Effect of Permeability on Implicit-Texture Foam Model Parameters and the Limiting Capillary Pressure

Accurate modeling of foam rheology on the field scale requires detailed understanding of the correlation between the fundamental properties of foam and the scalable parameters of the porous medium. It has been experimentally observed that foam experiences an abrupt coalescence when the capillary pressure in the porous medium approaches a certain...

Discerning in situ performance of an eor agent in the midst of geological uncertainty

An enhanced-oil-recovery pilot test has multiple goals, among them to verify the properties of the EOR agent in situ. Given the complexity of EOR processes and the inherent uncertainty in the reservoir description, it is a challenge to discern the properties of the EOR agent in situ. We present a simple case study to illustrate this challenge: a...

Small core flood experiments for foam EOR: Screening surfactant applications

Aqueous foams are a means of increasing the sweep efficiency of enhanced oil recovery processes. An understanding of how a foam behaves in the presence of oil is therefore of great importance when selecting suitable surfactants for EOR processes. The consensus is currently that the most reliable method for determining the foam behavior in the...

Effect of Permeability on Foam-model Parameters and the Limiting Capillary Pressure

Accurate modelling of foam rheology on the field scale requires detailed understanding of the correlation between the fundamental properties of foam and the scalable parameters of the porous medium. It has been experimentally observed that foam experiences an abrupt coalescence when the capillary pressure in the porous medium approaches a...

Injectivity errors in simulation of foam EOR

Injectivity is a key factor in the economics of foam enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Poor injectivity of low-mobility foam slows the production of oil and allows more time for gravity segregation of injected gas. The conventional Peaceman equation (1978), when applied in a large grid block, makes two substantial errors in estimating foam...

Modeling Flow in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs: Effect of Fracture Aperture Distribution on Critical Sub-Network for Flow

Fracture network connectivity and aperture (or conductivity) distribution are two crucial features controlling the flow behavior of fractured formations. The effect of connectivity on flow properties is well documented. We focus here on the influence of fracture aperture distribution. We model a two-dimensional fractured reservoir in which the...

Challenges in adjoint-based optimization of a foam EOR process

We apply adjoint-based optimization to a Surfactant-Alternating-Gas foam process using a linear foam model introducing gradual changes in gas mobility and a nonlinear foam model giving abrupt changes in gas mobility as function of oil and water saturations and surfactant concentration. For the linear foam model, the objective function is a...

Interfacial Interactions of CO2-Water-Bentheimer Sandstone System - Dissolution and Contact Angle

CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers and depleted gas reservoirs is largely controlled by interfacial phenomena among fluid phases and rock pore spaces. Reduction of the interfacial tension may result in the mobilization of connate water (capillary trapping). In addition, dissolving CO2 in formation water is one of the most important mechanisms...

Effect of Pressure on Wetting Properties of Crude Oil, Sandstone Rock, Water, CO2 and (or) Flue Gas System

Carbon dioxide injection, either miscible or immiscible, has been known as an efficient strategy to enhance oil recovery as well as reduce CO2 emission. Wettability has a significant effect on the performance of enhanced oil recovery techniques because of its effect on fluid saturation distribution and flow behavior in porous media. For oil-wet...

Fitting foam simulation model parameters to data

Interfacial Tension and Contact Angle Determination in Water-sandstone Systems with Injection of Flue Gas and CO2

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has the potential for reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. This option includes storage strategies such as CO2 injection into deep saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and unmineable coal seams. This process is largely controlled by the interactions between CO2, the reservoir fluid and reservoir...

Injectivity Errors in Simulation of Foam EOR

Injectivity is a key factor in the economics of foam EOR processes. Poor injectivity of lowmobility foam slows the production of oil and allows more time for gravity segregation of injected gas. The conventional Peaceman equation, when applied in a large grid block, makes two substantial errors in estimating injectivity: it ignores the rapidly...

A 2d model for the effect of gas diffusion on mobility of foam for EOR

Transport of gas across liquid films between bubbles is cited as one reason why CO2 foams for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are usually weaker than N2 foams and why steam foams are weaker than foams of steam mixed with N2. We examine here the effect of inter-bubble gas diffusion on flowing bubbles in a simplified model of a porous medium (a...

Adjoint-based optimization of a foam EOR process

We apply adjoint-based optimization to a Surfactant-Alternating-Gas foam process using a linear foam model introducing gradual changes in gas mobility and a nonlinear foam model giving abrupt changes in gas mobility as function of oil and water saturations and surfactant concentration. For the linear foam model, the objective function is a...

Stability analysis of uniform equilibrium foam states for EOR processes

The use of foam for mobility control is a promising mean to improve sweep efficiency in EOR. Experimental studies discovered that foam exhibits three different states (weak foam, intermediate foam, and strong foam). The intermediate-foam state is found to be unstable in the lab whereas the weak- and strong-foam states are stable. The model of...