Displacement of oil from reservoir rock using microemulsions

Thesis/Dissertation · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1973

OSTI ID:6750412

Al-Rikabi, H M

One of the newest methods for recovering oil from reservoir rock uses microemulsions. Microemulsions consist essentially of hydrocarbon, surfactant, cosurfactant (stabilizing agent), and water. This research was directed to study the effectiveness of microemulsions in displacing oil from porous media. The effectiveness of microemulsions was measured for various chemical compositions and bank sizes. The floods were conducted not only in linear systems, but also in models representing a section of a 5-spot. The models consisted of unconsolidated sand and actual consolidated sandstone. Kerosine and crude oil were used in the experiments. Microemulsion solutions were developed that were miscible with oil, water, and polymer solution. It was found that a bank size of 3% of a pore volume of microemulsion solution followed by thickened water displaced essentially all of the oil from the linear sand pack model. A bank size of 7% of a pore volume of microemulsion solution followed by thickened water displaced essentially all the oil from the linear consolidated sandstone model, and a 5-spot sand pack model. A bank size of 10% of a pore volume of microemulsion solution followed by thickened water displaced essentially all the oil from a 5-spot consolidated sandstone model.

• OSTI ID: 6750412
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
EFFICIENCY
EMULSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
MICROEMULSIONS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
POROSITY
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR ROCK
ROCKS
SAND
SANDSTONES
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SURFACTANTS
WATER
WELLS