Recovery Methods Lecture 2

Samuel Erzuah 1
CONTENT
Introduction to EOR Processes
1.1 Definition of EOR
1.2 Target Oil Resource for EOR Processes
1.3 Idealized Characteristics of an EOR Process
1.4 General Classifications and Description of EOR Processes
1.5 Potential of the Different Processes
1.6 Screening Criteria for Process Applicability
2
CONTENT
2.0 Microscopic displacement of 3.0 Displacement in Linear
Fluids in a reservoir Systems
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Capillary Forces
2.3 Viscous Forces 4.0 Macroscopic Displacement of
2.4 Phase Trapping Fluids in a Reservoir
2.5 Mobilization of trapped phases
– Alternation of Viscous/Capillary 5.0 Mobility-Control Processes
Force Ratio
3
CONTENT
6.0 Miscible Displacement Processes 7.0 Chemical Flooding
6.1 Introduction 7.1 Introduction
6.2 General Description of Miscible 7.2 Description of the
6.3 Principles of phase behavior related to Micellar/polymer process
Miscibility 7.3 Surfactants
6.4 First Contact Miscibility process (FCM)
6.5 Multiple Contact Miscibility process
(MCM)
4
CONTENT
8.0 Thermal Recovery Processes

8.1 Introduction
8.2 Heat Losses During Steam Injection
8.3 Cyclic Steam Stimulation
8.4 Reservoir Heating by Steam Injection
8.5 Estimation of Oil Recovery From Steamdrive
8.6 In-Situ Combustion
8.7 Comparison of Steam and In-Situ Combustion
5
CONTENT
6
INTRODUCTION TO EOR PROCESSES
Oil recovery operations traditionally have been subdivided into
three stages:
✓ Primary
✓ Secondary
✓ Tertiary
Historically, these stages described the production from a reservoir in

a chronological sense.
Primary production:
Is the initial production stage, resulted from the displacement energy
naturally existing in a reservoir
7
Secondary recovery:
It is the second stage of operations. It is usually implemented after
primary production declined
Traditional secondary recovery processes includes:

✓ Waterflooding
✓ pressure maintenance
✓ gas injection
Although the term secondary recovery is now almost

synonymous with waterflooding
8
Tertiary recovery:
It is the third stage of production and it is carried-out after
waterflooding (or whatever secondary process was used)
Tertiary processes displaces additional oil using

✓ miscible gases
✓ Chemicals
✓ thermal energy
NB. The tertiary recovery technique is used when the secondary

recovery process became uneconomical
9
DRAWBACK TO THE CHRONOLOLICAL SEQUENCE OF THE
EOR PROCESSES
Is that many reservoir production operations are not conducted in
the specified order
E.g. Production of the heavy oils
If the crude is sufficiently viscous, it may not flow at economic

rates under natural energy drives, so primary production would be
negligible.
For such reservoirs, waterflooding (secondary production) would not

be feasible
Therefore, the use of thermal energy might be the only way to recover
a significant amount of oil. 10
Primary recovery results from the use of natural energy present in a
reservoir as the main source of energy for the displacement of oil to
producing wells
These natural energy sources include;

✓ Solution-gas drive
✓ gas-cap drive
✓ natural waterdrive
✓ fluid and rock expansion
✓ gravity drainage
The particular mechanism of lifting oil to the surface, once it is in the

wellbore, is not a factor in the classification scheme 11
Secondary recovery results from the augmentation of natural energy
through injection of water or gas to displace oil toward producing wells.
Gas injection, in this case, is either into

✓ a gas cap for pressure maintenance and gas-cap expansion or
✓ into oil-column wells to displace oil immiscibly
Gas processes based on other mechanisms, such as

✓ oil swelling
✓ oil viscosity reduction
12
An immiscible gas displacement is not as efficient as a waterflood and is
used infrequently as a secondary recovery process today. (Its use in
earlier times was much more prevalent.)
Today, waterflooding is almost synonymous with the secondary

recovery classification
EOR results principally from the injection of gases and they include;
✓ Hydrocarbon gases
✓ CO2
✓ Nitrogen
✓ flue gases
13
A number of liquid chemicals are commonly used, including
✓ Polymers
✓ Surfactants
✓ hydrocarbon solvents
Thermal processes typically consist of the use of

✓ steam or hot water
✓ in-situ generation of thermal energy through oil combustion in
the reservoir rock
14
EOR processes involve the injection of a fluid or fluids of some type into
a reservoir
The injected fluids supplement the natural energy present in the

reservoir to displace oil to a producing well
In addition, the injected fluids interact with the reservoir rock/oil

system to create conditions favorable for oil recovery.
These interactions might, for example, result in

✓ lower 1FT’s
✓ oil swelling
✓ oil viscosity reduction
✓ wettability modification 15
CONTENT
16
TARGET OIL RESOURCE FOR EOR PROCESSES
The amount of oil that would
remain after exhaustion
of recovery through
primary and secondary
processes
Proven reserves is the oil

remaining in known
reservoirs that can be
expected to be recovered
through application of
current proven technology
at economic conditions on
the specified date.
17
The physical/chemical characteristics of the target oil are varied

and range from
✓ high-API-gravity (e.g. volatile crudes of low viscosity)
✓ low-API-gravity (e.g. heavy crudes of very high viscosity)
Significant amounts of oil exist across this physical/chemical

spectrum, and therefore, EOR technology cannot focus on a
particular oil type without eliminating a large fraction of the target
resource.
Clearly, no single EOR process will be applicable to all crudes, and a

number of different processes will have to be developed.
18
An EOR process must be able to mobilize the droplets or oil blobs and to
create an oil bank that can be efficiently propagated to producing
wells
In other words, the EOR process would be expected to build an oil

bank, much in the manner of a waterflood
The displacement efficiency, however, must be better than for a

waterflood in that only small amounts of trapped oil should be left
behind
Thursday, 30 January, 2020 19

