Received: 10 November 2018 Accepted: 1 Januari 2018 Online Published: 29 Januari 2019
Abstract
Recent studies showed that salinity concentration of the injected water is more important factor rather than the amount of water injected. The objectives of this study are to analyse the effect of salinity and its behaviour in waterflooding and calculating the recovery factor of the oil produced in sandtone reservoir condition. This study focuses on analysing the effect of salinity to its recovery factor, relative permeability, breakthrough time and water cut of the oil-water system. Laboratory experiment had been carried out to determine the recovery factor by using sandstone core with the dimension length and diameter of 3 in and 1.5 in, respectively. Sodium Chloride (NaCl) was used to control the salinity concentration in waterflooding with range of 1,000 ppm to 14,000 ppm. The experiment was run with constant flow rate, pressure and temperature. In this experiment, deionized water with varied salinity and paraffin oil were used to perform the waterflooding procedure. Based on the results obtained, the highest total oil recovery by waterflooding was 57.8% with 4,000 ppm as the optimum salinity, which is 14.6% higher than oil recovered by 14,000 ppm. The results also showed the change in end-point value of relative permeability. It also showed that water cut tend to increase as the salinity increase, while breakthrough time tend to decrease as the salinity increase.
Studi Injeksi Air Salinitas Rendah Pada Reservoar Batuan Pasir
Abstrak Studi terbaru menunjukkan bahwa konsentrasi salinitas air yang disuntikkan adalah faktor yang lebih penting daripada jumlah air yang disuntikkan. Tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menganalisis pengaruh salinitas dan perilakunya dalam waterflooding dan menghitung faktor pemulihan minyak yang dihasilkan dalam kondisi batu pasir reservoir. studi ini berfokus pada analisis pengaruh salinitas terhadap faktor pemulihannya, permeabilitas relatif, waktu terobosan dan potongan air dari sistem minyak-air. Eksperimen laboratorium telah dilakukan untuk menentukan faktor pemulihan dengan menggunakan inti batupasir dengan panjang dimensi 3 in dan diameter 1,5 in. Natrium Klorida (NaCl) digunakan untuk mengontrol konsentrasi salinitas dalam waterflooding dengan kisaran 1.000 ppm hingga 14.000 ppm. Eksperimen dilakukan dengan laju aliran, tekanan dan suhu yang konstan. Dalam eksperimen ini, air terdeionisasi dengan salinitas bervariasi dan minyak parafin digunakan untuk melakukan prosedur waterflooding. Berdasarkan hasil yang diperoleh, total perolehan minyak tertinggi dengan waterflooding adalah 57,8% dengan 4.000 ppm sebagai salinitas optimal, yang mana 14,6% lebih tinggi daripada minyak yang dipulihkan oleh 14.000 ppm. Hasil juga menunjukkan perubahan nilai titik akhir permeabilitas relatif. Eksperimen ini juga menunjukkan bahwa potongan air cenderung meningkat dengan meningkatnya salinitas, sementara waktu terobosan cenderung menurun dengan meningkatnya salinitas.
Kata Kunci: Injeksi Air; Salinitas Rendah; Pemulihan Minyak.
