Characteristics of Formation Damage and Variations of Reservoir Properties during Steam Injection in Heavy Oil Reservoir

Abstract

Steam stimulation and steam flooding are two kinds of effective processes of enhanced oil recovery for a heavy oil reservoir. But steam can lead to severe and permanent formation damage due to interactions between injected fluids and reservoir rock and liquids. This article presents the laboratory studies undertaken to evaluate the influence of fluid composition, temperature, salinity, pH, dissolution and transformation of minerals, and asphalt deposition on formation damage during steam injection. The degree of damage during steam injection is observed to be dependent on pH and temperature. The technology of casting samples micrographs and scanning electron micrographs is employed to study the variations of reservoir properties after steam injection in each experiment. The mechanisms of formation damage and the characteristics of reservoir property variations are analyzed in heavy oil reservoirs during steam stimulation or steam flooding. The results show that the solubilities of rock and clay increase with increasing temperature and pH. Formation pores are blocked and plugged due to migration and precipitation of new minerals and asphalt deposition away from the steam injection well due to temperature drop and pH reduction in reservoirs. A great deal of asphalt deposition alters formation wettability to increase seepage resistance. Average porosity and average permeability increase near the steam injection well due to the generation of earthworm holes and steam channeling zones under the effect of high pH and elevated temperature. But a large amount of crude oil is left in large and mid-size pores during steam injection in heavy oil reservoirs.