In summary, the target oil resource is very large and occurs under diverse
conditions such as;
✓ Oil type
✓ reservoir rock
✓ formation type
✓ oil's distribution
✓ Saturation
✓ physical state resulting from past operations
These factors must all be considered in the design of an EOR process for a
particular reservoir
20
CONTENT
21
EFFICIENT MICROSCOPIC & MACROSCOPIC
DISPLACEMENT
The overall displacement efficiency of any oil recovery displacement
process can be considered conveniently as the product of microscopic
and macroscopic displacement efficiencies
where
E = overall displacement efficiency (oil recovered by process/ oil in place at
start of process)
ED = microscopic displacement efficiency (fraction)
Ev= macroscopic (volumetric) displacement efficiency (fraction)
22
MICROSCOPIC DISPLACEMENT
It relates to the displacement or mobilization of oil at the pore scale.
That is, ED is a measure of the effectiveness of the displacing fluid in

moving (mobilizing) the oil at those places in the rock where the
displacing fluid contacts the oil
ED is reflected in the magnitude of the residual oil saturation (Sor)

in the regions contacted by the displacing fluid
23
MACROSCOPIC DISPLACEMENT
Macroscopic displacement efficiency relates to the effectiveness of the
displacing fluid(s) in contacting the reservoir in a volumetric sense.
Alternative terms conveying the same general concept are sweep efficiency
and conformance factor.
Ev is a measure of how effectively the displacing fluid sweeps out the

volume of a reservoir, both areally and vertically, as well as how
effectively the displacing fluid moves the displaced oil toward
production wells
Both areal and vertical sweeps must be considered, and it is often useful to
further subdivide Ev into the product of areal and vertical
displacement efficiencies.
24
IS OIL DISPLACEMENT PERFECT?
Significant amounts of oil remain following the completion of a waterflood
due to two factors namely;
✓ a residual oil saturation remains in those places swept by the

water.
✓ Secondly, a large portion of the reservoir is not contacted by the

injected water and thus oil has not been displaced from these
regions and has not been displaced to production wells.
✓ In addition, some oil from the swept region may be displaced

into unswept regions and increase the oil saturation in those
regions over what it was before the flood began
25
IDEAL EOR PROCESSES
It is desirable in an EOR process that the values of ED and Ev, and

consequently E, approach 1.0. An idealized EOR process would be
one in which
✓ the primary displacing fluid (primary slug) removed all oil from
the pores contacted by the fluid (Sor = 0)
✓ in which the displacing fluid contacted the total reservoir volume
and displaced oil to production wells.
A secondary fluid slug used to displace the primary slug would

behave in a similar manner in that it would displace the primary slug
efficiently both microscopically and macroscopically.
26
IDEALIZED CHARACTERIZATION OF AN EOR
PROCESSES
Development of a "magic" displacing fluid or fluids having properties
that will yield this result and still be economical is a monumental and
unfulfilled task.
Several physical/chemical interactions occur between the displacing

fluid and oil that can lead to efficient microscopic displacement (low
Sor).These include
✓ miscibility between the fluids
✓ decreasing the 1FT between the fluids
✓ oil volume expansion
✓ reducing oil viscosity
27
IDEALIZED CHARACTERIZATION OF AN EOR
PROCESSES
The maintenance of a favorable mobility ratio between displaced and
displacing fluids also contributes to better microscopic displacement
efficiency.
Fluids used as primary displacing slugs have one or more of the

favorable physical/chemical interactions with the oil.
Fluids used to displace the primary slug ideally should also have
similar favorable interactions with the primary slug.
The goal with an acceptable EOR fluid is to maintain the favorable

interaction(s) as long as possible during the flooding process.
28
Macroscopic displacement efficiency is improved by maintenance
of favorable mobility ratios between all displacing and displaced
fluids throughout a process.
Favorable ratios contribute to improvement of both areal and

vertical sweep efficiencies.
An ideal EOR fluid then is one that maintains a favorable mobility

ratio with the fluid being displaced
29
Another factor important to good macroscopic efficiency is the density
difference between displacing and displaced fluids
Large density differences can result in gravity segregation

✓ the underriding
✓ overriding of the fluid being displaced.
Nb. The effect is to bypass fluids at the top or bottom of a

reservoir, reducing Ev.
If density differences do exist between fluids, this might be

used to advantage by flooding in an updip or downdip direction.
30
FACTORS INFLUENCING MACROSCOPIC DISPLACEMENT
Reservoir geology, and in particular geologic heterogeneity, is an
important factor in the consideration of macroscopic displacement
efficiency
The effects of mobility and density differences can be amplified or

diminished by the nature of the geology.
An ideal EOR fluid thus is one that has a favorable mobility ratio with the
fluid(s) being displaced and, further, maintains this favorable condition
throughout the process.
In addition, the density of an ideal EOR fluid should be comparable with

that of the displaced fluid unless flooding can be done in an updip or
downdip direction
31
PRACTICAL CONCERN
The fluids are expensive,
For the case of thermal processes, the cost of developing the thermal
energy that the fluids carry is high
For thermal processes, heat conduction to overburden and

underburden rocks results in a loss of thermal energy from the process.
chemical losses, changes in composition, or losses of thermal energy

mean that the injected fluid slug size must be large enough to sustain
the losses or changes and still operate effectively.
Thus, the size of the fluid slugs that are injected and their unit costs
become major considerations in the design of an EOR process.
32
PRACTICAL CONCERN
In fact, injected fluid cost and crude oil price (and instability in price)
are the two most important factors controlling the economic
implementation of EOR processes.
Another consideration is the ease of handling an EOR fluid and its

