Sodium bicarbonate in chemical flooding. Project OE6. [Viscosities of chemical slugs]
In this report we are presenting the results of our investigation in 3 areas: (1) the use of low pH alkaline chemicals for wettability alteration; (2) the development of a correlation between interfacial shear viscosity and water breakout for oil-brine macroemulsions; and (3) the evaluation of bicarbonate as a chemical for use in oil recovery. The main objective of our work is to develop an understanding of the mechanisms involved in bicarbonate flooding and to make specific recommendations for its potential use in enhanced oil recovery. To evaluate the use of bicarbonate as an emulsion destabilizer, emulsification and coalescence test results were compared with interfacial shear viscosities. In two of the three systems studied an inverse relationship was found between the maximum rate of water breakout and interfacial shear viscosity. Temperature and aging of the interface was a major factor affecting these results. Sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate were used to determine their effect on rock wettability. Sodium bicarbonate was found to change the wettability of Berea sandstone toward the water-wet state more effectively than sodium carbonate for the low acid oil, Noone crude. Highly acidic crude oils appeared to react with bicarbonate creating highly absorbed surfactants. This caused Berea sandstone to become more oil-wet. The major mechanisms of oil recovery using sodium bicarbonate include wettability alteration, emulsification followed by coalescence, and lowered interfacial shear viscosity. These mechanisms alone did not cause significant recovery of the low acid oil, Noone crude. Previous oil displacement tests indicate that bicarbonate is more effective when using acidic crude oils. The range of oils that can be recovered using bicarbonate can be extended by adding small amounts of surfactants to the bicarbonate slug. 18 refs., 3 figs., 6 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- National Inst. for Petroleum and Energy Research, Bartlesville, OK (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC22-83FE60149
- OSTI ID:
- 5756258
- Report Number(s):
- NIPER-147; ON: DE86011281
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
OIL WELLS
WATERFLOODING
SANDSTONES
OIL SATURATION
PERMEABILITY
WETTABILITY
VISCOSITY
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
REAGENTS
ACID CARBONATES
BRINES
COALESCENCE
DRILL CORES
EMULSIFICATION
EMULSIONS
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
INTERFACES
PETROLEUM
PH VALUE
RESERVOIR ROCK
SHEAR
SODIUM CARBONATES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
SURFACTANTS
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBONATES
COLLOIDS
DATA
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INFORMATION
NUMERICAL DATA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RECOVERY
ROCKS
SATURATION
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production