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Abstract

Summary

In carbonate fields the wettability condition is known to vary. In viscous surfactant flooding of rock matrix, both reduction of residual oil saturation (Sor) and accelerated oil production by kr-improvement may occur. The fracture characteristic also often varies within carbonate fields, and the importance of viscous flooding of rock matrix compared to spontaneous imbibition therefore varies. Classical surfactant systems with reduction of interfacial tension (IFT) will reduce the spontaneous imbibition rate and thereby give slower oil recovery in fractured reservoirs, but exceptions have been reported in the literature. The objective of the study was to evaluate the potential for surfactant flooding in a fractured chalk field. The focus was to determine the effect of low IFT on the spontaneous imbibition of water at water-wet and less water-wet conditions.

Experiments were carried out with a selected surfactant system prepared in modified sea water (MSW). Spontaneous imbibition of MSW and surfactant solution was studied by injecting the fluid into fractured chalk models (longer core plugs with concentric hole filled with glass beads) prepared with different wettability. In addition, smaller plugs were prepared by the same method and wettability was characterized by spontaneous imbibition and force imbibition experiments.

In spontaneous imbibition experiments in less water-wet and water-wet fractured chalk models, the surfactant system accelerated the oil production and gave lower residual oil saturation (Sor) compared to MSW. The oil was produced during rather long periods in surfactant flooding of fractured models and core plugs. The may be due to poor mobility control and/or chromatographic separation of components in the surfactant system. Pressure build-up was observed during surfactant flooding of fractured models at water-wet conditions and not less water-wet conditions. This may be due to easier interactions between surfactant system and rock at water-wet than at less water-wet conditions.

The established wettability conditions appeared to be different in the smaller and larger core plugs. This was probably due to the higher initial water saturation (Swi) and larger capillary end effects in the smaller core plugs than in the larger core plugs.

It has been shown that surfactant flooding with low IFT can both accelerate the spontaneous imbibition and give lower residual oil saturation.

It is recommended to identify environmentally friendly polymers of lower molecular weight for mobility control in chalk reservoirs. The effect of variation in effective permeability, wettability conditions and gravity should also be investigated within the range found in the chalk fields.

© EAGE Publications BV
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/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202331011
2023-10-02
2025-04-19

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/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202331011
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Surfactant Flooding in Fractured Chalk Reservoir
Conference Proceedings 2023, 1 (2023); https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202331011
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202331011
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202331011
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