Physical and Chemical Effects of an Oil Phase on the Propagation of Foam in Porous Media

Abstract

ABSTRACT Laboratory experiments were performed to determine the effects of a residual oil phase to hot nitrogen flood on the propagation of surfactant foam in Berea sandstone rocks. Static phase behavior-type tests were performed in support of the displacement tests. In the static experiments, surfactant partitioning into the oil phase and thermal degradation losses were measured. The chemical and physical properties of the oil phase were varied by the employment of four crude oil and two synthetic oil samples. The chemical properties of the surfactant phase were varied by the employment of three different foaming sulfonate surfactants. Each oil was analyzed for composition and physical and interfacial properties were measured. The effect of the presence of an oil phase on foam propagation was found to be strongly surfactant-specific. Implications of the results on the mechanisms controlling oil production in reservoirs containing steam override zones and channels are discussed.