Experimental Investigation of IOR Potential in Shale Oil Reservoirs by Surfactant and CO2 Injection: A Case Study in the Lucaogou Formation

Abstract

The current oil recovery of the Lucaogou shale oil reservoir is predicted to be about 7.2%. It is crucial to explore improved oil recovery (IOR) technologies, and further experimental and field research needs to be conducted to study the complex mechanism. In this study, laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate the performance of one-step and multi-step depletion, CO2 huff-n-puff, and surfactant imbibition based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The sweep efficiencies were assessed via NMR imaging. In addition, hybrid methods of combining surfactant with CO2 huff-n-puff and the performance of injection sequence on oil recovery were investigated. The experimental results indicate that oil recoveries of depletion development at different initial pressures range from 4% to 11%. CO2 huff-n-puff has the highest oil recovery (30.45% and 40.70%), followed by surfactant imbibition (24.24% and 20.89%). Pore size distribution is an important factor. After three more cycles of surfactant imbibition and CO2 huff-n-puff, the oil recovery can be increased by 11.27% and 26.27%, respectively. Surfactant imbibition after CO2 huff-n-puff shows a viable method. Our study can provide guidance and theoretical support for shale oil development in the Lucaogou shale oil reservoir.