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On the Role of Gas Compressibility on Foam Injection in Porous Media

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Abstract

Foam injections in porous medium were performed throughout various objectives from Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) in 1970s to In Situ Environmental Remediation (ISER) in the mid-1980s. Several foam models were developed with the will to reproduce laboratory experiments and then, field applications related to different working conditions. Nevertheless, compressible effects on the gas phase remain sparsely investigated on both experimentation interpretations and foam models. In this paper, we present a compressible interpretation of a 1D core foam injection experiment, showing that gas compressibility has a pronounced effect despite a relative high working pressure. Based on experimental pressure values along the core, a semi-analytical Local Equilibrium (LE) foam model using a Mobility Factor FM was set and variables behaviour along the core were investigated. Then, foam parameters (fmmob, fmdry and epdry) were determined, and the laboratory experiment was successfully simulated using this compressible solver. Numerical simulations were then performed using the incompressible and compressible solvers. \(\nabla P = f(f_g) \vert _{U_t = constant}\) extrapolated curves for both solvers were plotted and compared to highlight the role of compressibility. Moreover, coupled effects of foam compressibility and foam rheology were discussed.

Article Highlights

  • A large part of foam injections in porous medium are greatly impacted by gas decompression.

  • Foam flowing properties interpretation in a 1D core experiment is updated and discussed.

  • The gas phase compressiblity appears as a key parameter for field applications to counter the radial effect around the wellbore.

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Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Olivier Atteia, Jean Lachaud and Henri Bertin have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. EA 4592 Georessources et Environnement, ENSEGID, 1 Allee Fernand Daguin, 33607, Pessac, France

    Alexandre Vicard & Olivier Atteia

  2. I2M, UMR CNRS 5295, 351 Cours de la Libération, 33405, Talence, France

    Jean Lachaud & Henri Bertin

Authors
  1. Alexandre Vicard
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  2. Olivier Atteia
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  3. Jean Lachaud
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  4. Henri Bertin
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by AV under the revision of OA. Numerical applications were performed by AV under the revision of JL. Manuscript proofreading was realised by JL and HB to ensure its consistency. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Alexandre Vicard.

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Vicard, A., Atteia, O., Lachaud, J. et al. On the Role of Gas Compressibility on Foam Injection in Porous Media. Transp Porous Med 148, 459–477 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-023-01947-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-023-01947-z

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