Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.17559/TV-20190612043732

Laboratory Study on Improving Recovery of Ultra-Heavy Oil Using High-Temperature-Resistant Foam

Chunzhi Wang ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Safety, Binzhou University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China
Zhaomin Li* ; China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong 257061, China
Xiaoheng Geng ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Safety, Binzhou University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China
Yuhao Li ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Safety, Binzhou University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China
Hongjun Huo ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Safety, Binzhou University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China
Hongkun Zhang ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Safety, Binzhou University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China
Haiying Guo ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Safety, Binzhou University, Binzhou, Shandong 256603, China

Abstract

After multiple rounds of steam huff-and-puff processes, an ultra-heavy oil reservoir is prone to excessive steam injection pressure, large heat loss, small sweep range of steam, and steam channeling, thus severely affecting the effective utilization of the oil reservoir. To solve these problems, one-dimensional and three-dimensional (3D) physical simulation tools were used to study the plugging performance of high-temperature composite foams by adding tanning extract and alkali lignin under the influence of some factors such as the reservoir temperature, salinity of formation water, and injection methods. The ultra-heavy oil used in the experiment comes from Shengli Oilfield. Under the condition of surface degassing, the viscosity of ultra-heavy oil could reach 145169 mPa.s at 60 °C. The experimental results show that the foam can produce a synergistic effect with both gel systems, indicating that the gel increases the stability of the foam. The foam can transfer more gel into the high-permeability formation, which can efficiently control the foam. The 3D physical simulation experiments indicated that both the systems enhance the recovery of heavy oil reservoir and reduce its moisture content significantly using steam injection. The method involving tannin extract foam and steam injection increased the recovery by 20% compared to the foam involving only steam injection. The method involving alkali lignin foam and steam injection increased the recovery by 11%.

Keywords

alkali lignin; nitrogen foam; super extra-heavy oil; tannin; thermal recovery

Hrčak ID:

234169

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/234169

Publication date:

15.2.2020.

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