general compatibility with the physical injection/production system
Highly toxic or corrosive fluids, or fluids that are not readily injected,
are not very amenable to use in EOR processes.
While such fluids might be used with installation of special

equipment, the cost is usually prohibitive
33
PRACTICAL CONCERN
Processes that are well-understood in a laboratory environment and
properly designed for the reservoir fluids may fail when implemented in
the reservoir because of geologic factors.
Geologic factors may lead to unexpected losses of chemicals or

bypassing of fluids because of channeling in high permeability zones
or fractures.
Similarly, fluid movement may be very non-uniform because of

variations in rock properties.
Unexpected chemical adsorption can sometimes occur, causing a

deterioration of fluid slugs.
34
CONTENT
35
GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS AND DESCRIPTION OF
EOR PROCESSES
EOR processes can be
classified into five
categories,
✓ mobility-control
✓ Chemical
✓ Miscible
✓ Thermal
✓ other processes
(such as microbial
EOR)
36
MOBILITY-CONTROL PROCESSES
Are those based primarily on maintaining favorable mobility ratios to

improve the magnitude of Ev.
Examples
✓ thickening of water with polymers
✓ reducing gas mobility with foams
37
CHEMICAL PROCESSES
Chemical processes are those in which certain chemicals, such as

surfactants or alkaline agents, are injected to use a combination of
phase behavior and IFT reduction to displace oil, thereby improving
ED .
In some cases, mobility control is also a part of the chemical process,

providing the potential of improving both Ev and ED.
38
MISCIBLE PROCESS
In miscible processes, the objective is to inject fluids that are

✓ directly miscible with the oil or
✓ that generate miscibility in the reservoir through composition
alteration
Examples
Injection of hydrocarbon solvents or CO2
Phase behavior is a major factor in the application of such processes

39
THERMAL PROCESS
Thermal processes rely on the injection of thermal energy or the in-
situ generation of heat to improve oil recovery.
E.g. a) Steam injection

b) in-situ combustion from air or oxygen injection are examples.
Primary mechanisms leading to improved oil recovery include;

✓ Alteration of oil viscosity
✓ favorable phase behavior
✓ in some cases chemical reaction
40
OTHER PROCESSES
"Other processes" is a catch-all category
Examples of processes in this category are

✓ microbial-based techniques
✓ immiscible CO2 injection
✓ mining of resources at shallow depths
41
MOBILITY-CONTROL PROCESSES
A widely applied mobility-control process is the polymer-augmented

waterflood
In a typical application, a solution of partially hydrolyzed

polyacrylamide polymer in brine, at a concentration of
a few hundred to several hundred ppm of polymer is injected to
displace oil (and associated water) toward production wells
42
MOBILITY-CONTROL PROCESSES contd
In a conventional waterflood, if the mobility ratio is unfavorable,
the water tends to finger through the oil and to move through
the shortest path to the production well
This effect is amplified by reservoir geologic heterogeneities.
A polymer solution moves in a more uniform manner
43
44
While flow still tends to be greatest in high-permeability zones
and along the shortest path between the injection and production
wells, the effect is damped because polymer solution mobility is
less than water mobility.
45
Thus, at the economic limit, Ev is larger for a polymer flood than
for a waterflood.
It is generally accepted that polymer solutions do not significantly

affect final, or endpoint, residual oil saturation.
The primary mechanism in a polymer flood, however, is an increase

in the macroscopic sweep efficiency
46
EFFECT OF POLYMER SOLUTION ON MOBILITY
Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymers affect mobility in two
ways.
First, solutions of polymers have apparent viscosities that are larger

than water. The polymer solutions are non-Newtonian, however, and
can exhibit significant sensitivity to shear; i.e., apparent viscosity can
be a function of the shear rate to which a solution is subjected
The solutions are also sensitive to brine type and concentration,

which can affect the apparent viscosity. 47
EFFECT OF POLYMER SOLUTION ON MOBILITY contd
Second, polyacrylamide polymers adsorb on porous media and/or are
mechanically entrapped as a result of their large physical size.
This polymer retention reduces the amount of polymer in solution but

also causes a decrease in the effective permeability of the porous
medium.
The mobility of a polyacrylamide polymer solution is thus reduced to less

than that of the displaced oil/water bank by a combination of viscosity
and effective permeability reduction. 48
POLYMER contd
Polymer types other than partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides
may also be used.
The most common alternatives are called biopolymers and are produced
by fermentation manufacturing processes.
These polymers affect the apparent solution viscosity but have little
effect on apparent rock permeability because retention is much
smaller.
49
POLYMER INJECTION LIMITATIONS
The most serious limitation to polymer-augmented waterflooding is
that projected ultimate recoveries are small compared with those of
other EOR processes.
Polymer flooding works primarily to improve macroscopic efficiency

rather than microscopic efficiency.
NB. The process also is affected by the production operations that

preceded the polymer flood.
A previous successful waterflood, for example, can result in a

polymer flood having only a minimal effect.
50
POLYMER
Other processes exist that are based on the application of foams,
relative-permeability alteration, or permeability blockage in high
permeability zones in an attempt to increase oil recovery.
Mobility-control processes also are used extensively with other EOR

methods to improve overall process efficiency.
51
CHEMICAL PROCESSES
Chemical processes involve the injection of specific liquid chemicals
that effectively displace oil because of their phase-behavior
properties, which result in decreasing the IFT between the
displacing liquid and oil.
52
CHEMICAL PROCESSES contd
The micellar solution has limited solubility with the oil and is designed
to have an ultralow IFT with the oil phase.
When this solution contacts residual oil drops, the drops, under a
pressure gradient, are deformed as a result of the low IFT and are
displaced through the pore throats.
Coalescence of oil drops results in an oil bank that, along with water,
moves ahead of the displacing chemical slug.
53
The micellar slug also is designed to have a favorable mobility ratio
with the oil bank and the water flowing ahead of the slug to prevent
viscous fingering of the slug into the oil bank and to increase the
macroscopic displacement efficiency.
54
The polymer-solution mobility buffer is injected to displace the micellar

