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Experimental Analysis and Numerical Modeling of Polymer Flooding in Heavy Oil Recovery Enhancement: A Pore-Level Investigation

  • Research Article - Petroleum Engineering
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Abstract

This study provides new insights into pore-scale displacement events during the simultaneous flow of a low-molecular-weight polymer solution and heavy oil through porous media. Rheological measurements were taken to examine the viscosifying ability of the utilized polymer. The efficiency of the employed solutions in enhancing heavy oil recovery was also investigated using a pore network micromodel. Both macroscopic and microscopic sweep efficiencies were evaluated by analyzing high-resolution pictures continuously captured during the multiphase flow experiments. The rheological measurements revealed that viscosity of the polymer solution is more sensitive to increasing polymer concentration than salinity. Oil recovery experiments disclosed that polymer flooding could yield a recovery factor of about 58% of original oil in-place (OOIP), while the ultimate recovery factor for water flooding is only 35% of OOIP. The macroscopic observations proved that dwindling the formation of viscous fingers during polymer flooding is one of the main responsible factors for the significant improvement of heavy oil recovery. Moreover, the microscopic observations unveiled the noticeable effect of the polymer solution on the enhancement of microscopic sweep efficiency and showed that pulling effects and stripping mechanisms are effective in reducing the saturation of heavy oil at dead ends and pore walls.

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Abbreviations

\(\tau_{\text{o}}\) :

Yield stress (Pa)

\(\tau\) :

Shear stress (Pa)

\(\dot{\gamma }\) :

Shear rate (1/s)

\(\mu_{\text{p}}\) :

Polymer viscosity (cp)

\(\mu_{\text{w}}\) :

Water viscosity (cp)

\(\mu_{\text{p}}^{0}\) :

Polymer viscosity at zero shear rate (cp)

\(\dot{\gamma }_{1/2}\) :

Shear rate at which polymer viscosity is one half polymer viscosity at zero shear rate (1/s)

β p :

Parameter used to increase the strength of the divalent cation concentration

\(\mu_{\infty }\) :

Infinite shear viscosity in Carreau model (cp)

\(\mu_{0}\) :

Zero shear viscosity in Carreau model (cp)

λ :

Time-dependent parameter in Carreau model (s)

AD41:

The matching parameter for the UTCHEM adsorption model

AD42:

The matching parameter for the UTCHEM adsorption model

AP1:

The matching parameter for the UTCHEM viscosity model

AP2:

The matching parameter for the UTCHEM viscosity model

AP3:

The matching parameter for the UTCHEM viscosity model

C 11 :

Water concentration in the aqueous phase (vol%)

C 51 :

Anion concentration in the aqueous phase (meq/ml)

C 61 :

Cation concentration in the aqueous phase (meq/ml)

C4Ɩ:

Polymer concentration in the aqueous phase (wt%)

\(C_{\text{SEP}}^{\text{Sp}}\) :

The parameter allows for dependence of polymer viscosity on salinity and hardness

GAMMAC:

The matching parameter for shear viscosity model of UTCHEM

GAMHF:

The matching parameter for shear viscosity model of UTCHEM

K :

Consistency coefficient

n :

Flow behavior index

POWN, (Pα):

The matching parameter for shear viscosity model of UTCHEM

SSLOPE:

The parameter for salinity dependence of polymer viscosity in UTCHEM

CEOR:

Chemical enhanced oil recovery

EOR:

Enhanced oil recovery

XG:

Xanthan Gum

TVP:

Thermo-viscosyfing polymer

HPAM:

Hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymer

PAM:

Polyacrylamide

UTCHEM:

The University of Texas Chemical Compositional Simulator

PVI:

Pore volumes injected

OOIP:

Original oil in-place

BT:

Breakthrough time

REV:

Representative elementary volume

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Acknowledgements

The first author greatly appreciate Dr. Mahdi Amrollahi of the Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) for useful discussions during the course of this work. The financial support of the Eqbal Lahoori Institute of Higher Education is also highly appreciated. Finally, we would like to thank the reviewers for their invaluable comments and effort to improve the quality of our manuscript. 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Petroleum Engineering, Eqbal Lahoori Institute of Higher Education, Mashhad, Iran

    Seyed Shahram Khalilinezhad

  2. Department of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran

    Abdolnabi Hashemi

  3. Young Researchers and Elite Club, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Sina Mobaraki & Mahdi Zakavi

  4. Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK

    Khosro Jarrahian

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Khalilinezhad, S.S., Hashemi, A., Mobaraki, S. et al. Experimental Analysis and Numerical Modeling of Polymer Flooding in Heavy Oil Recovery Enhancement: A Pore-Level Investigation. Arab J Sci Eng 44, 10447–10465 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-04005-3

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