Indonesian J. Integr. Sci. Education / IJIS Edu, Vol 1 (1), 2019 page 85-89
and has since become the most widely adopted
INTRODUCTION improved-oil-recovery (IOR) technique (Morrow All of the oil that were created by the & Buckley, 2011). source rock in the reservoir is useless if it it’s not Water injection or also known as being stored in a rock that has the ability to waterflooding is one of the oldest and most contain oil. A reservoir rock function as an common method that is used to maintain the underground storage where the oil migrates and reservoir pressure and increase the production held underground. There are two kinds of rate. Basically, waterflooding performed by reservoir rock; commonly known there are the injecting water into the reservoir when the sandstones and carbonates. Both of these rocks pressure has depleted over time to increase the have the ability to contain oil inside them, just like pressure and stimulate production. The success a pile of rock that were put together and has a of waterflooding method is determined by several room or “pore spaces” between them that can factors such as oil properties, rock properties and contain fluids. characteristics, and composition and quality of Approximately 60% of all petroleum the water that being used. All kind of water can reservoirs are sandstones; outside the Middle be used in order to perform waterflooding, from East, carbonate reservoirs are less common and produced water, seawater, aquifer water and river the percentage is even higher. The most water. Produced water and seawater were often important reservoir properties are porosity and used since the source can be easily found. permeability, but pore geometry and wetting In the early days, the amount of the water properties of the mineral surfaces may also injected was considered as the most important influence petroleum production. Sandstones factor in waterflooding. However, recently, many provide reservoirs for oil and gas, but also for studies proved that the composition of water is groundwater which is a fluid that is becoming the most important factor in increasing the increasingly valuable (Bjørlykke & Jahren, 2010). recovery factor. Low-salinity waterflooding or In an oil reservoir, the production of oil known as LSW proven to be the best way to was produced in three stages, namely primary improve recovery factor. recovery, secondary recovery and tertiary Fluid and rock properties. The porous recovery or enhanced oil recovery (EOR). medium used in all experiments was a cylindrical Initially at the primary recovery stage, oil is core sample of sandstone rock with a length of produced by the reservoir’s natural energy (fluid 7.3 cm and 3.8 cm in diameter. The porosity was and rock expansion, solution-gas drive, gravity 16.0 %, and the permeability was 450 mD. Table drainage, and aquifer influx). As the fluid was 1 provides an overview of core sample properties. produced and the reservoir pressure were Brine with vary salinity of Sodium Chloride was depleted, there is not enough natural energy to used and paraffin oil used as crude oil in this produce oil from the reservoir and the experiment. The viscosity of the paraffin oil was production rate will decrease. One of the ways to 2.3 cp. solve this problem is by performing secondary recovery, which can be done through various Table 1. Core Properties methods. At the final stage of the oil production, various Enhance Oil Recovery (EOR) Rock material Sandstone Rock procedures can be performed in order to increase Diameter of the core 3.8 cm the production rate. At the first stage of production, only 10- Length of the core 7.3 cm 30% of the oil originally in place (OOIP) is Porosity 16.0 % recovered and at the second stage, only 30-50% Permeability 450 mD of the OOIP is recovered (Castor, Somerton, & Kelly, 1981). Waterflooding can increase that percentage known as the recovery factor and METHODS maintained the production at the optimum level for longer period. Normally secondary recovery A flow diagram of the overall experimental started when the reservoir starts to decline and equipment is given in Figure 1. The core was put reduce production rate. Waterflooding was first into a tri-axial core holder for the flooding practiced for maintenance after primary depletion processes. Firstly, the core was 100% saturated with the brine before injected with the paraffin 86 http://ejournal.iainbengkulu.ac.id/index.php/ijisedu Indonesian J. Integr. Sci. Education / IJIS Edu , Vol 1 (1), 201 page 63-70
oil to have initial oil saturation. Then,
70 waterflooding process followed. Brine was used 2,000
Recovery Factor (%)
60 during waterflooding process at constant 50 ppm injection pressure. The inlet pressure was kept L 4,000 40 ppm constant at 10 psi with confined pressure inside 30 8,000 the core holder was 150 psi. The process stopped 20 ppm after the water cut reach 90%. The produced oil 10 14,000 was measured. Water also produced during the 0 ppm flooding processes. However, since the paraffin 0 5000 10000 15000 oil was dye with red color, it was easier to measure Brine Salinity (ppm) (a) the amount of oil produced