solution efficiently.
The IFT between the polymer and micellar solutions is quite low, and
only a small residual saturation of the micellar slug is trapped.
The existence of a favorable mobility ratio between the polymer and

micellar solutions also contributes to an efficient displacement.
In this process, the displacements are immiscible; that is, complete
solubility does not exist between the micellar solution and oil
or between the micellar and polymer solutions. 55
A low IFT between displacing fluids is desirable at both ends of the
micellar slug.
A low IFT between the micellar solution and oil is required to mobilize
discontinuous oil drops or films.
At the back of the micellar slug, a low IFT results in minimal trapping
and bypassing of the micellar solution.
Clearly, if the micellar solution were not efficiently displaced by the polymer
solution, then the micellar slug would deteriorate rapidly.
56
The surfactant processes have significant potential because of the
possibility of designing a process where both Ev and ED increase.
There are important problems, however. The process is complex

technologically and can be justified only when oil prices are relatively
high and when residual oil after waterflooding is substantial.
The chemical solutions, which contain surfactant, cosurfactant, and

sometimes oil, are expensive.
Chemical losses can be severe. Such losses can occur as a result of

adsorption, phase partitioning and trapping, and bypassing owing to
fingering if mobility control is not maintained.
57
These losses must be compensated for by increasing the volume of
micellar solution injected.
The stability of surfactant systems in general is known to be sensitive to

high temperatures and high salinity.
Systems that can withstand these conditions must be developed if the

process is to have wide applicability.
For example, early applications have essentially excluded carbonate

reservoirs, in part because of the high salinity usually associated with
such formations and high concentrations of divalent ions.
58
Alkaline flooding is a process in which injected alkaline chemicals react

with certain components in the oil to generate a surfactant in situ.
The process has potential but apparently is limited in scope of

application.
59
MISCIBLE PROCESSES
The primary objective in a miscible process is to displace oil with a
fluid that is miscible with the oil (i.e., forms a single phase when
mixed at all proportions with the oil) at the conditions existing at the
interface between the injected fluid and the oil bank being displaced.
There are two major variations in this process.
In one, called a first-contact-miscible (FCM) process, the injected fluid

is directly miscible with the reservoir oil at the conditions of
pressure and temperature existing in the reservoir.
E.g. A relatively small slug of a hydrocarbon fluid, such as liquified

petroleum gas (LPG), is injected to displace the oil.
60
FC MISCIBLE PROCESSES
The primary slug size would be about 10 to 15% PV.
The LPG slug, in tum, is displaced by a larger volume of a less expensive

gas that is high in methane concentration (dry gas).
In some cases, water may be used as the secondary displacing fluid.
The process is effective primarily because of miscibility between the

primary slug and the oil phase.
Miscibility between the primary slug and the secondary displacing

fluid is also desirable. Otherwise, the primary slug would be trapped as
a residual phase as the process progresses.
61
FCM PROCESS WITH LPG & DRY GAS
62
MC MISCIBLE PROCESSES
The other variation of the miscible processes is the multiple-contact-
miscible (MCM) process.
In this, the injected fluid is not miscible with the reservoir oil on
first contact.
Rather, the process depends on the modification of composition of the

injected phase, or oil phase, through multiple contacts between the
phases in the reservoir and mass transfer of components between
them.
Under proper conditions of pressure, temperature, and composition

this composition modification will generate miscibility between the
displacing and displaced phases in-situ.
63
MC MISCIBLE PROCESS
The CO2
miscible
process is one
such process.
A volume of
relatively pure
CO2 is
injected to
mobilize
and displace
residual oil.
64
MC MISCIBLE PROCESS contd
Through multiple contacts between the CO2 and oil phase,
intermediate- and higher-molecular-weight hydrocarbons are
extracted into the CO2-rich phase.
Under proper conditions, this CO2-rich phase will reach a

composition that is miscible with the original reservoir oil.
From that point, miscible or near-miscible conditions exist at the

displacing front interface.
Under ideal conditions, this miscibility condition will be reached

very quickly in the reservoir and the distance required to establish
multiple-contact miscibility initially is negligible compared with the
distance between wells.
65
CO2 volumes injected during a process are typically about 25 % PV.
The critical temperature of CO2 is 87.8°F, and thus, in most cases it is
injected as a fluid above its critical temperature.
The viscosity of CO2 at injection conditions is small, about 0.06 to 0.10
cp, depending on reservoir temperature and pressure.
Oil and water are therefore displaced by CO2 under unfavorable-

mobility-ratio conditions in most cases.
As described earlier, this leads to fingering of the CO2 through the oil
phase and also to poor macroscopic displacement efficiency.
66
One approach to overcoming this difficulty has been to inject slugs of
CO2 and water alternately.
This method is called the water-alternating-gas (WAG) process.
The purpose of the water injection is to reduce the relative

permeability to CO2 and thereby to reduce its mobility.
Another advantage of the WAG process is that it spreads the demand for
CO2 over time.
Other methods of mobility control are being tested. These include

the use of foams and polymers in conjunction with CO2 injection.
67
Another problem with the CO2 process results from the density
difference between CO2 and water and sometimes between CO2 and
the oil.
At injection conditions, CO2 has a specific gravity of about 0.4 (again

