Impact of clay mineralogy on the petrophysical properties of tight sandstones

A full petrographic and petrophysical characterization of tight sandstones has been conducted as part of ongoing study of Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery (CO₂-EOR/EGR) and CO₂sequestration. The main purpose of this study is to give novel perception into the interplay of the rock characteristics and fluid...

Long-Distance Foam Propagation

Creating a gas-liquid foam means dispersing gas as individual bubbles in an aqueous solution, in which each gas bubble is separated by liquid films or lamella. The most common form of liquid foam (as opposed to solid foams, like polymer sponges) seen in day-to-day life is bulk foam. This refers to a foam that rests in a large container (or flows...

Impact of Crude Oil on Pre-Generated Foam in Porous Media

As foam is injected into an oil reservoir, the region near an injector can become oil-free due to the relatively high capillary number. Foam created in this region encounters oil further out in the reservoir. The impact of oil on foam in porous media is usually investigated by co-injecting surfactant, gas and oil, or by injecting pre...

Studies on foam in porous media and the effect of oil

Foam flooding can be applied in soil-remediation techniques or for improving oil recovery processes in petroleum reservoirs. There are models which aim to predict the behaviour of foam in presence of oil in bulk and in porous media, however these models are not very reliable. In this work we investigate different ways in which a specific crude...

Laboratory Investigation of Liquid Injectivity in Surfactant-Alternating-Gas Foam Enhanced Oil Recovery

Surfactant-alternating-gas (SAG) is a favored method of foam injection, in part because of excellent gas injectivity. However, liquid injectivity is usually very poor in SAG. We report a core-flood study of liquid injectivity under conditions like those near an injection well in SAG application in the field, i.e., after a prolonged period of gas...

The impacts of solubilized and dispersed crude oil on foam in a porous medium

Dispersed and solubilized oil can impact bulk foam stability differently. Though aromatic components are more soluble in water than straight-chain aliphatic components, solubilized aromatics do not necessarily impact the stability of foam in bulk or porous media, whereas straight-chain aliphatic components can have a detrimental impact (Bergeron...

SAG foam flooding in carbonate rocks

Foam is used in gas-injection EOR processes to reduce the mobility of gas, resulting in greater volumetric sweep. SAG (Surfactant Alternating Gas) is a preferred method of injection as it results in greater injectivity in the field, but designing a successful process requires knowledge of foaming performance at very high foam qualities (gas...

Impact of surfactant depletion on foam in porous media

EM Heating-Stimulated Water Flooding for Medium–Heavy Oil Recovery

We report a study of heavy oil recovery by combined water flooding and electromagnetic (EM) heating at a frequency of 2.45 GHz used in domestic microwave ovens. A mathematical model describing this process was developed. Model equations were solved, and the solution is presented in an integral form for the one-dimensional case. Experiments...

Effect of temperature on foam flow in porous media

Foam can increase sweep efficiency within a porous medium, which is useful for oil-recovery processes[1]. The flow of foam in porous media is a complex process that depends on properties like permeability, porosity and surface chemistry, but also temperature. Although the surface activity of surfactants as a function of temperature is well...