The importance of formation fluids and reservoir rock mineralogy characteristics chemical enhanced oil recovery (eor)

Abstract

Hydrocarbons are produced from the ground to the surface via natural reservoir drive energy. However, substantial amount of hydrocarbons still remain trapped in the reservoir. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method has been introduced to recover the remaining trapped oils. EOR is a method to enhance the displacement efficiency of the crude oil. These include reducing the interfacial tension (IFT), increasing the viscosity, and wettability alteration. Presently, the chemical EOR (CEOR) method such as surfactant flooding is utilized due to its efficiency, technical and economic feasibilities. Nonetheless, performance of CEOR is greatly relying upon the characteristics of formation fluids and rock mineralogy. Therefore, uncharacterized these factors prior to CEOR method may result in unsuccessful recovery process. This includes surfactants adsorbed onto the rock surfaces instead of at oil-water interface. Hence, lowering the IFT for mobility control may become impractical as surfactants do not function desirably. Experimental works have been performed to provide comprehensive insight on characteristics of formation fluids in terms of salinity and pH along with rock mineralogy, particularly silica and kaolinite. Effect of zeta potential and surface charge on different rock mineralogy is also discussed to elucidate the behavior of the solid surface when in contact with aqueous solutions.