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Abstract Higher stability of the bulk and dynamic foam with polymer addition to the aqueous phase has been demonstrated experimentally. Recent experiments indicated that the efficacy of polymer enhanced foam (PEF) is dependent on polymer type and surfactant-polymer interaction. However, numerical modeling of PEF flow in porous media has been relatively less well understood due to the additional complexity. In this work, we propose modifications to the population-balance foam model for PEF modeling, and their successful use in matching the experimental results. The population-balance model proposed by Chen and co-workers has been used as development platform. Upon reviewing various aspects in the physics of foam generation, coalescence and mobility reduction in porous media with the addition of polymer, a modified population-balance model was proposed with new parameters pertaining to the polymer effect on the net foam generation and the limiting capillary pressure. The new model was implemented and used to history match foam coreflood experiments with and without polymer. In addition to the foam apparent viscosity increase due to higher viscosity of the aqueous phase, polymer also impacts foamability and foam stability of bulk foam as indicated in the literature. Our modified population-balance model introduce the viscosity terms in foam generation and coalescence coefficients to account for postulated positive impact on reducing liquid drainage and foam coalescence and negative impact on the characteristic time needed for bubble snap-off in porous media. Additionally, a modification in the limiting capillary pressure was proposed in the new model to include the polymer effect based on our analysis of the disjoining pressure. Two new model parameters are proposed and implemented accordingly. The new foam model succeeded in history-matching the anionic-surfactant-based and nonionic-surfactant-based PEF corefloods with different types of polymers through tuning the two new model parameters. The simulations also captured the transient increasing of the pressure drops induced by polymer transport and adsorption. The proposed model can be used to provide meaningful values of the model parameters that were able to explain the physical mechanisms behind the PEF floods and to guide future experimental design to further constraint the choices of model parameters. This work provided new methodology to model PEF flow in porous media using the mechanistic population-balance approach for the first time. With proper calibrations of the parameters proposed in the model, the new model can therefore be used to simulate PEF EOR processes to describe the combined effect of foam and polymer on the mobility control of the injectants.
- Asia (0.67)
- North America > United States > Oklahoma (0.28)
- North America > United States > Texas (0.28)
Designing and Injecting a Chemical Formulation for a Successful Off-Shore Chemical EOR Pilot in a High-Temperature, High-Salinity, Low-Permeability Carbonate Field
Levitt, David (Total) | Klimenko, Alexandra (Total) | Jouenne, Stephane (Total) | Passade-Boupat, Nicolas (Total) | Cordelier, Philippe (Total) | Morel, Danielle (Total) | Bourrel, Maurice (Total)
Abstract This article describes the formulation design, optimization, implementation, and lessons learned leading up to a successful 1-spot surfactant-polymer (SP) pilot in the Middle East. The target field is a high-temperature, high-salinity, low-permeability carbonate, and thus presents both great challenges and great potential for the application of chemical EOR technology. A surfactant-polymer (SP) formulation was optimized for these conditions based upon a novel, hydrophilicity-enhanced molecule for high-temperature, high-salinity reservoirs synthesized by Total R&D labs. Thermal stability tests, over 5000 microemulsion pipette tests, and more than 40 corefloods were performed during the screening and optimization process leading up to the 1-spot SP pilot. Additionally, a novel method was developed to optimize polymer molecular weight distribution, in order to decouple in-situ viscosity from near-wellbore injectivity. The final formulation consists of a 0.4 pore volume (PV) SP slug of 1.35% active surfactant, plus 1% clarifier, and SAV-225 polymer (SNF Floerger) in a 80 g/l brine corresponding to a hypothetical softened mixture of seawater and local aquifer water. This is followed by a polymer drive of AN-125 polymer (SNF Floerger) in softened seawater, such that a negative salinity gradient is imposed between the 230 g/l formation brine, 80 g/l SP slug, and 42 g/l seawater. The formulation was designed and implemented without need for a preflush. Residual oil saturation to chemicals (Sorc) in analog limestone cores was measured as 5%±2%, corresponding to a recovery factor (RF) of 90%±4%. Reservoir limestone contains significant heterogeneity on the core-scale, likely preventing the formation of an oil bank, and thus yielded lower recoveries (Sorc: 13%±2%, RF: 84%±4%). One-spot pilot recovery corresponded closely to recovery in analog cores (Sorc: 4%, RF = 90%, Al-Amrie et al., 2015), suggesting that the reason for the lower recovery in reservoir cores was in fact due to the short core length with respect to the mixing zone, as suggested in a previous publication (Levitt et al., 2012).
- Asia > Middle East (0.88)
- North America > United States > Montana > Roosevelt County (0.25)
- Energy > Oil & Gas > Upstream (1.00)
- Materials > Chemicals > Commodity Chemicals > Petrochemicals (0.69)