Role of Ionic Composition and Interaction in Oil-Water-Rock Systems during Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes involving Low-Salinity Fluid and CO2 Injection

低矿化度流体和 CO2 注入提高采收率过程中油-水-岩石系统中离子组成和相互作用的作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04841
• 负责人: Sarma, Hemanta
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=746954
• 关键词: Role; Ionic; Composition; Interaction; Oil

Today, exploration for new oilfields is a high-risk venture due to the low oil price. Therefore, a logical lower-cost alternative is to target and extract residual oil from the already discovered and developed oil reservoirs, particularly the Canadian light-oil reservoirs with an estimated oil reserve of 5.5 billion barrels. Even a single percent improvement in the recovery of oil from these reservoirs will yield rich dividends for Canada. My program has a direct relevance to such reservoirs in Canada and elsewhere, where the traditional waterflood has performed poorly due to unfavorable rock wettability and high post-flood residual oil saturation, thus making a difference between a successful and a marginal project, particularly in the current low-oil price environment. The unfavorable rock wettability, in particular, leads to poor relative permeability characteristics for the oil, and this in turn, causes the premature breakthrough of the injected water in production wells resulting in a much lower-than-expected oil recovery factor.     My research aims to find solutions to overcome or diminish the effects of unfavorable rock wettability by making changes in the ionic composition and salinity of the injected water. In this program, I will also explore how some of these light-oil Canadian reservoirs can be utilized, concomitantly, to sequester CO2 and recover oil. Therefore, this program has dual objectives: EOR and partial CO2 sequestration through an EOR process.     A systematic approach has been charted to meet the program objectives through a well-defined work plan comprising both modeling and experimental studies. The program includes a fundamental study of water geochemistry and key rock-fluid geochemical reactions under various ionic compositions. This is followed by a study of CO2 EOR with an optimized composition of the injected water to partly sequester CO2 in the reservoir. It will generate a new water chemistry to improve waterflood oil recovery as well as quantify the CO2 sequestration potential during CO2 EOR processes.     Geochemical reactions and transport models developed in the program will be validated through specially-designed laboratory tests to study oil-rock-brine interactions, wettability alteration, relative permeability and surface-charge behavior, ionic transport, and finally, the oil recovery and CO2 fixation in the rock. This will be followed by additional validation using representative rock-fluid samples and data from a few selected Canadian light-oil reservoirs to establish the lab-to-field linkage of the program outcomes.     During the course of the program, I will provide comprehensive research-based training in advanced modeling and laboratory studies to 7 HQPs, who will also engage synergistically in scholarly outreach, contributions and interactions with peers in dissemination of our findings through refereed journals, conferences and other such knowledge-sharing platforms, like forums and workshops.

今天，由于油价低，勘探新油田是一项高风险的事业。因此，一个合理的低成本替代办法是从已经发现和开发的储油层，特别是估计石油储量为55亿桶的加拿大轻质储油层中寻找和开采残余石油。即使这些油藏的石油采收率提高一个百分点，也将为加拿大带来丰厚的红利。我的计划与加拿大和其他地方的此类油藏直接相关，由于不利的岩石润湿性和高的洪水后残余油饱和度，传统的注水效果不佳，因此成功和边际项目之间存在差异，特别是在当前的低油价环境下。特别地，不利的岩石润湿性导致油的差的相对渗透率特性，并且这又导致生产威尔斯中的注入水的过早突破，从而导致远低于预期的油采收率。 我的研究旨在通过改变注入水的离子组成和矿化度来克服或减少不利的岩石润湿性的影响。在这个项目中，我还将探讨如何利用加拿大的一些轻油油藏，同时，封存二氧化碳和回收石油。因此，该计划具有双重目标：EOR和通过EOR过程的部分CO2封存。 一个系统的方法已经绘制，以满足计划目标，通过一个明确的工作计划，包括建模和实验研究。该计划包括水地球化学和各种离子组成下的关键岩石流体地球化学反应的基础研究。随后进行了CO2 EOR研究，其中优化了注入水的组成，以部分隔离储层中的CO2。它将产生一种新的水化学，以提高水驱油采收率，并量化CO2 EOR过程中的CO2封存潜力。 该计划中开发的地球化学反应和传输模型将通过专门设计的实验室测试进行验证，以研究油-岩石-盐水相互作用，润湿性改变，相对渗透率和表面电荷行为，离子传输，最后，石油采收率和岩石中的CO2固定。随后将使用代表性岩石流体样品和来自几个选定的加拿大轻质油储层的数据进行额外验证，以建立实验室与现场的联系。 在该计划的过程中，我将提供先进的建模和实验室研究的综合研究为基础的培训，7 HQP，谁也将参与协同学术推广，贡献和互动与同行在传播我们的研究结果通过审阅期刊，会议和其他这样的知识共享平台，如论坛和研讨会。