Figure 1. : Experimental flow diagram Figure 2. (a). Oil recovery by waterflooding, (b). Oil recovery by the amount of water injected RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Oil Recovery Relative Permeability Figure 2(a) shows the oil recovery after Figure 3 shows the relative permeability waterflooding with four different brine salinities. end-point value of the waterflooding process. The brines used were 2,000 ppm, 4,000 ppm, Based on previous study, the change in relative 8,000 ppm and 14,000 ppm. The highest oil permeability could bring change to wettability recovered was achieved by 4,000 ppm brine with state of the system. In Figure 4.3, it can be seen 57.79% while the lowest oil recovered achieved that the increment of the end-point value of the by 14,000 brine with 43.51%. The increase relative permeability to its optimum salinity was percentage in recovery with reduced salinity show at column number 2 (4,000 ppm). This increment the improvements in recovery resulting from the indicated that there is a possible change in LSE. Although, the lowest salinity carried out in wettability state of oil-water system towards more the experiment was at 2,000 ppm, the oil water-wetness. Nonetheless, wettability was out recovered was not the highest which is 50.15%. of the scope of this study. For example, if the Figure 2 (b) shows the oil recovered by initial wettability of the oil-water system was waterflooding with the amount of water injected. mixed-wet, the change would be towards water- The injected water was approximately at 6 PV wet state. until the water cut reach about 90% before the 1 process stopped. In the early waterflooding 0.8 process, injection with 2,000 ppm brine showed 0.6 the most highest oil recovered with only 0.4 PV with 44% oil recovered. 0.4 0.2 0 1 2 3 4 Kro 0.73 0.86 0.72 0.67 Krw 0.25 0.18 0.23 0.31
Figure 3. Relative permeability end-point value of the
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Breakthrough Time and Water Cut the waterflood front reaches the producer (Gary Table 2 shows the breakthrough time and R. Jerauld, 2000). Second reason was the effect of water cut performance of different salinities. The salinity to relative permeability in oil-water longest breakthrough time was documented by system. Based on previous study, the change in 2,000 ppm brine with 559 seconds while the relative permeability could bring alteration to fastest breakthrough time was measured by wettability state of the system. In Figure 4.3, it can 14,000 ppm brine with 266 seconds. From the be seen that the increment of the end-point value experiment, it can be seen that breakthrough time of the relative permeability to its optimum salinity decrease as the salinity increased. The watercut was at column number 2 (4,000 ppm). This percentage was recorded after 1 hour of injection. increment indicated that there was a possible The highest watercut percentage was at 14,000 change in wettability state of oil-water system ppm brine with 89% of watercut while the lowest towards more water-wetness. The increment in was 2,000 ppm brine with 83% of watercut. Here, relative permeability plots indicated the it can be conclude that watercut tended to development of the oil-water system to more increase as the salinity increased, where the water water-wet state. Improved oil recovery were produce were higher. generally supported by an increase in water wetness (Shaddel, Tabatabae-Nejad, & Fathi, Table 2. Breakthrough time and water cut performance 2014). The more water-wet of the system, the by waterflooding more of oil can be produced. Therefore, low salinity benefit as a shift in wettability towards Salinity Breakthrough % water cut more water-wet state. Another reason is due to concentration time (after 1 hour) the reaction between the injected fluid and the (ppm) (seconds) minerals of the rock, the dissolution of the 2,000 559 83.15 mineral may happened. The dissolution process caused the clogging in the pore spaces during the 4,000 575 83.35 migration of the fines particles resulting from the 8,000 421 85.28 chemical reactions that may trapped the oil.
14,000 266 89.38
CONCLUSION The results of this study proved that Effect Of Salinity on Waterflooding salinity is critical and play important role to Salinity was used as the variable in this improve oil recovery in secondary recovery experiment. From the results obtained, it clearly method. The experiment showed the optimum showed that salinity influenced the oil production salinity for waterflooding was 4,000 ppm, which process and its performance. Four different recovered oil as much as 57.79%, 14.63% higher salinity rations were selected to be used in this than 14,000 ppm. Water cut tend to increase as experiment which were 2,000 ppm, 4,000 ppm, the salinity increase, while breakthrough time 8,000 ppm and 14,000 ppm. tend to decrease as the salinity increase. Finally, Generally, the recovered oil increased as the experiment proved that there is a change in the salinity of the water decreased. From those end-point values of relative permeability with the four salinities, 4,000 ppm produced the most changes in salinity. recovered oil with 57.79%, which 14.6% higher REFERENCES compared to 14,000 ppm. Although, 2,000 ppm was the lowest salinity used in the experiment, the Bjørlykke, K., & Jahren, J. (2010). Sandstones and oil recovered was not the highest. sandstone reservoirs Petroleum Several factors were believed to be the Geoscience (pp. 113-140): Springer. reason that leadto this circumstance. First reason Castor, T., Somerton, W., & Kelly, J. (1981). was the breakthrough time of waterflooding. Recovery mechanisms of alkaline flooding Early water breakthrough may cause poor oil Surface phenomena in enhanced oil recovery. Once the breakthrough started, the recovery (pp. 249-291): Springer. injected fluid or in this case brine will bypass the oil and less oil will be recovered. Previous study Morrow, N., & Buckley, J. (2011). Improved oil concluded that, optimal performance occured recovery by low-salinity waterflooding. when the EOR oil bank was produced just before Journal of Petroleum Technology, 63(05), 106-112. 88 http://ejournal.iainbengkulu.ac.id/index.php/ijisedu Indonesian J. Integr. Sci. Education / IJIS Edu , Vol 1 (1), 201 page 63-70
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