depending on the specific reservoir conditions).
Depending on oil density, CO2 can tend to move to the top of the
formation and to override the displaced fluids.
In some cases, this gravity effect is exploited by flooding from the top of
the reservoir and displacing fluids downdip, but this can be done only
where the reservoir structure is suitable
68
For the reasons cited, CO2 often channels in a reservoir and breaks
through at production wells relatively early in the process.
Because the fuel value of CO2 is zero, it is usually separated from

other produced gases, recompressed, and reinjected. Recycling of
CO2 adds to the cost of a project, but is typically less expensive than
purchasing all new CO2
The separated natural gas has its normal fuel value and is thus
salable. Other gases are suitable for application as MCM displacement
fluids in a manner similar to that described for CO2 These include
relatively dry hydrocarbon gases (high CH4 content), nitrogen, flue
gases.
69
The difference is that these gases usually require much higher
pressures to achieve miscibility than CO2.
These other gases are more suitable for deep reservoirs where high
pressures can be achieved without fracturing the reservoir rock.
A rough rule of thumb for fracturing pressures is 0.6 psi/ft of depth. If

fracture pressure is exceeded in the process, the reservoir rock will fail
and injected fluids will channel through the fractures, bypassing most
of the oil.
Thus, the process design and choice of displacing fluid depend on operating
pressure, which in turn depends on reservoir depth.
70
Another modification of the MCM process uses a hydrocarbon fluid that
is rich in components such as ethane and propane.
In this process, these injected components condense into the oil

phase, enriching the oil with the lighter components.
Again, under proper conditions, the oil-phase composition can be

modified so that it becomes miscible with the injected fluid and
in-situ generation of miscibility occurs.
71
MISCIBLE PROCESSES CHALLENGES
Problems with the miscible processes are primarily those described for
the CO2 MCM process.
The miscible fluids generally have small viscosities and therefore

fingering and poor volumetric sweeps result.
Reservoir heterogeneities magnify this problem.
The development of methods to control mobility has proved to be a

difficult task. Density differences also contribute to poor volumetric
contact because of gravity override unless these density
differences can be used to advantage in dipping reservoirs.
Finally, the fluids applicable at moderate reservoir pressures are

expensive and, in some cases, in limited supply. 72
THERMAL PROCESSES
Thermal processes may be subdivided into
✓ hot-water floods
✓ steam processes
✓ in-situ combustion
The hot-water flood has been used only sparingly and with limited
success and will not be considered here.
Steam is used in two different ways:

✓ cyclic steam stimulation (steam soak or the huff 'n' puff process)
✓ Steam drive (steam flood)
73
STEAM FLOODING PROCESS
74
CYCLIC STEAM STIMULATION
This is a single-well method in which steam is injected into a
production well for a specified period.
The well is then closed in for a while, the so-called "soak" part of
the process.
The well is next opened for production, which continues until flow
rates diminish to a point when the entire procedure is repeated
A typical well may go through several cycles, with the effect of

the steam gradually diminishing with continued applications.
75
CYCLIC STEAM STIMULATION PROCESS
76
STEAM INJECTION contd
Production is increased through a combination of mechanisms,
including
✓ viscosity reduction
✓ steam flashing
✓ oil swelling
✓ Steam stripping
The cumulative effect of these mechanisms is greatest on heavier

(low-API-gravity) oils with high viscosities.
Steam injection therefore tends to be used on viscous, low-API-

gravity oils.
77
STEAM-DRIVE/STEAM FLOOD
In this method, steam is injected through injection wells and the fluids
are displaced toward production wells that are drilled in specified
patterns.
Recovery mechanisms in this method also are based on

✓ viscosity reduction
✓ oil swelling
✓ steam stripping
✓ steam-vapor drive
As the steam loses energy in its movement through the reservoir,

condensation to liquid water occurs 78
Therefore, the process consists of a hot-water flood in the region of
condensation followed by steam displacement.
The process has been applied primarily to low-API gravity, high-

viscosity oils but is also applicable to lighter crudes.
A major problem with steam processes is that the steam density is much
lower than that of oil and water
Therefore the steam tends to move to the top of a reservoir,

overriding a large part of the oil body
79
Mobility control is also a problem with the steam-drive process
because steam viscosity is small compared with the viscosities of liquid
water and oil.
Other points of concern include

✓ heat losses
✓ equipment problems from operating at high temperatures
✓ pollutant emissions resulting from surface steam generation
80
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
In this process, thermal energy is generated in the reservoir by
combustion, which may be initiated with either an electric heater
gas burner may be spontaneous
Oxygen, as air or in a partially purified state, is compressed at the

surface and continuously injected (dry process), often together with
water (wet process).
In the heating and combustion that occur, the lighter components of the
oil are vaporized and moved ahead.
Depending on the peak temperature attained, thermal cracking may

occur, and vapor products from this reaction also move downstream.
81
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
82
CONTENT
83
POTENTIAL OF THE DIFFERENT EOR PROCESSES
NB. Mobility-control
processes were included
within the chemical-
process category
Most of the recovery within

this category, however,
resulted from the use of
chemicals that decreased
the IFT.
84
CONTENT
85
GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS AND DESCRIPTION OF
EOR PROCESSES
86
SCREENING CRITERIA FOR EOR PROCESS APPLICABILITY
For example, the CO2 miscible process is limited to reservoirs

with sufficient depth to obtain the miscibility pressure and to
oils that have relatively high API gravity because of miscibility
pressure and/or mobility problems.
Steam-drive has reservoir depth limitations because of heat losses

and the steam temperatures obtainable.
Surfactant/polymer processes are generally limited because of

salinity and temperature and the associated difficulty of designing
stable surfactant/polymer systems.
Also, as the technology develops, the limitations will be relaxed to

