Modeling low saline carbonated water flooding including surface complexes

Abstract

Carbonated water flooding (CWI) increases oil production due to favorable dissolution effects and viscosity reduction. Accurate modeling of CWI performance requires a simulator with the ability to capture the true physics of such process. In this study, compositional modeling coupled with surface complexation modeling (SCM) are done, allowing a unified study of the influence in oil recovery of reduction of salt concentration in water. The compositional model consists of the conservation equations of total carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, chloride and decane. The coefficients of such equations are obtained from the equilibrium partition of chemical species that are soluble both in oleic and the aqueous phases. SCM is done by using the PHREEQC program, which determines concentration of the master species. Estimation of the wettability as a function of the Total Bound Product (TBP) that takes into account the concentration of the complexes in the aqueous, oleic phases and in the rock walls is performed. We solve analytically and numerically these equations in 1 - D in order to elucidate the effects of the injection of low salinity carbonated water into a reservoir containing oil equilibrated with high salinity carbonated water.