Analysis of the Wettability Alteration Process during Seawater Imbibition into Preferentially Oil-Wet Chalk Cores

Abstract

Abstract Improved oil recovery from fractured oil-wet carbonate reservoirs is a great challenge. The water-flooding efficiency will be low because of higher permeability in fractures than in matrix, and negative capillary pressure retains oil inside the matrix blocks. Studies of oil-wet chalk have shown that sulphate ions in the seawater may alter the wettability towards increased water-wetness. One-dimensional spontaneous imbibition tests of seawater into preferentially oil-wet chalk cores are performed. To get a better understanding, a numerical model has been developed which includes effects of wettability alteration. The experiments are carried out on cylindrical, sealed core plugs with only top open or with both ends open. Only countercurrent imbibition takes place for cores with top end open. For cores with both ends open, both countercurrent and cocurrent imbibition take place, and oil recovery rate is obviously accelerated. Taking formation water as the base case, higher oil recovery is observed with seawater imbibition. To simulate the wettability alteration process caused by seawater, a model is developed which includes molecular diffusion, adsorption of wettability alteration (WA) agent, gravity and capillary pressure. The WA agent diffuses into the formation water initially present in the core, adsorb onto the rock surface and induce wettability alteration. Consequently, the capillary pressure curve is shifted to higher values. In particular, the capillary pressure at the initial water saturation changes from negative to positive values and seawater is imbibed into the core. The shapes of relative permeability curves also depend on the wettability. The simulation results can fairly well match the experimental data. With the experimental and modeling work we explore the interplay between capillarity and gravity, and especially the importance to consider wettability alteration process is again confirmed.