Improvement of CO/sub 2/ flood performance. Annual report. [Synthetic oil]

Technical Report · Tue Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:5855646

Heller, J P

This report gives detailed description of progress in our research into three major areas of CO/sub 2/ flooding. Topic I concerns mixing and phase behavior of CO/sub 2/ and crude oils at reservoir conditions and methods of predicting pressures required for miscibility. We present measurements and theoretical calculations, and outline shop and design work now being completed to increase the usefulness of the continuous multiple contact (CMC) apparatus. These improvements include on-line, high-pressure viscosity measurements and better temperature control. A weighted parameter correlation formula has been developed to predict minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) from crude oil composition. Topic II examines the process of displacement in reservoir rock, concentrating on those aspects that influence flood efficiency and the extent of the mixing zone. Mathematical and computer description is performed of the output concentration curve from core floods, with the goal of scaling these results up to the reservoir-size process. Work on a smaller scale has produced informative video records of displacement in micromodels. Topic III is concerned with mobility control in CO/sub 2/ floods. While the extent of loss of displacement efficiency due to the low viscosity of CO/sub 2/ is variable from field to field, the major goal of research in this area is to develop means for thickening CO/sub 2/ where mobility control is needed. Two methods are being studied. The first is ''CO/sub 2/-foam'' - the simultaneous injection of dense CO/sub 2/ and surfactant solution. The second method is the development of special polymers to dissolve in the CO/sub 2/ and directly increase its viscosity. 123 refs., 79 figs., 20 tabs.

• Research Organization: New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro (USA). New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center
• OSTI ID: 5855646
• Report Number(s): NMERDI-2-73-4316; ON: DE86901305
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ADDITIVES
ALKANES
AROMATICS
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON DIOXIDE INJECTION
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COLLOIDS
COMPRESSIBILITY
CONTROL
CYCLOALKANES
DATA
DENSITY
DIAGRAMS
DISPERSIONS
DRILL CORES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD
FLUID FLOW
FLUID INJECTION
FOAMS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
INFORMATION
ITERATIVE METHODS
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MEDIUM PRESSURE
MEDIUM TEMPERATURE
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
MOBILITY
NUMERICAL DATA
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OIL WELLS
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PHASE DIAGRAMS
PHASE STUDIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLYMERS
POROUS MATERIALS
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
RECOVERY
ROCKS
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SIMULATION
SOLUBILITY
SOLVENT PROPERTIES
SURFACTANTS
VISCOSITY
WELLS