bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Strong Alkali and Weak Alkali ASP Flooding Pilot Tests in Daqing Oilfield
Authors: Guo Hu , Li Yiqiang , Gu Yuanyuan , Wang Fuyong , Yuliang Zhang 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
ASP flooding is one of the most promising EOR technologies. Lots of laboratory studies and pilot tests have been finished in Daqing oilfield which is the largest oilfield in China. Comparison of two typical strong alkali ASP (WASP) and weak alkali ASP (SASP) pilots are presented with detained information.
ASP flooding could not only remarkably improve displacement efficiency but also improve sweep efficiency due to the low interfacial tension effect and mobility control technique with help of viscosity enhancement and emulsification effects. The incremental recovery of two ASP was near, while in peak oil production period after the injection took effects, WASP had high oil production rate than SASP. The emulsification effects in weak alkali ASP was weaker than strong one. The chromatographic separation was different in two pilot tests, in which weak alkali ASP had alleviated chromatographic separation. The constitution production sequence was both polymer first, then alkali and finally surfactant. The time gap between surfactant and polymer was about 0.0606 PV for strong alkali ASP, while a respective value of 0.1281PV for weak alkali ASP. Scaling was different and thus anti-scale technique adopted in two pilot tests were a little different. The overall input-output ratio for two tests was different and weak alkali ASP performed much better. Comparison was first made between strong alkali and weak alkali based ASP flooding from field tests perspective. Weak alkali based ASP is proven the development trend.
Measurement of Microemulsion Viscosity and Its Implications for Chemical EOR
Authors: Tagavifar Mohsen , Herath Sumudu , Weerasooriya Upali P. , Sepehrnoori Kamy , Pope Gary 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
We made measurements of microemulsion rheology with mixtures of oil, brine, surfactant, co-solvent, and in some cases polymer to systematically investigate the effects of salinity, co-solvents and polymers. A microemulsion rheology model was developed and used to interpret the experimental results. We show that the optimum microemulsion-to-oil viscosity ratio is roughly 5 to 6 without co-solvent, but it can be reduced to a more favorable ratio of ~2 by adding co-solvent. Even though the amount of co-solvent needed is case dependent, a clear trend of microemulsion viscosity reduction with increasing co-solvent concentration was observed. Limited evidence suggests that large hydrolyzed polyacrylamide molecules with a narrow molecular weight distribution have negligible partitioning to type II and III microemulsions.
Experimental Study of Asphaltene Aggregation during CO2 and CH4 Injection in Shale Oil Reservoirs
Authors: Shen Ziqi , Sheng James J. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Enhanced-oil-recovery techniques by gas injection in shale reservoirs have been introduced and investigated. Laboratory and simulation works have shown good results for enhanced shale oil recovery, but one problem with gas injection is asphaltene precipitation and deposition. Damage due to asphaltene precipitation and deposition in conventional reservoirs has been reported in the literature. In shale reservoirs, pore and throat sizes are much smaller than in conventional reservoirs. Thus, large asphaltene aggregates may cause more serious problems in shale reservoirs.
This experimental study used a nanofiltration technique to investigate the size of asphaltene aggregates precipitated during CO2 and CH4 injection in a shale oil sample. Nano membranes of 200nm, 100nm and 30nm were used to filtrate oil samples injected with different mole fractions of CO2 and CH4 gas. The distribution of asphaltene aggregates’ size at different injected CO2 and CH4 concentrations were obtained and compared with the pore size distribution data of shale cores measured by mercury intrusion porosimeters. Results showed that a higher injected CO2 and CH4 concentration caused more asphaltene precipitation and growth in asphaltene aggregates’ size. The precipitated asphaltene particle size was large enough to cause a pore-blocking problem in tested shale cores.
Designing and Injecting a Chemical Formulation for a Successful Off-Shore Chemical EOR Pilot in a High-Temperature, High-Salinity, Low-Permeability Carbonate Field
Authors: Levitt David , Klimenko Alexandra , Jouenne Stephane , Passade-Boupat Nicolas , Cordelier Philippe , Morel Danielle , Bourrel Maurice 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
This article describes the formulation design, optimization, implementation, and lessons learned leading up to a successful 1-spot surfactant-polymer (SP) pilot in the Middle East. The target field is a high-temperature, high-salinity, low-permeability carbonate, and thus presents both great challenges and great potential for the application of chemical EOR technology.
A surfactant-polymer (SP) formulation was optimized for these conditions based upon a novel, hydrophilicity-enhanced molecule for high-temperature, high-salinity reservoirs synthesized by Total R&D labs. Thermal stability tests, over 5000 microemulsion pipette tests, and more than 40 corefloods were performed during the screening and optimization process leading up to the 1-spot SP pilot. Additionally, a novel method was developed to optimize polymer molecular weight distribution, in order to decouple in-situ viscosity from near-wellbore injectivity.