reflect new knowledge about known processes, variations of known
processes, or even new processes. 87
SUMMARY OF SCREENING CRITERIA
88
CONTENT
2.0 Microscopic displacement of 3.0 Displacement in Linear
Fluids in a reservoir Systems
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Capillary Forces
2.3 Viscous Forces 4.0 Macroscopic Displacement of
2.4 Phase Trapping Fluids in a Reservoir
2.5 Mobilization of trapped phases
– Alternation of Viscous/Capillary 5.0 Mobility-Control Processes
Force Ratio
89
MICROSCOPIC DISPLACEMENT OF FLUIDS IN A RESERVOIR
An important aspect of any EOR process is the effectiveness of process

fluids in removing oil from the rock pores at the microscopic scale.
Microscopic displacement efficiency, ED largely determines the

success or failure of a process.
For crude oil, ED is reflected in the magnitude of Sor (i.e., the residual
oil saturation remaining in the reservoir rock at the end of the process)
in places contacted by the displacing fluids.
90
CAPILLARY & VISCOUS FORCES
Capillary and viscous forces govern phase trapping and mobilization

of fluids in porous media and thus microscopic displacement
efficiency.
Understanding and appreciation of the magnitude of these forces is

required to understand the recovery mechanisms involved in EOR
processes
Forces relating to phase trapping and mobilization in multiphase fluid

systems, including descriptions of the roles of interfacial tension (IFT),
rock wettability, and capillary pressure will be discussed. 91
ILLUSTRATION OF FREE LIQUID SURFACE
A = on average, attracted equally in
all directions owing to cohesive
forces, and their movement
therefore tends to be unaffected by
cohesive forces
B and C =molecules near the

liquid/air interface, are acted on
unequally.
A net downward force tends to pull

these molecules back into the bulk
of the liquid. The surface thus acts
like a stretched membrane,
where A, B, and C represent tending to shorten as much as 92
molecules of the liquid possible
SURFACE TENSION & IFT
Whenever immiscible phases coexist in a porous medium as

in essentially all processes of interest, surface energy related to
the fluid interfaces influences the saturations, distributions,
and displacement of the phases
93
SURFACE TENSION contd
This surface force, which is a tensile force,
is quantified in terms of surface tension;
the force acting in the plane of the
surface per unit length of the surface.
The force per unit length, F/L, required

to create additional surface area (that is,
to extend the surface) is the surface
tension, usually expressed in dynes/cm.
94
WORK DONE
Assume that the force F (in Figure to
the left) moves a distance dx,
creating new surface in the amount
of Ldx. The work done can be
expressed as
where F = force applied to surface,

dynes; L=length over which
force is applied, cm; =IFT, F/L,
dynes/cm; and dA=new surface area,
Ldx, cm2 . 95
SURFACE TENSION VS IFT
The term "surface tension" usually is reserved for the specific

case in which the surface is between a liquid and its vapor or air.
If the surface is between two different liquids, or between a liquid

and a solid, the term "interfacial tension" is used.
96
CAPILLARY FORCE
When a capillary tube
of radius r is placed in
a beaker of water, the
water will rise in the
capillary tube a certain
height, h, as a result of
the force difference
created across the
curvature of the
meniscus
The water level will rise

if it wets the capillary-
tube material
97
SURFACE TENSION VS IFT
At static conditions, the
force owing to surface
tension (vertical
component of surface
tension multiplied by the
wetted perimeter) will be
balanced by the force of
gravity acting on the
column of fluid
where r=capillary-tube radius, cm; h=height
i.e. upward vertical force of water rise in the capillary, cm; ρw=water
of surface tension X density, g/cm3; ρa =air density, g/cm3;
wetted perimeter = g=gravity acceleration constant, 980 cm/s2;
downward gravitational and θ= contact anglenbetween water and
force acting on fluid capillary tube
column 98
EXAMPLE
Calculate the surface

tension of water at 77oF
if θ = 38o the capillary
radius is 100 µm and the
height of the water
column is 12 cm.
(Neglect the density of
air compared with the
density of water.)
99
OIL/WATER/ROCK COEXISTENCE
Water coexists with oil in
a reservoir even when the
reservoir has not been
waterflooded or flooded by
a natural water-drive
If a reservoir has been

waterflooded or there is a
natural water-drive, then
water saturations will be
high and the water
phase will be mobile
100
WETTABILITY
Fluid distributions in porous media are affected not only by the

forces at fluid/fluid interfaces, but also by forces at fluid/solid
interfaces
Wettability is the tendency of one fluid to spread on or adhere to a

solid surface in the presence of a second fluid.
When two immiscible phases are placed in contact with a solid

surface, one phase usually is attracted to the solid more strongly
than the other phase
Rock wettability affects the nature of fluid saturations and the

general relative permeability characteristics of a fluid/rock system
101
WETTABILITY contd
102
WETTABILITY MEASUREMENT USING CONTACT ANGLE
Wettability can be
quantitatively measured
by examining the
interfacial forces that
exist when two
immiscible fluid
phases are in contact
with a solid.
The water drop

spreads on the solid
until forces are
balanced
103
WETTABILITY MEASUREMENT USING CONTACT ANGLE
where os, ws and ow= IFT's between solid and oil, water and solid and
water and oil, respectively, dynes/cm
θ = Contact angle, measured through the water
While ow can be measured using tensiometer, os and ws
have never been measured directly 104

