Pore-Scale Investigation of Microscopic Remaining Oil Variation Characteristic in Different Flow Rates Using Micro-CT

Baoyang Cheng, Junjian Li, Shuai Jiang, Chunhua Lu, Hang Su, Fuwei Yu and Hanqiao Jiang
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Baoyang Cheng: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Junjian Li: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Shuai Jiang: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Chunhua Lu: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Hang Su: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Fuwei Yu: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
Hanqiao Jiang: State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: The main means of secondary oil recovery is water flooding, which has been widely used in various oilfields. Different flow rates have a great impact on the recovery ratio and the occurrence of remaining oil. Scholars have carried out extensive research on it, but mostly on the macro scale, and research on the three-dimensional micro scale is also limited by accuracy and a lack of accurate understanding. In this paper, micro-CT and core displacement experiments are used to intuitively show the occurrence state of remaining oil under different flow rates. Through a series of quantitative image processing methods and remaining oil classification methods, the occurrence characteristics of remaining oil under different flow rates are systematically evaluated and studied. The results show that: (1) As the displacement rate increases, the remaining oil saturation decreases (61%; 35%; 23%), but the remaining oil is more evenly distributed along the slice; (2) Two lower displacement speeds (0.003 mL/min; 0.03 mL/min) can reduce the volume of huge oil clusters under oil-saturated conditions, and the highest displacement speed (0.3 mL/min) can completely break up large oil clusters into small oil droplets. At the same time, the shape factor of the oil clusters also gradually increases; (3) The proportion of continuous remaining oil volume decreases, and the proportion of discontinuous remaining oil increases. Discontinuous remaining oil is the main production target of EOR; (4) After water flooding, the microscopic remaining oil is more inclined to the middle and corner parts of the larger pores.

Keywords: flow rate; pore-scale; microscopic remaining oil; micro-CT (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 complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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