Abstract
Reservoir heterogeneities can severely affect the effectiveness of waterflooding because displacing fluids tend to flow along high-permeability paths and prematurely breakthrough at producing wells. A Proof-of-Concept (PoC) study is presented while discussing the experimental results of a research on “core-shell” technology to improve waterflooding in heterogeneous oil reservoirs. The proposed methodology consists in injecting a water dispersion of nanocapsules after the reservoir has been extensively flushed with water. The nanocapsules are made of a “core” (either polymeric or siliceous materials), protected by a “shell” that can release its content at an appropriate time, which activates through gelation or aggregation thus plugging the high permeability paths. Additional flooding with water provides recovery of bypassed oil. The initial conceptual screening of possible materials was followed by extensive batch and column lab tests. Then, 3D dynamic simulations at reservoir scale were performed to compensate for the temporary lack of pilot tests and/or field applications.
Highlights
Scope of WorkRecently, the potential of nanotechnology to transform the design and execution of chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) has been disclosed
The proposed methodology consists in injecting a water dispersion of nanocapsules after the reservoir has been extensively flushed with water
The nanocapsules are made of a “core”, protected by a “shell” that can release its content at an appropriate time, which activates through gelation or aggregation plugging the high permeability paths
Summary
Scope of WorkRecently, the potential of nanotechnology to transform the design and execution of chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) has been disclosed. A lab testing phase was carried out to confirm the viability of core-shell technology. Micro-size polymeric (for proof of mechanism) and nano-size siliceous (in view of field applications) materials were selected as the core because of their ability to form a gel or to aggregate, respectively. The initial use of a polymeric material (micro) served to determine and better understand the mechanism of the technology given that it is more observable at lab scale than the siliceous material (nano). Specific polymers and siliceous materials (the core) and their respective protecting shield (the shell) were selected and combined by chemical processing to create a unique ensemble able to remain totally inert during injection and flooding until the shell dissolves releasing its polymeric or siliceous core at the expected time. The durability of the generated core-shell particles under different working conditions (pressure, temperature, shear stresses) was verified
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