Immiscible Viscous Fingering: The Simulation of Tertiary Polymer Displacements of Viscous Oils in 2D Slab Floods
Immiscible viscous fingering in porous media occurs when a high viscosity fluid is displaced by an immiscible low viscosity fluid. This paper extends a recent development in the modelling of immiscible viscous fingering to directly simulate experimental floods where the viscosity of the aqueous disp...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/19/4159 |
| _version_ | 1797477223771406336 |
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| author | Alan Beteta Ken S. Sorbie Arne Skauge |
| author_facet | Alan Beteta Ken S. Sorbie Arne Skauge |
| author_sort | Alan Beteta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Immiscible viscous fingering in porous media occurs when a high viscosity fluid is displaced by an immiscible low viscosity fluid. This paper extends a recent development in the modelling of immiscible viscous fingering to directly simulate experimental floods where the viscosity of the aqueous displacing fluid was increased (by the addition of aqueous polymer) after a period of low viscosity water injection. This is referred to as tertiary polymer flooding, and the objective of this process is to increase the displacement of oil from the system. Experimental results from the literature showed the very surprising observation that the tertiary injection of a modest polymer viscosity could give astonishingly high incremental oil recoveries (IR) of ≥100% even for viscous oils of 7000 mPa.s. This work seeks to both explain and <i>predict</i> these results using recent modelling developments. For the 4 cases (µ<sub>o</sub>/µ<sub>w</sub> of 474 to 7000) simulated in this paper, finger patterns are in line with those observed using X-ray imaging of the sandstone slab floods. In particular, the formation of an oil bank on tertiary polymer injection is very well reproduced and the incremental oil response and water cut drops induced by the polymer are very well predicted. The simulations strongly support our earlier claim that this increase in incremental oil displacement cannot be explained solely by a viscous “extended Buckley-Leverett” (BL) linear displacement effect; referred to in the literature simply as “mobility control”. This large response is the combination of this effect (BL) along with a viscous crossflow (VX) mechanism, with the latter VX effect being the major contributor to the recovery mechanism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:14:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0b3d7b8b7a9f44e086397539cc40b05a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:14:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-0b3d7b8b7a9f44e086397539cc40b05a2023-11-23T21:35:17ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-10-011419415910.3390/polym14194159Immiscible Viscous Fingering: The Simulation of Tertiary Polymer Displacements of Viscous Oils in 2D Slab FloodsAlan Beteta0Ken S. Sorbie1Arne Skauge2Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UKInstitute of GeoEnergy Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UKInstitute of GeoEnergy Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UKImmiscible viscous fingering in porous media occurs when a high viscosity fluid is displaced by an immiscible low viscosity fluid. This paper extends a recent development in the modelling of immiscible viscous fingering to directly simulate experimental floods where the viscosity of the aqueous displacing fluid was increased (by the addition of aqueous polymer) after a period of low viscosity water injection. This is referred to as tertiary polymer flooding, and the objective of this process is to increase the displacement of oil from the system. Experimental results from the literature showed the very surprising observation that the tertiary injection of a modest polymer viscosity could give astonishingly high incremental oil recoveries (IR) of ≥100% even for viscous oils of 7000 mPa.s. This work seeks to both explain and <i>predict</i> these results using recent modelling developments. For the 4 cases (µ<sub>o</sub>/µ<sub>w</sub> of 474 to 7000) simulated in this paper, finger patterns are in line with those observed using X-ray imaging of the sandstone slab floods. In particular, the formation of an oil bank on tertiary polymer injection is very well reproduced and the incremental oil response and water cut drops induced by the polymer are very well predicted. The simulations strongly support our earlier claim that this increase in incremental oil displacement cannot be explained solely by a viscous “extended Buckley-Leverett” (BL) linear displacement effect; referred to in the literature simply as “mobility control”. This large response is the combination of this effect (BL) along with a viscous crossflow (VX) mechanism, with the latter VX effect being the major contributor to the recovery mechanism.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/19/4159viscous fingeringimmiscible displacementpolymer floodingenhanced oil recovery |
| spellingShingle | Alan Beteta Ken S. Sorbie Arne Skauge Immiscible Viscous Fingering: The Simulation of Tertiary Polymer Displacements of Viscous Oils in 2D Slab Floods Polymers viscous fingering immiscible displacement polymer flooding enhanced oil recovery |
| title | Immiscible Viscous Fingering: The Simulation of Tertiary Polymer Displacements of Viscous Oils in 2D Slab Floods |
| title_full | Immiscible Viscous Fingering: The Simulation of Tertiary Polymer Displacements of Viscous Oils in 2D Slab Floods |
| title_fullStr | Immiscible Viscous Fingering: The Simulation of Tertiary Polymer Displacements of Viscous Oils in 2D Slab Floods |
| title_full_unstemmed | Immiscible Viscous Fingering: The Simulation of Tertiary Polymer Displacements of Viscous Oils in 2D Slab Floods |
| title_short | Immiscible Viscous Fingering: The Simulation of Tertiary Polymer Displacements of Viscous Oils in 2D Slab Floods |
| title_sort | immiscible viscous fingering the simulation of tertiary polymer displacements of viscous oils in 2d slab floods |
| topic | viscous fingering immiscible displacement polymer flooding enhanced oil recovery |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/19/4159 |
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