A Review of Wettability Alteration by Spontaneous Imbibition Using Low-Salinity Water in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

Marzhan Karimova, Razieh Kashiri, Peyman Pourafshary () and Randy Hazlett
Additional contact information
Marzhan Karimova: School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Razieh Kashiri: School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Peyman Pourafshary: School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan
Randy Hazlett: School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-39

Abstract: Analysis of fluid flow in naturally fractured reservoirs (NFRs), as a highly heterogeneous and complex system, requires a detailed study of the fracture-matrix interactions. The main process of fluid movement between the fracture and matrix is spontaneous imbibition (SI), which can occur in co/countercurrent fluid flow states. In addition, most carbonate rocks are fractured and non-water-wet, which can lead to low oil recovery. Wettability greatly affects the performance of the SI process. Injection of water or chemicals can be insufficient because fluids mostly pass through highly permeable fractures and lead to early breakthrough. Therefore, the wettability alteration mechanism should be applied in NFRs, and low-salinity water (LSW) injection is considered an effective enhanced oil recovery (EOR) approach. In this review, experimental and numerical studies of co/counter-imbibition are analyzed to show the importance of investigating the fracture-matrix interactions. In addition, the review shows the wettability effect on imbibition in fractured rocks. The review of experimental studies of LSW imbibition in fractured carbonates shows the possibilities for implementing an EOR method. However, the wettability alteration process during SI using LSW has not yet been studied, and no simulation models of co/countercurrent flows have yet been provided. Based on this review, more experimental studies are recommended to duplicate co/countercurrent imbibition using LSW. Advanced techniques such as CT scanning, MRI, and NTI can be used to reveal fluid distribution. Using experimental data, numerical models can be developed to characterize dynamic wettability alteration during co/countercurrent imbibition.

Keywords: spontaneous imbibition; naturally fractured reservoirs; low-salinity water; carbonate (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: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/5/2373/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/5/2373/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:5:p:2373-:d:1085004

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().