed between the polymers in term of oil recovery or pressure behavior. These results are relevant to oil companies planning polymer or surfactant-polymer pilots and considering the tradeoffs between emulsion and powder polymers.
- Europe (0.70)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.46)
- North America > United States > California > Dos Cuadras Field (0.99)
- Europe > United Kingdom > Atlantic Margin > West of Shetland > Faroe-Shetland Basin > Judd Basin > Block 204/25 > Greater Schiehallion Field > Schiehallion Field (0.99)
- Europe > United Kingdom > Atlantic Margin > West of Shetland > Faroe-Shetland Basin > Judd Basin > Block 204/20 > Greater Schiehallion Field > Schiehallion Field (0.99)
Abstract During an Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flood in reservoir rock, often an in situ microemulsion phase forms upon contact of the injected ASP fluid with the residing oil. These microemulsions form as a result of the required ultra-low interfacial tensions (IFT) for oil mobilization and displacement of the residual oil, but they can have a high viscosity. The success of an ASP flood on oil recovery depends on the complex flow of the injected ASP solution, the mobilized oil and the in situ microemulsion phase, which the latter often has a higher shear-dependent viscosity than the other two. In this study, steady-state (SS) corefloods have been performed to investigate the in situ microemulsion formation and rheology during the multiphase flow. The aqueous phase, namely brine, AS or ASP, was co-injected with n-decane or reservoir โdeadโ crude in Berea outcrop cores for a range of fractional flow ratios. The pressure differential was continuously recorded, and was then converted in an apparent, in situ, viscosity value. For this stage of the project the water and oil phase saturations in the plugs were not yet measured. For brine/oil systems some dependence of apparent viscosity on rock permeability was observed; for systems with surfactants no such trend was noticable. The addition of surfactants substantially reduced the apparent viscosities; the viscosity reducing impact of surfactants could be balanced by the addition of polymer. Fractional flow analysis showed that the addition of surfactants reduces the impact of capillary forces resulting in straightened relative permeability curves and higher aqueous phase relative permeability end points. It is anticipated that this study leads to a fast and fit for purpose characterization method of ASP-crude oil systems that provides data in a form, such as relative permeability data and residual oil saturation that can be applied directly in reservoir simulators.
- Europe (0.68)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.28)
Low Salinity Flooding Trial at West Salym Field
Erke, S. I. (Salym Petroleum Development) | Volokitin, Y. E. (Salym Petroleum Development) | Edelman, I. Y. (Salym Petroleum Development) | Karpan, V. M. (Salym Petroleum Development) | Nasralla, R. A. (Shell Global Solutions International) | Bondar, M. Y. (Salym Petroleum Development) | Mikhaylenko, E. E. (Salym Petroleum Development) | Evseeva, M.. (Salym Petroleum Development)
Abstract Low-salinity waterflooding (LSF) has been recognized as an IOR/EOR technique for both green and brown fields in which the salinity of the injected water is lowered for particular reservoir properties to improve oil recovery. While providing lower or similar UTC's low salinity projects have the advantage of lower capital and operational costs as compared to some more expensive EOR alternatives. This work describes LSF experiments, field-scale simulation results, and conceptual design of surface facilities for West Salym oil field. The field is located in West Siberia and is on stream since 2004. Conventional waterflooding was started in 2005 and current water cut is currently above 80% in the developed area of the field. To counter oil production decline a tertiary Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding technique selected for mature waterflooded field parts and piloting of this technique is ongoing. Operationally simpler and more cost-effective LSF method is considered for implementation in the unflushed (green) areas of the field since it has been recognized that application of LSF in secondary mode results in better incremental oil recovery than LSF in tertiary mode. The results of a comprehensive conceptual study performed to justify the LSF trial are presented in this paper. To generate production forecast for LSF in the isolated area at the outset of reservoir development the results of laboratory core tests executed at different salinities presented earlier (Suijkerbuijk et al., 2014) have been used. Dynamic reservoir modelling using low-salinity relative permeability curves showed that injection of low-salinity water leads to incremental oil production up to 2.5% of STOIIP. These results establish the fundamentals for a LSF field trial. A concept of surface facilities design for LSF trial area at West Salym oil field is also presented in the paper. Differently to other LSF projects it is proposed to prepare low-salinity water with required properties by mixing fresh water from aquifer and high salinity water from produced water reinjection (PWRI) system. In such a case LSF facilities concept does not require expensive water treatment techniques which significantly reduces the project capital and operational costs.
- Europe > Russia > Volga Federal District > Tatarstan > Volga Urals Basin > Pervomaiskoye Field (0.99)
- Asia > Russia > Ural Federal District > Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug > West Siberian Basin > Central Basin > Salymskoye Field > Zapadno Salymskoye Field (0.99)
- Asia > Russia > Ural Federal District > Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug > West Siberian Basin > Central Basin > Salym Field > Verkhne Salymskoye Field > Vadelypskoye Field > Zapadno Salymskoyeskoye Field (0.99)
- (5 more...)
Nanoparticle Stabilized CO2 Foam: Effect of Different Ions
San, Jingshan (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) | Wang, Sai (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) | Yu, Jianjia (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) | Lee, Robert (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) | Liu, Ning (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology)
Abstract This paper reports the study of the effect of different ions (monovalent, bivalent, and multiple ions) on nanosilica-stabilized CO2 foam generation. CO2 foam was generated by co-injecting CO2/5,000 ppm nanosilica dispersion (dispersed in different concentrations of brine) into a sandstone core under 1,500 psi and room temperature. A sapphire observation cell was used to determine the foam texture and foam stability. Pressure drop across the core was measured to estimate the foam mobility. The results indicated that more CO2 foam was generated as the NaCl concentration increased from 1.0% to 10%. Also the foam texture became denser and foam stability improved with the NaCl concentration increase. The CO2 foam mobility decreased from 13.1 md/cp to 2.6 md/cp when the NaCl concentration increased from 1% to 10%. For the bivalent ions, the generated CO2 foam mobility decreased from 19.7 md/cp to 4.8 md/cp when CaCl2 concentration increased from 0.1% to 1.0%. Synthetic produced water with total dissolved solids of 17,835 ppm was prepared to investigate the effect of multiple ions on foam generation. The results showed that dense, stable CO2 foam was generated as the synthetic produced water and nanosilica dispersion/CO2 flowed through a porous medium. The lifetime of the foam was observed to be more than two days as the foam stood at room temperature. Mobility of the foam was calculated as 5.2 md/cp.
- North America > United States > Texas > Permian Basin > Yeso Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > Texas > Permian Basin > Yates Formation (0.99)
- North America > United States > Texas > Permian Basin > Wolfcamp Formation (0.99)
- (21 more...)