Visualization of Chemical Heavy Oil EOR Displacement Mechanisms in a 2D System

Francy Guerrero, Jonathan Bryan and Apostolos Kantzas
Additional contact information
Francy Guerrero: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N1N4, Canada
Jonathan Bryan: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N1N4, Canada
Apostolos Kantzas: Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N1N4, Canada

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: This study aims to develop a visual understanding of the macro-displacement mechanisms associated with heavy oil recovery by water and chemical flooding in a 2D system. The sweep efficiency improvements by water, surfactant, polymer, and surfactant-polymer (SP) were evaluated in a Hele-Shaw cell with no local pore-level trapping of fluids. The results demonstrated that displacement performance is highly correlated to the mobility ratio between the fluids. Surfactant and water reached similar oil recovery values at similar mobility ratios; however, they exhibited different flow patterns in the 2D system—reductions in IFT can lead to the formation of emulsions and alter flow pathways, but in the absence of porous media these do not lead to significant improvements in oil recovery. Polymer flooding displayed a more stable front and a higher reduction in viscous fingering. Oil recovery by SP was achieved mostly by polymer rather than due to the effect of the surfactant. The surfactant in the SP slug washed out residual oil in the swept zone without increasing the swept area. This shows the impact of the surfactant on reducing the oil saturation in water-swept zones, but the overall oil recovery was still controlled by the injection of polymer. This study provides insight into the fluid flow behavior in diverging flow paths, as opposed to linear core floods that have limited pathways. The visualization of bulk liquid interactions between different types of injection fluids and oil in the Hele-Shaw cell might assist in the screening process for new chemicals and aid in testing the production process.

Keywords: heavy oil; chemical flooding; 2D model tests; heavy oil recovery mechanisms; Hele-Shaw cell; chemical 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 complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/950/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/4/950/ (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:14:y:2021:i:4:p:950-:d:497637

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 ().