Dynamic Interactions between Matrix and Fracture in Miscible Solvent Flooding of Fractured Reservoirs

Miscible solvent injection has received increasing attention in recent years as an efficient method to improve oil recovery from fractured reservoirs. Due to the large permeability difference between fracture and matrix, the success of this method depends to large extent on the degree of enhancement of the mass exchange rate between the solvent flowing through the fracture and the oil residing in the matrix. A series of experiments have been conducted to investigate the mass transfer rate between the fracture and the matrix. Different scenarios have been considered to examine the effect of flow rate, matrix permeability, fracture aperture, and oil properties. To this end a porous medium (fully saturated with oil) is placed in a vertical core holder that can be used in a CT scanner, to simulate the matrix. A small slit between the porous medium and the core holder simulates the fracture. The interaction between the matrix and fracture is visualized for solvent flooding by means of CT-Scanning, which can be used to validate theories of enhanced transfer in fractured media. The experimental data are compared with a simulation model that takes diffusive, gravitational and convective forces into account.