Low Salinity Surfactant Flooding – A Multi-Mechanistic Enhanced Oil Recovery Method

Abstract

AbstractWe have applied UTCHEM-IPhreeqc to investigate low salinity waterflooding and low salinity surfactant flooding. Numerical simulation results have been compared with laboratory experiments reported by Alagic and Skauge (2010). UTCHEM-IPhreeqc combines the UTCHEM numerical chemical flooding simulator with IPhreeqc, the United States Geological Survey geochemical model. The IPhreeqc model was coupled to UTCHEM to model low salinity waterflooding as a function of geochemical reactions. The surfactant coreflood experiments were done in vertical cores without using polymer or other mobility control agents. These experiments were done at a velocity greater than the critical velocity for a gravity-stable flood. After history matching the experiments, additional numerical simulations of surfactant floods at the critical velocity were run to estimate the performance under stable conditions. We also simulated a surfactant flood at higher salinity with lower IFT and compared the results with the low salinity surfactant flood. These results provide new insights into low salinity waterflooding and surfactant flooding.