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Title: Glenn pool surfactant flood pilot test: comparison of laboratory and observation well data

Conference · · Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6869422

A surfactant flood pilot test was conducted in the William Berryhill lease of the Glenn Pool Field, Creek County, OK. The test was conducted in the Upper Sand in a 20-acre, four inverted 5-spot pattern. The field had been waterflooded and had a residual oil saturation of 30% PV. The pay thickness was about 25 ft at a depth of 1500 ft. The crude oil had an API gravity of 37/sup 0/ and a viscosity of 4.0 cp at a reservoir temperature of 95/sup 0/F. A preflush preceded the surfactant slug which was specifically formulated for this oil-wet reservoir of moderate salinity of 81,181 ppm total dissolved solids. There were two observation wells in line between an injector and the central producer, 125 ft and 200 ft from the injector, respectively. Fluids from the observation well were periodically sampled and analyzed. A large oil bank was observed in these wells, having an oil cut of 40% or higher. Chromatographic separation of sulfonate components was observed. A small amount of middle phase microemulsion was produced in the first observation well. The salinity of the sulfonate solution was intentionally set near the transition point between lower and middle phase microemulsions, based on our design concept reported before and this scheme appeared to have worked well. The oil-water interfacial tension during the production of the middle phase microemulsion was ultralow, confirming our earlier findings. Despite chromatographic separation, and changing sulfonate concentration and salinity, ultralow tension was maintained for a long period of time. The IFT behavior involving these variables was much more complex than expected. It was concluded that the process performance in the field as monitored in the observation wells was as good as or better than expected based on the laboratory linear core test results.

Research Organization:
Gulf R and D Co.
OSTI ID:
6869422
Report Number(s):
CONF-8304162-
Journal Information:
Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States), Vol. SPE/DOE 12694; Conference: 4. SPE/DOE symposium on enhanced oil recovery, Tulsa, OK, USA, 16 Apr 1983
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English