Role of Ionic Composition and Interaction in Oil-Water-Rock Systems during Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes involving Low-Salinity Fluid and CO2 Injection

低矿化度流体和 CO2 注入提高采收率过程中油-水-岩石系统中离子组成和相互作用的作用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-04841
• 负责人: Sarma, Hemanta
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Calgary
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=746954
• 关键词: Role; Ionic; Composition; Interaction; Oil

Today, exploration for new oilfields is a high-risk venture due to the low oil price. Therefore, a logical lower-cost alternative is to target and extract residual oil from the already discovered and developed oil reservoirs, particularly the Canadian light-oil reservoirs with an estimated oil reserve of 5.5 billion barrels. Even a single percent improvement in the recovery of oil from these reservoirs will yield rich dividends for Canada. My program has a direct relevance to such reservoirs in Canada and elsewhere, where the traditional waterflood has performed poorly due to unfavorable rock wettability and high post-flood residual oil saturation, thus making a difference between a successful and a marginal project, particularly in the current low-oil price environment. The unfavorable rock wettability, in particular, leads to poor relative permeability characteristics for the oil, and this in turn, causes the premature breakthrough of the injected water in production wells resulting in a much lower-than-expected oil recovery factor.     My research aims to find solutions to overcome or diminish the effects of unfavorable rock wettability by making changes in the ionic composition and salinity of the injected water. In this program, I will also explore how some of these light-oil Canadian reservoirs can be utilized, concomitantly, to sequester CO2 and recover oil. Therefore, this program has dual objectives: EOR and partial CO2 sequestration through an EOR process.     A systematic approach has been charted to meet the program objectives through a well-defined work plan comprising both modeling and experimental studies. The program includes a fundamental study of water geochemistry and key rock-fluid geochemical reactions under various ionic compositions. This is followed by a study of CO2 EOR with an optimized composition of the injected water to partly sequester CO2 in the reservoir. It will generate a new water chemistry to improve waterflood oil recovery as well as quantify the CO2 sequestration potential during CO2 EOR processes.     Geochemical reactions and transport models developed in the program will be validated through specially-designed laboratory tests to study oil-rock-brine interactions, wettability alteration, relative permeability and surface-charge behavior, ionic transport, and finally, the oil recovery and CO2 fixation in the rock. This will be followed by additional validation using representative rock-fluid samples and data from a few selected Canadian light-oil reservoirs to establish the lab-to-field linkage of the program outcomes.     During the course of the program, I will provide comprehensive research-based training in advanced modeling and laboratory studies to 7 HQPs, who will also engage synergistically in scholarly outreach, contributions and interactions with peers in dissemination of our findings through refereed journals, conferences and other such knowledge-sharing platforms, like forums and workshops.

如今，由于油价较低，新油田的勘探是一项高风险的投资，因此，合理的低成本替代方案是从已发现和开发的油藏（尤其是加拿大轻质油藏）中开采和提取残余油。预计石油储量为 55 亿桶，即使这些油藏的石油采收率提高一个百分点，也将为加拿大带来丰厚的回报。由于不利的岩石润湿性和较高的驱后残余油饱和度，从而使项目的成功与失败之间存在差异，特别是在当前的低油价环境下，这反过来又导致注入水过早突破。生产井导致石油采收率远低于预期​我的研究旨在找到克服或减少影响的解决方案。通过改变注入水的离子组成和盐度来消除不利的岩石润湿性。在本计划中，我还将探索如何同时利用加拿大的一些轻质油储层来封存二氧化碳并回收石油。该计划有双重目标：通过 EOR 过程实现 EOR 和部分二氧化碳封存，已制定了系统方法，通过包含建模和实验的明确工作计划来实现该计划目标。该计划包括对各种离子成分下的水地球化学和关键岩石-流体地球化学反应进行基础研究，然后对注入水的优化成分进行二氧化碳 EOR 研究，以部分封存储层中的二氧化碳。生成新的水化学以提高注水采油率，并量化 CO2 EOR 过程中的 CO2 封存潜力，该项目中开发的地球化学反应和传输模型将通过该模型进行验证。专门设计的实验室测试，用于研究石油-岩石-盐水相互作用、润湿性变化、相对渗透率和表面电荷行为、离子传输，最后是岩石中的石油采收率和二氧化碳固定。随后将使用代表性的材料进行额外验证。来自一些选定的加拿大轻质油储层的岩石流体样本和数据，以建立项目成果的实验室与现场联系。 在项目过程中，我将提供高级建模和综合研究培训。实验室向 7 个 HQP 进行研究，他们还将协同参与学术推广、贡献和与同行的互动，通过参考期刊、会议和其他此类知识共享平台（如论坛和研讨会）传播我们的研究结果。