Visualization of the interactions between CO2 and Lloydminster Heavy Oil under Non-equilibrium Conditions

重油约占世界碳氢化合物储量的15%，如果包括超重油和沥青，则占世界碳氢化合物总储量的70%。加拿大的大部分石油生产来自 ** 西部盆地，主要是油砂/沥青和重油。开发这些巨大资源的各种技术已经到位，大致可分为热（蒸汽驱）和非热方法（化学驱）。稠油的生产有其悠久的传统，可以追溯到世纪初。油 ** 比重相当低，范围为10至12度。API，并在非热 ** 提高石油采收率（EOR）应用的前景范围内。二氧化碳（CO2）气体在大气中的浓度为0.03%，几十年来一直用于石油和天然气工业的EOR。对于大多数石油应用，CO2以气体或超临界流体的形式存在，即，密度接近液体但体积像气体一样充满的流体。考虑到无压储层压力（500 psi）** 和温度（15摄氏度），C），CO2可能以气态存在，其中它可能与油 ** 溶解，导致油溶胀、油粘度降低和中重组分蒸发。这项拟议研究的 ** 目标是可视化油藏条件下的CO2/石油相互作用。一系列的实验室实验将在一个专门设计的单元中进行，油样取自 ** 油田地层。实验结果提供了更多的线索：1）CO2/油 ** 界面的相互作用和油藏条件下的体积变化，以及2）由于CO2** 溶解在油中而导致的沥青质沉淀。这项研究的结果将为该行业提供一种替代方案，以提高 ** 大庆油田的石油产量，并最终有助于减少温室气体排放。

Heavy oil represents about 15 percent of world hydrocarbon reserves, and up to 70 percent of total world**hydrocarbon reserve if including extra heavy and bitumen. Majority of the oil production in Canada is from the**Western Basin with the dominant of oil sands/bitumen and heavy oil. Various techniques have been in place to**develop these enormous resources and can broadly be classified in thermal (steam-based flooding and**non-thermal methods (chemical-based flooding).**The production of Lloydminster heavy oil has its long tradition dated back to the early 20th century. The oil**gravities are considerably low, ranging from 10 to 12 deg. API, and in the promising range for non-thermal**Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) applications. Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas is present in the atmosphere at a**concentration of 0.03 percent and has been used for decades in the oil and gas industry for EOR. For most of**the petroleum applications, CO2 exists either as a gas or as a supercritical fluid, i.e., a fluid with the density**close to that of a liquid but volume-filling like a gas. Considering the Lloydminster reservoir pressure (500 psi)**and temperatures (15 deg. C), the CO2 likely exists in the gas state where it may undergo dissolution with oil**resulting in oil swelling, oil-viscosity reduction and vaporization of intermediate to heavy components. The**objective of this proposed study is to visualize the CO2/oil interactions at reservoir conditions. A series of**laboratory experiments are to be conducted in a custom-designed cell with oil samples taken from the**Lloydminster formation. The experimental results give more clues on 1) The interactions at the CO2/oil**interface and volume changes at reservoir conditions, and 2) Asphaltene precipitation as a result of CO2**dissolution in oil.**The results of this research will offer the industry an alternative to enhance the oil production in the**Lloydminster formation and ultimately contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emission.