Using Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Oil Recovery in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs
Low salinity waterflooding is an effective technique to accelerate and boost oil recovery. The impact of this technique has been investigated widely in laboratories for various scales and rock typing, most of which have demonstrated a potential improvement in oil recovery. This improvement has been...
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/12/4211 |
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| author | Faisal Awad Aljuboori Jang Hyun Lee Khaled A. Elraies Karl D. Stephen |
| author_facet | Faisal Awad Aljuboori Jang Hyun Lee Khaled A. Elraies Karl D. Stephen |
| author_sort | Faisal Awad Aljuboori |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Low salinity waterflooding is an effective technique to accelerate and boost oil recovery. The impact of this technique has been investigated widely in laboratories for various scales and rock typing, most of which have demonstrated a potential improvement in oil recovery. This improvement has been attributed to several chemical and physical interactions that led to a change in the wettability to become more water-wet, as well as a reduction in the residual oil saturation. Meanwhile, it is rare to find a discussion in the literature about the efficiency of low salinity flooding in naturally fractured reservoirs. Therefore, in this work, we investigate the potential advantages of this method in fractured reservoirs using numerical simulations. A new approach to estimate the weighting factor using a tracer model has been proposed to determine the brine salinity and, hence, its properties in the mixing region. We have also used the relative permeability curves as a proxy for any physical and chemical mechanisms which are not represented explicitly in the model. The simulation outcomes highlighted the advantage of low salinity waterflooding in fractured reservoirs. An increment in oil recovery by 10.7% to 13% of Stock Tank Oil Initially In Place (STOIIP) was obtained using the dual- and single-porosity model, respectively. Therefore, the low salinity waterflooding technique represents a promising low-cost, effective method in fractured reservoirs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:00:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23c3ef133cf24bc39ded1b4fe1f301eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:00:57Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-23c3ef133cf24bc39ded1b4fe1f301eb2023-11-20T04:22:59ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-06-011012421110.3390/app10124211Using Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Oil Recovery in Naturally Fractured ReservoirsFaisal Awad Aljuboori0Jang Hyun Lee1Khaled A. Elraies2Karl D. Stephen3Petroleum Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan 32610, MalaysiaPetroleum Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan 32610, MalaysiaPetroleum Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan 32610, MalaysiaInstitute of GeoEnergy Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UKLow salinity waterflooding is an effective technique to accelerate and boost oil recovery. The impact of this technique has been investigated widely in laboratories for various scales and rock typing, most of which have demonstrated a potential improvement in oil recovery. This improvement has been attributed to several chemical and physical interactions that led to a change in the wettability to become more water-wet, as well as a reduction in the residual oil saturation. Meanwhile, it is rare to find a discussion in the literature about the efficiency of low salinity flooding in naturally fractured reservoirs. Therefore, in this work, we investigate the potential advantages of this method in fractured reservoirs using numerical simulations. A new approach to estimate the weighting factor using a tracer model has been proposed to determine the brine salinity and, hence, its properties in the mixing region. We have also used the relative permeability curves as a proxy for any physical and chemical mechanisms which are not represented explicitly in the model. The simulation outcomes highlighted the advantage of low salinity waterflooding in fractured reservoirs. An increment in oil recovery by 10.7% to 13% of Stock Tank Oil Initially In Place (STOIIP) was obtained using the dual- and single-porosity model, respectively. Therefore, the low salinity waterflooding technique represents a promising low-cost, effective method in fractured reservoirs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/12/4211naturally fractured reservoirslow salinity waterfloodingweighting factorwettability alterationresidual oil saturation reduction |
| spellingShingle | Faisal Awad Aljuboori Jang Hyun Lee Khaled A. Elraies Karl D. Stephen Using Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Oil Recovery in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs Applied Sciences naturally fractured reservoirs low salinity waterflooding weighting factor wettability alteration residual oil saturation reduction |
| title | Using Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Oil Recovery in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs |
| title_full | Using Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Oil Recovery in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs |
| title_fullStr | Using Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Oil Recovery in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Oil Recovery in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs |
| title_short | Using Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Oil Recovery in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs |
| title_sort | using low salinity waterflooding to improve oil recovery in naturally fractured reservoirs |
| topic | naturally fractured reservoirs low salinity waterflooding weighting factor wettability alteration residual oil saturation reduction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/12/4211 |
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