Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Water and miscible fluid flooding method having good vertical conformance for recovering oil

Patent ·
OSTI ID:6927940

A method for recovering oil from a subterranean formation by alternately injecting water and fluid miscible with the oil into the formation to displace the oil is disclosed. In this method, the wells are spaced sufficiently close together, and the water and miscible fluid are injected at a rate, such that a value between 0.3 and 1.5 is obtained for a dimensionless parameter. This parameter is a ratio of viscous flow forces to gravity forces. It is equal to the total injection rate of the water and miscible fluid divided by the product of the density difference between the miscible fluid and the water, the average vertical permeability of the reservoir, the area of the reservoir to be flooded by an injection well, and the sum of the mobilities of the miscible fluid and the water at steady state around the injection well.

Assignee:
Exxon Production Research Co.
Patent Number(s):
US 4427067
OSTI ID:
6927940
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English