Simulation of foam enhanced-oil-recovery processes using operator-based linearization approach

Foam injection is a promising enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) technology that significantly improves the sweep efficiency of gas injection. Simulation of foam/oil displacement in reservoirs is an expensive process for conventional simulation because of the strongly nonlinear physics, such as multiphase flow and transport with oil/foam...

Quantitative Modeling of the Effect of Oil on Foam for Enhanced Oil Recovery

The effectiveness of foam for mobility control in the presence of oil is key to foam enhanced oil recovery (EOR). A fundamental property of foam EOR is the existence of two steady-state flow regimes: the high-quality regime and the low-quality regime. Experimental studies have sought to understand the effect of oil on foam through its effect on...

Three-Phase Fractional-Flow Theory of Foam-Oil Displacement in Porous Media with Multiple Steady States

Understanding the interplay of foam and non-aqueous phases in porous media is key to improving the design of foam for enhanced oil recovery and remediation of aquifers and soils. A widely used implicit-texture foam model predicts phenomena analogous to cusp catastrophe theory: the surface describing foam apparent viscosity as a function of...

New Capillary Number Definition for Micromodels: The Impact of Pore Microstructure

A new capillary number (N _ca ) definition is proposed for 2-D etched micromodels. We derive the new definition from a force balance on a nonwetting ganglion trapped by capillarity. It incorporates the impact of pore microstructure on mobilization. The geometrical factors introduced can be estimated directly from image analysis of...

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Oil on Steady-State Foam Flow in Porous Media

Foam flow in porous media without oil shows two regimes depending on foam quality (gas fractional flow). Complexity and limited data on foam/oil interactions in porous media greatly restrict understanding of foam in contact with oil. Distinguishing which regimes are affected by oil is key to modeling the effect of oil on foam. We report...

CT coreflood study of foam flow for enhanced oil recovery: The effect of oil type and saturation

We present a CT coreflood study of foam, both pre-generated and generated in-situ, displacing oil, as a function of oil type and saturation. Foam generation and propagation are reflected through sectional pressure measurements. Dual-energy CT imaging monitors in-time phase saturations. With an oil less harmful to foam (hexadecane), injection...