Polymer Flood at Adverse Mobility Ratio in 2D Flow by X-ray Visualization

Abstract

Abstract Polymer flooding is a mature EOR technology, but several pore scale phenomena with possible large influence on the reservoir scale are poorly understood. This paper describes and analyses oil mobilization experiments of heavy oils by imaging instable displacement at adverse mobility ratio water and polymer floods. Two-dimensional flood experiments have been performed using Bentheimer outcrop slabs. X-ray imaging is utilized to visualize displacements and to determine the underlying flow mechanisms. Viscous fingering, water channel formation and oil displacement are described for a series of mobility ratios. Mechanistic understanding of development and propagation of viscous fingers at adverse mobility ratio may be used to improve reservoir simulations. Description of oil mobilization for various mobility ratios may give guidelines for choice of polymer concentration and slug size for polymer floods. Bentheimer slabs were drained using oils with 4 viscosities (5 − 616 mPa∙s). X-ray imaging revealed differences in water-finger formation, and width and growth of fingers with increasing mobility ratio. Lower mobility ratios showed formation of wide fingers or water channels. Oil recovery was dominated by propagation of these channels, but still showed poor sweep efficiency (water breakthrough 0.3 – 0.5 PV). At high mobility ratio, water breakthrough occurred very early at 0.08 – 0.15 PV. Here, the oil recovery mechanism was totally different. Oil was mobilized by polymer injection through cross-flow into the water channels. Polymer flood showed rapid change in oil cut and high total oil recovery efficiency. Through analysis of 2D x-ray images, mechanisms for fingering initiation and propagation and for oil mobilization by polymer is visualized and discussed as a function of mobility ratio. The results presented here may impact polymer flood design, in particular the choice of polymer injection strategy for heavy oil reservoirs. Data show that relatively low polymer concentrations are sufficient for mobilizing heavy oil.