1887
  1. Home
  2. Conferences
  3. Conference Proceedings
  4. IOR 2017 - 19th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery
  5. Conference paper

Abstract

Summary

Foam flow in porous media without oil shows two regimes, depending on foam quality (gas fractional flow). Complexity and limited data on foam-oil interactions in porous media greatly restrict understanding of foam in contact with oil. Distinguishing which regimes are affected by oil is key to modelling the effect of oil on foam. We report steady-state corefloods to investigate the effect of oil on foam through its effect on the two flow regimes. We fit parameters of the widely used STARS foam model to data for foam-oil concurrent flow. This research provides a practical approach and initial data for simulating foam EOR in the presence of oil.

To ensure steady state, oil is co-injected with foam at a fixed ratio of oil (Uo) to water (Uw) superficial velocities in a Bentheimer sandstone core. Model oils used here consist of two components: hexadecane, which is benign to foam stability, and oleic acid, which can destroy foam. Varying the concentration of oleic acid in the model oil allows one to examine the effect of oil composition on steady-state foam flow. Experimental results show that oil impacts both high- and low-quality regimes, with the high-quality regime more vulnerable to oil. In particular, oil increases the limiting water saturation (Sw*) in the high-quality regime and also lessens gas mobility reduction in the low-quality regime. The high-quality regime is strongly shear-thinning in the presence of oil. Pressure gradient ( p) in the low-quality regime, in some cases, decreases with increasing Uw at fixed gas superficial velocity (Ug), either with or without oil. This may reflect either an effect of oil, if oil is present, or easier flow of bubbles under wetter conditions. Increasing oleic acid concentration extends the high-quality regime to lower foam qualities, indicating more difficulty in stabilizing foam. Thus oil composition plays as significant a role as oil saturation.

A model fit assuming a fixed Sw* and including shear-thinning in the low-quality regime doesn’t represent each regime when the oil effect is strong enough. In such cases, fitting Sw* to each p contour and excluding shear-thinning in the low-quality regime yields a better match to data. The dependency of Sw* on oil saturation is not yet clear owing to absence of oil-saturation data in this study. Furthermore, none of the current foam simulation models can capture the upward-tilting p contours in the low-quality regime.

© EAGE Publications BV
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.201700345
2017-04-24
2024-04-24

