A model for determining inaccessible pore volume in polymer flooding

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · In Situ; (United States)

OSTI ID:5518437

Jensen, T B ^[1]; Satchwell, R M ^[2]

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1. Inst. for Energy Technology, P.O. Box 40, N-2008 Kjeller (NO)
2. Western Research Inst., Laramie, WY (US)

Until now, only imprecise approximation of inaccessible pore volume have been employed in mathematical models of polymer flooding, causing these reservoir models to yield inaccurate results. This paper reports a new model to precisely describe inaccessible pore volume in polymer flow through porous media. The model can also be applied as a screening tool for determining candidate reservoirs for polymer flooding given a typical polymer, or it can be used to screen different polymer types once a candidate reservoir has been chosen. This new model is based on theoretical and actual pore throat entry and polymer molecule size distributions. Both pore throat and polymer size distributions are thoroughly reviewed. Inaccessible pore volume, in this model, is defined as the probability of randomly selected polymer molecules being larger than randomly selected pore throats, and is determined by statistically describing the polymer and pore throats as continuous distributions. Examples of the inaccessible pore volume model employing Uniform, Triangular, and Gamma distributions are included. Results obtained show an adequate match between experimental data and theoretical results. A nomograph for determining inaccessible pore volume in polymer flow through porous media based on pore throat and polymer molecule sizes is presented.

• OSTI ID: 5518437
• Journal Information: In Situ; (United States), Vol. 16:1; ISSN 0019-3267
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
DISPLACEMENT FLUIDS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
POLYMERS
FLUID FLOW
RESERVOIR ROCK
WELL STIMULATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
OIL WELLS
PARTICLE SIZE
POROUS MATERIALS
WELL DRILLING
DATA
DRILLING
FLUID INJECTION
FLUIDS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
NUMERICAL DATA
SIZE
STIMULATION
TESTING
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production
990200 - Mathematics & Computers