Improvement of CO2 flood performance: Third annual report, October 1, 1986--September 30, 1987

Technical Report · Tue Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6805091

Heller, J P; Kovarik, F S; Taber, J J

This report provides results obtained for the third year of a three-year, comprehensive, cost-shared, applied research program to improve oil recovery through carbon dioxide (CO2) flooding. The program was composed of three areas: Task 1--Phase Behavior and Fluid Property Measurements, Task 2--Mixing of CO2 and Oil During Flow in Reservoir Rocks, and Task 3--Mobility Control in CO2 Floods. In Task 1, the continuous phase equilibrium apparatus was used to measure simultaneously the viscosity, density, and composition of CO2-hydrocarbon systems at high pressure. These data were compared to a well-known correlation used in predicting viscosities in reservoir simulation studies. Other work in this area consisted of slim-tube tests using CO2 and both a synthetic and a crude oil in order to study the effects of methane on optimum oil recovery with CO2. In Task 2, the performances of secondary and tertiary displacements of crude oil by CO2 in cores were measured and compared to predictions made with a multicomponent, one-dimensional simulator. Results from the core tests suggest that it may be possible to achieve optimum oil recovery with CO2 at pressures which are lower than the conventionally obtained optimum pressure estimated from a slim-tube test. In the final part of this task, flow visualization experiments were conducted in glass micromodels to study the effect of micro-heterogeneity on the flow of CO2 and surfactant-generated foam. In Task 3, procedures and equipment were developed to measure the steady-state mobility of foam-like dispersions of dense CO2 in surfactant solutions. 74 refs., 116 figs., 31 tabs.

• Research Organization: New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro (USA). New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center
• DOE Contract Number: FC21-84MC21136
• OSTI ID: 6805091
• Report Number(s): NMRDI-2-75-5340; PRRC-87-9; ON: DE89004697
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
DISASTERS
DOCUMENT TYPES
EVALUATION
FLOODS
OIL WELLS
OPTIMIZATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRODUCTION
PROGRESS REPORT
SURFACTANTS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TESTING
WELLS