CAPILLARY PRESSURE contd
Because interfaces
are in tension in the
systems (described
in the Figure to the
Left), a pressure
difference exists
across the interface
This pressure is
called capillary
pressure, can also
be illustrated by
fluid rise in a Po is oil-phase pressure at a point just above
capillary tube the oil/water interface, and Pw is water-phase
pressure just below the interface 105
106
The capillary pressure is thus related to the
fluid/fluid IFT, the relative wettability of the
fluids (through θ ) and the size of the
capillary, r.
The capillary pressure may be positive or

negative; the sign merely expresses in which
phase the pressure is lower.
The phase with the lower pressure will always

be the phase that preferentially wets the
capillary
Notice that Pc varies inversely as a function

of the capillary radius and increases as the
affinity of the wetting 107
Where R1 and R2 are

radii of curvature
In a straight capillary, 1/R1

and 1/R2 are equal and are
given by the radius of the
capillary divided by the cosine
of the contact angle, r/cos θ
108
109
VISCOUS FORCES
Viscous forces in a porous medium
are reflected in the magnitude of
the pressure drop that occurs as a
result of flow of a fluid through
the medium.
where
One of the simplest approximations Δp =pressure drop across the
used to calculate the viscous force is capillary tube, P2 –P1 , Ibf/ft2
to consider a porous medium as a L=capillary-tube length, ft
bundle of parallel capillary tubes. r=capillary-tube radius, ft
v=average velocity in the capillary
With this assumption, the pressure tube, ft/sec
drop for laminar flow through a µ=viscosity of flowing fluid, lbm/(ft-
single tube is given by Poiseuille’s sec)
law gc=conversion factor
110
VISCOUS FORCES contd
For an alternative set of units, Viscous forces in a porous
medium can be expressed in
terms of Darcy's law,
111
PHASE TRAPPING
Trapping of oil or other fluids in a porous medium such as a
reservoir rock is not understood completely and cannot be
rigorously described mathematically.
The trapping mechanism, however, is known to depend on

✓ The pore structure of the porous medium
✓ Fluid/rock interactions related to wettability
✓ Fluid/fluid interactions reflected in IFT and sometimes in flow
instabilities
Trapping and mobilization are related to these factors in a complex

way
112
TRAPPING IN A SINGLE CAPILLARY: JAMIN EFFECT
It has been recognized for some time that the pressure required to
force a nonwetting phase through a capillary system, such as a
porous rock, can be quite high.
This phenomenon is called the Jamin effect
The phenomenon can be described most easily by analyzing a trapped

oil droplet or gas bubble in a preferentially water-wet capillary
The physical conditions for trapped droplet can be analyzed using

the IFT, wettability, and capillary pressure concepts discussed
earlier 113
POSSIBLE CONDITIONS OF DROP SIZE
Figure (a): a very long, continuous water
filament is in contact with a continuous oil
filament.
The system is static, with different pressures
existing at Points A and B because of capillary
forces.
NB. The pressure across the interface is just
the capillary pressure, (Pc)
The static pressure difference (PC) must be

exceeded for flow to occur
Figure (b): Water contacts both sides of a finite

oil drop.
(a) = continuous water-oil phase Again the static pressure difference, PB –PA, if one
(b) = trapped oil phase exists, must be overcome to initiate flow. 114
DIFFERENT CONDITION OF TRAPPING OF DROPLET IN CAPILLARY
115
DIFFERENT CONDITION OF TRAPPING OF DROPLET IN CAPILLARY contd
Three variations of the case with the finite drop in contact with water
on both sides of the drop
Figure (a): the capillary tube size varies and therefore the radius is
smaller on one side of the drop than on the other.
Figure (b): shows a situation where the contact angle is different on the
two sides of the drop, which could result, for example, if the drop were
displaced in one direction, causing an advancing contact angle
different from the receding angle.
Figure (c): shows a gas drop is trapped between water on one side and
oil on the other.
Again, determining the static pressure differences between Points A and B

is important because this value must be exceeded to initiate flow.
116
TRAPPED DROPLET INTERFACIAL PRESURE CALCULATION
The pressure across the interface is just the capillary pressure, (Pc)
if the phase are still continuous
117
TRAPPED DROPLET INTERFACIAL PRESURE CALCULATION contd
A generalized expression can be written for cases in which water

contacts both sides of a finite oil/gas drop by simply adding
pressure drops across each interface.
An assumption is made that the pressure within the oil or gas drop is
constant from one end of the drop to the other
118
INTERFACIAL PRESURE CALCULATION BASED ON THE
GENERALIZED EQUATION
Because the conditions at Point A are the same as at Point B.

Pressure in the oil phase would exceed the pressure in the water
phase by the value of Pc, but there would be no net pressure change
across the drop
119
Assuming that θA = θB, the pressure difference at static conditions

is directly proportional to the difference, across the oil drop, of the
inverse of the capillary radii. If rB < r A, then PA >PB and a pressure
drop exists in the direction from Point A to B. The drop is trapped at a
finite pressure difference of (PB - PA)·
120
For an advancing contact angle at Point B and a receding angle at

Point A, θA < θB and cos θA < cos θB. This situation occurs when the
drop is on the verge of moving to the right in the figure.
Again, PA >PB and a pressure gradient exists in the potential direction of
flow at static, or trapped, conditions
121
In this case, IFT and contact angles are different at the two interfaces
because the fluid systems are different. Again, if gocosθB > gwcosθA
a pressure drop exists from Point A to B when this system is static.
For any of the situations, if the parameters are known or can be

estimated, then the pressure drop required to initiate flow (i.e., to
overcome the trapped conditions) can easily be calculated
122
PRESURE REQUIRED TO FORCE AN OIL DROP THROUGH A PORE
THROAT
Calculate the threshold pressure
necessary to force an oil drop
through a pore throat that has a
forward radius of 6.2 µm and a
rear radius of 15 µm. Assume
that the wetting contact
angle is zero and the IFT is 25
dynes/cm. Express the answer
in dynes/cm2 and psi. What
would be the pressure gradient
in psi/ft if the drop length were
0.01 cm?
123
PORE-DOUBLET MODEL
Another relatively simple

