Mechanisms of residual oil displacement by steam injection

Journal Article · Tue Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1988 · SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reserv. Eng.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2118/16333-PA· OSTI ID:6804913

Stewart, L D; Udell, K S ^[1]

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1. Univ. of California, CA (US)

In an attempt to isolate various thermal and hydrodynamic mechanisms, a model of one-dimensional (1D) steam displacement of residual oil has been developed. The quasisteady model considers capillary pressure gradients and gravity forces during the simultaneous flow of oil, water, and steam to be the dominant factors in oil-bank mobilization. It was shown that under most conditions, the Buckley-Leverett displacement velocity is significantly faster than the steam-condensation-front velocity. This feature dictates the use of the steam-condensation-front velocity as the characteristic velocity in the problem formulation. Semianalytical solutions of saturation and pressure distributions are presented. Experiments were conducted to examine steam displacement of volatile, partially volatile, and nonvolatile nonaqueous-phase liquids at a residual saturation of 2.5%. Complete displacement of all low-viscosity, partially volatile liquids was observed. Displacement of a high-viscosity, nonvolatile oil was not observed. These experiments and similar results from the literature were in reasonable agreement with the model. It is concluded that mass-transfer-limited evaporation of hydrocarbon components with significant vapor pressures is responsible for the observed low residual oil saturations (ROS's) in the steam zone.

• OSTI ID: 6804913
• Journal Information: SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reserv. Eng.; (United States), Journal Name: SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reserv. Eng.; (United States) Vol. 3:4; ISSN SREEE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
BLOOD VESSELS
BODY
CAPILLARIES
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
DISPLACEMENT FLUIDS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FLUID MECHANICS
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDRODYNAMICS
MASS TRANSFER
MECHANICS
OIL SATURATION
ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PETROLEUM
PHASE STUDIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PRESSURE GRADIENTS
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR ROCK
RESIDUAL PETROLEUM
SATURATION
STEAM INJECTION
THERMAL RECOVERY
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
VAPOR PRESSURE
WATER SATURATION