  • From This Site

    /content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.201700345
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Alvarez, J. M., Rivas, H., and Rossen, W. R.
    , “A Unified Model for Steady-State Foam Behavior at High and Low Foam Qualities,” SPE Journal6 (2001), 325–333.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Computer Modeling Group
    , STARS User’s Guide, Version 2015, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Cheng, L., Reme, A. B., Shan, D., Coombe, D. A., Rossen, W. R.
    , “Simulating Foam processes at High and Low Foam Qualities”, SPE 59287 presented at the SPE/DOE Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery (2000), Tulsa, Oklahoma, 3–5 April.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. De Vries, A. S. and Wit, K.
    , “Rheology of Gas/Water Foam in the Quality. Range Relevant to Steam Foam.” Soc. Pet. Eng. Res. Eng. 5(2), 185–192 (1990).
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Farajzadeh, R., Andrianov, A., Krastev, R., Hirasaki, G. J., and Rossen, W. R.
    , “Foam-Oil Interaction in Porous Media: Implications for Foam Assisted Enhanced Oil Recovery,” Advances Colloid Interface Sci., 183–184 (2012), 1–13.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Falls, A. H., Hirasaki, G. J., Patzek, T. W., Gauglitz, D. A., Miller, D. D., and Ratulowski, J
    , “Development of a Mechanistic Foam Simulator: The Population Balance and Generation by Snap-Off,” SPE Reser. Eng. 3, 884–892 (1988).
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Friedmann, F., Chen, W. H., and Gauglitz, P. A.
    , “Experimental and Simulation Study of High-Temperature Foam Displacement in Porous Media,” SPE Reser. Eng. 6, 37–75 (1991).
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Fisher, A. W., Foulser, R. W. S., and Goodyear, S. G.
    , “Mathematical Modeling of Foam Flooding,” SPE/DOE 20195 presented at the 1990 SPE/DOE Symposium on Enhanced Oil Recovery, Tulsa, OK, Apr. 22–25.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Hirasaki, G. J. and Lawson, J. B.
    , “Mechanisms of Foam Flow in Porous Media: Apparent Viscosity in Smooth Capillaries,” SPE Journal25 (1985), 176–190, SPE-12129-PA.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Islam, M. R. and Farouq-Ali, S. M.
    , “Numerical Simulation of Foam Flow in Porous Media,” J. Canadian. Pet. Tech. (July-Aug. 1990) 47–51.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Kovscek, A. R. and Radke, C. J.
    , “Fundamentals of Foam Transport in Porous Media,” in Foams: Fundamentals and Applications in the Petroleum Industry, L.L.Schramm (ed.) ACS Advances in Chemistry Series, Am. Chem. Soc., Washington, D.C. (1994) 3, No. 242.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Kam, S. I., Nguyen, Q. P., Li, Q., and Rossen, W. R.
    , “Dynamic Simulations With an Improved Model for Foam Generation,” SPE Journal12, 35–48 (2007).
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Kular, G. S., Lowe, K., and Coombe, D.
    , “Foam Application in an Oil Sands Steam Flood Process,” paper SPE 19690 presented at the 1989 SPE Annual Tech. Conf. and Exhibition, San Antonio, TX, Oct. 8–11.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Kim, J. S., Dong., Y., and Rossen, W. R.
    , “Steady-State Flow Behavior of CO2 Foam,” SPE Journal10, 405–415 (2005).
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Law, D. H., Yang, Z.-M., and Stone, T.
    , “Effect of Presence of Oil on Foam Performance: A Field Simulation Study,” paper SPE 18721 presented at the 1989 SPE Symposium on Reservoir Simulation, Houston, TX, Feb. 6–8.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Mohammadi, S., and Coombe, D. A.
    , “Characteristics of Steam-Foam Drive Process in Massive Multi-Zone and Thin Single-Zone Reservoirs,” paper 14030, presented at the 1992 SPE Western Regional Meeting, Bakersfield, CA, March 30-April 1.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Osterloh, W. T., and Jante, M. J.
    , “Effects of Gas and Liquid Velocity on Steady-State Foam Flow at High Temperature”, SPE 24179 presented at the SPE/DOE EOR symposium (1992), Tulsa, OK, April 22–24.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Patzek, T. W. and Myhill, N. A.
    , “Simulation of the Bishop Steam Foam Pilot,” paper SPE 18786 presented at the 1989 SPE California Regional Meeting, Bakersfield, Apr. 5–7.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Persoff, P., Radke, C. J., Pruess, K., Benson, S. M., and Witherspoon, P. A.
    : “A Laboratory Investigation of Foam Flow in Sandstone at Elevated Pressure,” SPERE (Aug. 1991) 185–192.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Reme, A. B.
    : “Parameter Fitting and Calibration Study with a Commercial Foam Simulator,” Diploma Thesis, Faculty of Applied Earth Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (1999).
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Rossen, W. R., Zeilinger, S. C., Shi,, J.-X., and Lim, M. T.
    , “Mechanistic Simulation of Foam Processes in Porous Media,” SPEJ (Sept. 1999), 279–287.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Tang, J., Ansari, M. N., Rossen, W. R.
    , “Modeling the Effect of Oil on Foam for EOR,” ECMOR XV, 2016.
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.201700345
Loading
The Effect of Oil on Steady-state Foam Flow Regimes in Porous Media
Conference Proceedings 2017, 1 (2017); https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.201700345
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.201700345
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.201700345
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error