Pore-Scale Simulations of CO 2 /Oil Flow Behavior in Heterogeneous Porous Media under Various Conditions

Qingsong Ma, Zhanpeng Zheng, Jiarui Fan, Jingdong Jia, Jingjing Bi, Pei Hu, Qilin Wang, Mengxin Li, Wei Wei and Dayong Wang
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Qingsong Ma: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Zhanpeng Zheng: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Jiarui Fan: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Jingdong Jia: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Jingjing Bi: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Pei Hu: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Qilin Wang: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Mengxin Li: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
Wei Wei: Department of Alternative Energy, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Langfang 065007, China
Dayong Wang: Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: Miscible and near-miscible flooding are used to improve the performance of carbon-dioxide-enhanced oil recovery in heterogeneous porous media. However, knowledge of the effects of heterogeneous pore structure on CO 2 /oil flow behavior under these two flooding conditions is insufficient. In this study, we construct pore-scale CO 2 /oil flooding models for various flooding methods and comparatively analyze CO 2 /oil flow behavior and oil recovery efficiency in heterogeneous porous media. The simulation results indicate that compared to immiscible flooding, near-miscible flooding can increase the CO 2 sweep area to some extent, but it is still inefficient to displace oil in small pore throats. For miscible flooding, although CO 2 still preferentially displaces oil through big throats, it may subsequently invade small pore throats. In order to substantially increase oil recovery efficiency, miscible flooding is the priority choice; however, the increase of CO 2 diffusivity has little effect on oil recovery enhancement. For immiscible and near-miscible flooding, CO 2 injection velocity needs to be optimized. High CO 2 injection velocity can speed up the oil recovery process while maintaining equivalent oil recovery efficiency for immiscible flooding, and low CO 2 injection velocity may be beneficial to further enhancing oil recovery efficiency under near-miscible conditions.

Keywords: CO 2 -EOR; pore-scale simulation; heterogeneous porous media; immiscible flooding; miscible flooding (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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