Experimental and Simulation Study of the Steam–Foam Process. Part 2: The Effect of Oil on Foam Generation

Abstract

The intent of this study was to examine the stability of foam in the steam–foam process, which is an enhanced oil recovery method used to improve the performance of a traditional steam drive. In this study, a surfactant solution was co-injected with steam at various qualities into a core holder filled with a sand pack. The core holder was kept inside an oven at 250 °C to mimic the near-wellbore temperature in a steam flood. When the pressure drop is measured along the core with and without the surfactant, the mobility reduction factor of the generated foam could be measured. The effect of oil saturation on steam–foam was also investigated. The results showed that the presence of oil had a detrimental effect on the foam strength; however, foam can still be generated in the presence of oil. At higher superficial gas velocities, the generated foam could not improve the oil recovery, but when the velocity was lowered, foam generation could significantly improve the oil recovery from the core. The Computer Mod...