Simulation Study of Displacement Mechanisms in Microbial Improved Oil Recovery Experiments

Abstract

Abstract Microbial Improved Oil Recovery (MIOR) processes use bacteria or their bioproducts to help mobilizing additional oil from the reservoir. The chemical and physical properties of the reservoir fluids and rock are changed during the MIOR process. An extensive investigation has been carried out at laboratory temperature with dodecane and an alkane oxidizing bacterium, Rhodococcus sp 094, suspended in brine to study potential recovery mechanisms involved in the MIOR process. Flooding experiments on Berea sandstone cores and flow visualization experiments within glass micromodels have shown the effects of bacteria on remaining oil saturation. The interfacial tension reduction, wettability alteration and selective plugging are recognized as important displacement mechanisms during the MIOR process. The objectives of this paper are to present the experimental results and to evaluate the driving mechanisms of MIOR by using two simulators. ECLIPSE is used to build a model based on core parameters for simulating the core flooding process. While, COMSOL Multiphysics models the two phases flow obtained experimentally at the pore scale within the micromodels. Simulation results are consistant with the experimental results and indicate that both tools are useful to solve the simulation problems of MIOR process. The obtained results address capability and inability of simulators to model the MIOR displacement mechanisms.