The final formulation consists of a 0.4 pore volume (PV) SP slug of 1.35% active surfactant, plus 1% clarifier, and SAV-225 polymer (SNF Floerger) in a 80 g/l brine corresponding to a hypothetical softened mixture of seawater and local aquifer water. This is followed by a polymer drive of AN-125 polymer (SNF Floerger) in softened seawater, such that a negative salinity gradient is imposed between the 230 g/l formation brine, 80 g/l SP slug, and 42 g/l seawater. The formulation was designed and implemented without need for a preflush.
Residual oil saturation to chemicals (Sorc) in analog limestone cores was measured as 5%±2%, corresponding to a recovery factor (RF) of 90%±4%. Reservoir limestone contains significant heterogeneity on the core-scale, likely preventing the formation of an oil bank, and thus yielded lower recoveries (Sorc: 13%±2%, RF: 84%±4%). One-spot pilot recovery corresponded closely to recovery in analog cores (Sorc: 4%, RF = 90%, Al-Amrie et al., 2015), suggesting that the reason for the lower recovery in reservoir cores was in fact due to the short core length with respect to the mixing zone, as suggested in a previous publication (Levitt et al., 2012).
Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Polymers on Residual Oil Saturation
Authors: Koh Heesong , Lee Vincent B. , Pope Gary A. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Polymer flooding is a widely used commercial process with a low cost per barrel of produced oil, For this application, hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) polymers are the most widely used type of polymer. In an era of low cost oil, it is becoming even more essential to optimize the polymer flooding design under realistic reservoir conditions. The objective of this research was to better understand and predict the behavior of HPAM polymers and their effect on residual oil saturation, in order to improve the capability of optimizing field design and performance. The corefloods were performed under typical field conditions of low pressure gradients and low capillary numbers. The polymer floods of the viscous oils recovered much more oil than the water floods, with up to 24% lower oil saturation after the polymer flood than the water flood. The experimental data are in good agreement with the fractional flow analysis using the assumptions that the true residual oil saturations and end point relative permeabilities are the same for both water and polymer. This suggests that for more viscous oils, the oil saturation at the end of water flood (i.e. at greater than 99% water cut) is better described as ‘emaining’ oil saturation rather than the true ‘esidual’ oil saturation. This was true for all of the corefloods regardless of the core permeability and without the need for assuming a permeability reduction factor in the fractional flow analysis.
A Systematic Method for Reducing Surfactant Retention to Extremely Low Levels
Authors: Jang Sung Hyun , Liyanage Pathma Jith , Tagavifar Mohsen , Chang Leonard , Upamali Karasinghe A. , Lansakara-P Dharmika , Weerasooriya Upali , Pope Gary A. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
The chemical cost to recover an incremental barrel of oil is directly proportional to the surfactant retention, so the single most effective way to reduce the cost is to reduce surfactant retention. The main objective of this research was to demonstrate how surfactant retention could be reduced to almost zero by careful optimization of the chemical formulations for different crude oils. Although surfactant retention has been studied for many years over a wide range of reservoir conditions, its dependence on the rheological behavior of the microemulsion that forms in-situ has not been adequately studied. Thus, in this paper we emphasize the importance of microemulsion rheology and demonstrate how to develop and test formulations with properties that give very low surfactant retention. Novel co-solvents (iso-butanol (IBA) alkoxylates and phenol alkoxylates) were tested in some of the formulations with excellent results. Unlike classical co-solvents used to optimize chemical formulations, the new co-solvents cause only a slight increase in the interfacial tension. A series of ASP corefloods were performed in sandstone cores with and without oil to measure surfactant and co-solvent retention and to elucidate the effects of microemulsion viscosity, salinity gradient, clay content, surfactant concentration and other variables. Dynamic adsorption was measured in cores with the same mineralogy and compared with the retention from oil recovery corefloods to determine the component of the retention due to phase trapping.
Reduction of Residual Oil Saturation in Sandstone Cores Using Viscoelastic Polymers
Authors: Qi Pengpeng , Ehrenfried Daniel H. , Koh Heesong , Balhoff Matthew T. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Water-based polymers are often used to improve oil recovery by increasing displacement sweep efficiency. However, recent laboratory and field work has suggested these polymers, which are often viscoelastic, may also reduce residual oil saturation. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of viscoelastic polymers on residual oil saturation in Bentheimer sandstones and identify conditions and mechanisms for the improved recovery. Bentheimer sandstones were saturated with a heavy oil (120cp) and then waterflooded to residual oil saturation using brine followed by an inelastic Newtonian fluid (diluted glycerin). These floods were followed by injection of a viscoelastic polymer, hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM).
