EFFECTS OF PARTICLES DISAGGREGATION UNDER ULTRASONIC-ASSISTED WATERFLOODING ON OIL RECOVERY

Abstract

Ultrasonic waves have a wide variety of applications in a variety of fields. It is used in the oil and gas industry to remove near wellbore damage, and several studies have been conducted to examine its application with waterflooding. Additionally, ultrasonic waves are used in engineering to determine the stability of sediments through dispersion and disaggregation. This study aims to incorporate both the ultrasonic waterflooding aspect with the stability of the sediment by investigating the impact of sonication exposure duration on particle size and oil recovery under waterflooding. Six (6) coarse sand samples were used in the experiment to simulate the porous media found in a sand pack. A sieving test was conducted on each sand sample to obtain its Particle Size Distribution (PSD) curve prior and post sonication. Waterflooding was conducted using 3% NaCl brine as the wetting phase and decane (C10H22) as a non-wetting phase. Ultrasonic waves were applied continuously throughout the waterflooding durations (i.e., 15,30,45 minutes), and both temperature and decane recovery were recorded. The results show that ultrasonic results in minimal additional recovery less than 2%, and an increase in temperature of 2-8°C was observed. However, longer sonication results in higher particle disaggregation, which reduces permeability by15.50%-41.85% and can result in sand production. This study can be continued through investigation on the utilization of cyclic ultrasonic-assisted waterflooding as a technique that may aid in recovery without causing detrital effects to the reservoir sand layer.Keywords: permeability, stability, sonication, dispersion, size distribution