Vanishing Interfacial Tension Algorithm for MMP Determination in Unconventional Reservoirs

Abstract

Vanishing Interfacial Tension Algorithm for MMP Determination in Unconventional Reservoirs Tadesse Weldu Teklu; Tadesse Weldu Teklu Colorado School of Mines Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Najeeb Alharthy; Najeeb Alharthy Colorado School of Mines Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Hossein Kazemi; Hossein Kazemi Colorado School of Mines Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Xiaolong Yin; Xiaolong Yin Colorado School of Mines Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Ramona M. Graves Ramona M. Graves Colorado School of Mines Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE Western North American and Rocky Mountain Joint Meeting, Denver, Colorado, April 2014. Paper Number: SPE-169517-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/169517-MS Published: April 17 2014 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Teklu, Tadesse Weldu, Alharthy, Najeeb , Kazemi, Hossein , Yin, Xiaolong , and Ramona M. Graves. "Vanishing Interfacial Tension Algorithm for MMP Determination in Unconventional Reservoirs." Paper presented at the SPE Western North American and Rocky Mountain Joint Meeting, Denver, Colorado, April 2014. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/169517-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Western Regional Meeting Search Advanced Search Abstract Minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) is the minimum pressure at which the interfacial tension between reservoir oil and injected gas phase disappears. In the slim-tube experiment, MMP is the minimum pressure, which achieves maximum oil recovery in a sand-packed tube flow experiment. In Rising Bubble Apparatus (RBA), MMP is the pressure of gas phase disappearance at increasing pressures as a single gas bubble moves through the reservoir oil in a thin glass tube. In the Vanishing Interfacial Tension (VIT) technique, MMP is determined experimentally by measuring the decrease of the gas-oil IFT with increasing pressure, and extrapolating the trend to zero.In this paper, we determine the vanishing interfacial tension trend of equilibrium gas-oil with increasing pressure in subsurface pores, which includes capillary pressure. We extrapolate the decreasing IFT trend to zero IFT, at which the pressure is the MMP. This method resembles the experimental VIT approach for determining MMP, but obviously is faster, more convenient, and broader in scope. The result of our algorithm compares favorably with results from the multiple-mixing-cell algorithm for conventional and unconventional reservoirs. We also calculate the miscibility pressures for Bakken and Niobrara shale reservoirs for hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon gas injection. Our result show that the MMP of the reservoir oils occurs at lower MMPs compared to conventional reservoirs if the pore throat radius is less than 10 nm. The gases used in MMP calculation are CO2, N2, CH4, CO, H2S, LPG, and NGL. Miscibility of N2, CH4 and CO is much lower in the same shale environment. Keywords: miscible method, Upstream Oil & Gas, minimum miscibility pressure, co 2, determination, teklu, capillary pressure, Stenby, interfacial tension, unconventional reservoir Subjects: Fluid Characterization, Improved and Enhanced Recovery, Phase behavior and PVT measurements, Gas-injection methods, Miscible methods Copyright 2014, Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.