Significant reduction in residual oil was observed for all core floods performed at constant pressure drop when the polymer had significant elasticity (determined by the dimensionless Deborah number, NDe). An average residual oil reduction of 5% OOIP was found during HPAM polymer floods for NDe of 0.6 to 25. HPAM floods with very low elasticity (NDe&lt;0.6) did not result in observable reduction in residual oil saturation; however, another 10% OOIP residual oil was reduced when the flow rate was increased (NDe&gt;25). All experiments at constant pressure drop indicate polymer viscoelasticity reduces the residual oil saturation. Results from CT scans further support these observations. A correlation between Deborah number and residual oil saturation is also presented.
Radial and Linear Polymer Flow - Influence on Injectivity
Authors: Skauge T. , Skauge A. , Salmo I. C. , Ormehaug P. A. , Al-Azri N. , Wassing L. M. , Glasbergen G. , Van Wunnik J. N. , Masalmeh S. K. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Polymer injectivity is a critical parameter for implementation of polymer flood projects. An improved understanding of polymer injectivity is important in order to facilitate an increase in polymer EOR implementation. Typically, injectivity studies are performed using linear core floods. Here we demonstrate that polymer flow in radial and linear models may be significantly different and discuss the concept in theoretical and experimental terms.
Linear core floods using partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides (HPAM) were performed at various rates to determine in-situ viscosity and polymer injectivity. Radial polymer floods were performed on Bentheimer discs (30 cm diameter, 2-3 cm thickness) with pressure taps distributed between a central injector and the perimeter production well. The in-situ rheological data are also compared to bulk rheology. The experimental set up allowed a detailed analysis of pressure changes from well injection to production line in the radial models and using internal pressure taps in linear cores.
Linear core floods show degradation of polymer at high flow rates and a severe degree of shear thickening leading to presumably high injection pressures. This is in agreement with current literature. However, the radial injectivity experiments show a significant reduction in differential pressure compared to the linear core floods. Onset of shear thickening occurs at significantly higher flow velocities than for linear core floods. These data confirm that polymer flow is significantly different in linear and radial flow. This is partly explained by the fact that linear floods are being performed at steady state conditions, while radial injections go through transient (unsteady state) and semi-transient pressure regimes.
History matching of polymer injectivity was performed for radial injection experiments. Differences in polymer injectivity are discussed in the framework of theoretical and experimental considerations. The results may have impact on evaluation of polymer flood projects as polymer injectivity is a key risk factor for implementation.
Evaluation of Innovative Associative Polymers for Low Concentration Polymer Flooding
Authors: Alexis Dennis , Varadarajan Dwarakanath , Kim Do Hoon , Winslow Greg , Malik Taimur 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Performance of current synthetic EOR polymers is primarily constrained by salinity, temperature and shear which restrict their application to low to moderate salinity, low to moderate temperature and relatively high permeability reservoirs. The primary goal of the current work is to qualify recently developed associative polymers (AP) for EOR applications as well as to study their behavior in porous media. We also compare their performance with conventional non-associative polymers. In this work, we present the evaluation of several associative polymers. Two broad types of associative polymers were tested, one with a partially hydrolyzed poly acrylamide (HPAM) backbone and the other with a sulfonated HPAM backbone. The concentrations of the tested polymer vary between 75 ppm and 1000 ppm. We demonstrate the applicability of these innovative AP's through the carefully controlled lab experiments: (1) Corefloods in sandpacks to compare the sweep behaviors with conventional HPAM's. (2) Single phase flooding experiments are carried out in consolidated outcrop rocks to identify optimal polymer concentrations to achieve the desired in-situ resistance. (3) One dimensional displacement experiments with 8 cP and 90 cP oil are carried out in both unconsolidated and consolidated rocks at different temperatures to validate improved oil recovery. Results generally indicate that associative polymers require lower polymer concentration to generate high resistance factors in porous media and have stable long term injectivity behavior in high permeability rocks (&gt;1D). Associative polymers with HPAM backbone have better filterability and injectivity in comparison to those with HPAM sulfonated backbone in low permeability(&lt;300mD) rocks. Improved oil recovery in high permeability rocks compare well with conventional HPAM and sulfonated HPAM polymers. Based on the laboratory results, we are able to establish the selection baseline for associative polymers in different permeability rocks, salinities and temperatures. Such information can be used to select and screen the appropriate associative polymers, resulting in extending their applicability envelope in EOR.
