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Novel Insights into the Pore-scale Mechanisms of Enhanced Oil Recovery by CO2 Injection (SPE 154529)
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 74th EAGE Conference and Exhibition incorporating EUROPEC 2012, Jun 2012, cp-293-00395
- ISBN: 978-90-73834-27-9
Abstract
CO2 injection is a proven EOR (enhanced oil recovery) method, which has been extensively applied in the field. CO2 promotes oil recovery through a number of mechanisms including; CO2 dissolution, viscosity reduction, oil swelling, and extraction of light hydrocarbon components of crude oil. One of the main advantages considered for CO2 injection is that it can develop miscibility with most of light crude oils at a pressure lower than what would be required for other gases. Miscibility development is a function of reservoir pressure, temperature and also oil composition. In water flooded oil reservoirs, water can adversely affect the performance of CO2 injection as it reduces the contact between oil and CO2. However, CO2 will be able to dissolve into water and diffuse from water into the oil. The dynamic interplay between these various mechanisms is complicated and cannot be captured by existing models and simulations.