model for oil trapping is the
pore doublet.
In this model, the complexity

of the porous medium is
extended beyond that of a
single capillary by
considering flow in two
connected parallel capillaries,
as illustrated in below
124
PORE-DOUBLET MODEL
Although this model still lacks the complexity of a real reservoir rock, it
allows the concept of differential flows in different flow channels in a
rock to be introduced.
Analysis of flow in a pore doublet contributes to the understanding of
one of the ways in which oil drops can be isolated and trapped.
Assuming that water displaces oil from two pores with radii of
r1 and r2 respectively.
Pore 1 is smaller than Pore 2, and the two pores are connected at
Points A and B to form a pore doublet.
The pores are assumed to be water-wet, and for purposes of this

development, the viscosities and densities of the oil and water
phases are assumed to be equal. 125
EFFECT OF WETTABILITY ON RELATIVE PERMEABILITY CURVE
Solid wettability of a
phase affects the
nature
and, to some extent,
the magnitude of
trapping.
At a given saturation
of a fluid, the relative
permeability to that
fluid will be larger if it
is the nonwetting
rather than the
wetting fluid.
126
CAPILLARY NUMBER (CA)
Capillary Number Correlation. Considerable experimental data exist on the trapping of residual oil in rocks and other porous
media. Most of these
data consist of measurements of residual saturations when a nonwetting phase (oil) is displaced by a wetting phase (water).
Fewer
data exist for trapping of a wetting phase displaced by a nonwetting phase. The list below gives typical experimental steps in
the
collection of such data. For this discussion, water will be used as
the displacing fluid and oil as the displaced fluid, although the procedure is applicable for any two immiscible phases.
1. A core is first saturated with the water phase to be evaluated,
part of which will remain as an initial water saturation after Step 2.
2. The core next is flooded with oil to establish an initial oil saturation. This flood leaves a residual saturation of water
comparable
to that found as connate water in reservoirs.
3. The core is then flooded with the water phase being evaluated
at a specific constant rate. This flood establishes residual oil saturation for the particular flood conditions. The water phase in
Step
3 is the same as in Step 1.
4. Material balances on all fluids are maintained for each step
of the experiment to determine saturations. Pressure drops are also
measured. 127
This procedure leaves a residual saturation that results from trapping of a

phase that initially was at a relatively high saturation and was
continuous; i.e., the phase flowed initially as connected stringers
or ganglia.
Trapping is a result of saturation reduction that leads, for a nonwetting

phase, to isolation of drops or ganglia, as described
earlier for the doublet model.
For a displaced wetting phase, thin films that cover the surface lose
hydraulic connectivity, leaving the wetting phase distributed in the
smallest pores and crevices.
128
where F v and Fc = viscous and capillary forces, respectively, and

v= interstitial velocity.
Subscript w denotes displacing phase and ow is the 1FT between

the displaced and displacing phases. The dimensionless group, or
variations of the group, are called the capillary number.
129

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Samuel Erzuah 1

8.0 Thermal Recovery Processes

Historically, these stages described the production from a reservoir in

Traditional secondary recovery processes includes:

Although the term secondary recovery is now almost

Tertiary processes displaces additional oil using

NB. The tertiary recovery technique is used when the secondary

E.g. Production of the heavy oils

If the crude is sufficiently viscous, it may not flow at economic

For such reservoirs, waterflooding (secondary production) would not

These natural energy sources include;

The particular mechanism of lifting oil to the surface, once it is in the

Gas injection, in this case, is either into

Gas processes based on other mechanisms, such as

Today, waterflooding is almost synonymous with the secondary

Thermal processes typically consist of the use of

The injected fluids supplement the natural energy present in the

In addition, the injected fluids interact with the reservoir rock/oil

These interactions might, for example, result in

Proven reserves is the oil

The physical/chemical characteristics of the target oil are varied

Significant amounts of oil exist across this physical/chemical

Clearly, no single EOR process will be applicable to all crudes, and a

In other words, the EOR process would be expected to build an oil

The displacement efficiency, however, must be better than for a

Thursday, 30 January, 2020 19

That is, ED is a measure of the effectiveness of the displacing fluid in

ED is reflected in the magnitude of the residual oil saturation (Sor)

Ev is a measure of how effectively the displacing fluid sweeps out the

✓ a residual oil saturation remains in those places swept by the

✓ Secondly, a large portion of the reservoir is not contacted by the

✓ In addition, some oil from the swept region may be displaced

It is desirable in an EOR process that the values of ED and Ev, and

A secondary fluid slug used to displace the primary slug would

Several physical/chemical interactions occur between the displacing

Fluids used as primary displacing slugs have one or more of the

The goal with an acceptable EOR fluid is to maintain the favorable

Favorable ratios contribute to improvement of both areal and

An ideal EOR fluid then is one that maintains a favorable mobility

Large density differences can result in gravity segregation

Nb. The effect is to bypass fluids at the top or bottom of a

If density differences do exist between fluids, this might be

The effects of mobility and density differences can be amplified or

In addition, the density of an ideal EOR fluid should be comparable with

For thermal processes, heat conduction to overburden and

chemical losses, changes in composition, or losses of thermal energy

Another consideration is the ease of handling an EOR fluid and its

While such fluids might be used with installation of special

Geologic factors may lead to unexpected losses of chemicals or

Similarly, fluid movement may be very non-uniform because of

Unexpected chemical adsorption can sometimes occur, causing a

Are those based primarily on maintaining favorable mobility ratios to

Chemical processes are those in which certain chemicals, such as

In some cases, mobility control is also a part of the chemical process,

In miscible processes, the objective is to inject fluids that are

Phase behavior is a major factor in the application of such processes

E.g. a) Steam injection

Primary mechanisms leading to improved oil recovery include;

Examples of processes in this category are

A widely applied mobility-control process is the polymer-augmented