Three Phase Steady State Flow Experiments to Estimate Microemulsion Viscosity
Authors: Davidson Andrew , Nizamidin Nabijan , Alexis Dennis , Kim Do Hoon , Unomah Michael , Malik Taimur , Dwarakanath Varadarajan 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Low microemulsion viscosity is critical for the success of chemical EOR. Typical microemulsion viscosities are measured using a rheometer and are considered to be static measurements. Given that microemulsions have a propensity to show non-Newtonian behavior, static viscosity measurements are not scalable to dynamic viscosities observed in cores and hence difficult to scale-up to field designs using simulations. We present a technique to measure dynamic microemulsion viscosity using a modified two-phase steady state relative permeability setup. Such dynamic viscosities provide a more practical feel for microemulsion viscosity under reservoir conditions in the pores and allow for selection of low microemulsion viscosity formulations. A two-phase steady state relative permeability setup was used with continuous co-injection of oil and surfactant. A glass filled sand pack was used as a surrogate core and the injection fluids were allowed to equilibrate into the appropriate phases as determined by the phase behavior. For the rapidly equilibrating and low viscosity Winsor Type III formulations three phases are clearly observed in the sand packs. Using the phase cuts in the sand pack/effluent and the known oil and water viscosities, we can estimate the microemulsion viscosity. Both low and high viscosity formulations were tested in corefloods and oil recovery measured to illustrate the importance of low viscosity microemulsions for oil recovery. As expected, the low viscosity microemulsions correlated with higher oil recovery. In addition, the equilibration times to reach Winsor Type III microemulsions were also linked to better oil recovery. For the well behaved formulations that equilibrated in less than 2 days the static microemulsion viscosity correlated well with the dynamic viscosity. The modified steady state relative permeability setup can accurately estimate microemulsion viscosity and allow for better screening of surfactant formulations identified for field flooding. The dynamic microemulsion viscosities can also provide inputs for numerical simulation and better predict microemulsion behavior in the subsurface during field surfactant floods.
Predicting Microemulsion Phase Behavior for Surfactant Flooding
Authors: Jin Luchao , Budhathoki Mahesh , Jamili Ahmad , Li Zhitao , Luo Haishan , Delshad Mojdeh , Shiau Ben , Harwell Jeffrey H. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
The surfactant screening process to develop an optimum formulation under reservoir conditions is typically time consuming and expensive. Theories and correlations like HLB, R-ratio and packing parameters have been developed. But none of them can quantitatively consider both the effect of oil type, salinity, hardness and temperature, and model microemulsion phase behavior.
This paper uses the physics based Hydrophilic Lipophilic Difference (HLD) Net Average Curvature (NAC) model, and comprehensively demonstrated its capabilities in predicting the optimum formulation and microemulsion phase behavior based on the ambient conditions and surfactant structures. By using HLD equation and quantitatively characterized parameters, four optimum surfactant formulations are designed for target reservoir with high accuracy compared to experimental results. The microemulsion phase behavior is further predicted, and well matched the measured equilibrium interfacial tension. Its predictability is then reinforced by comparing to the empirical Hand's rule phase behavior model. Surfactant flooding sandpack laboratory tests are also interpreted by UTCHEM chemical flooding simulator coupled with the HLD-NAC phase behavior model.
The results indicate the significance of HLD-NAC equation of state in not only shorten the surfactant screening processes for formulators, but also predicting microemulsion phase behavior based on surfactant structure. A compositional reservoir simulator with such an equation of state will increase its predictability and hence help with the design of surfactant formulation.
Development and Field Testing of a Real-Time Casing Collar Locator Technology to Optimize Casing Exit Operations
Authors: Fang Lei , Dahlberg Knut Inge , Lydvo Bjorn , Olsnes Kjetil 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Operators need a more reliable and efficient method of performing whipstock casing exits, especially in the high cost areas and deepwater environments. Milling through casing collars significantly increases operations time and poses risks for downhole tool failures. In scenarios where casing tallies are inaccurate or missing, wireline Casing Collar Locator (CCL) services are normally utilized to identify casing collar locations to mitigate risks. However, significant rig time is associated with the deployment of wireline service.
A new technology was recently developed to detect and visualize the casing collars in real-time while running in hole on drill pipe with the milling and whipstock assembly. The new capability is developed with the same downhole tool that provides real-time downhole data, such as torque, weight-on-mill, Equivalent Circulating Density (ECD) and downhole dynamics diagnosis, to optimize the milling of the casing window. In combination with the company's Measurement While Drilling (MWD) directional measurements, the technology allows placement of whipstock in an optimal location, orientation of the whipstock and optimized casing window milling in a single run. This new service significantly improves the reliability and efficiency of the casing exit operations, and save the operators substantial rig time, especially in scenarios where a wireline CCL service is otherwise required.
The technology was successfully field tested offshore Norway at the Grane field with a major Norwegian operator. Results from the two field tests from two different sizes of casing exit operations, 18 5/8″ and 13 3/8″, are included in this paper. Casing collars were successfully detected and visualized in real-time and enabled optimal placement of the whipstock. Casing windows were subsequently milled efficiently.