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Sample records for eor enhanced oil

  1. Experimental study on electromagnetic-assisted ZnO nanofluid flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adil, Muhammad; Lee, Keanchuan; Mohd Zaid, Hasnah; Ahmad Latiff, Noor Rasyada; Alnarabiji, Mohamad Sahban

    2018-01-01

    Recently, nano-EOR has emerged as a new frontier for improved and enhanced oil recovery (IOR & EOR). Despite their benefits, the nanoparticles tend to agglomerate at reservoir conditions which cause their detachment from the oil/water interface, and are consequently retained rather than transported through a porous medium. Dielectric nanoparticles including ZnO have been proposed to be a good replacement for EOR due to their high melting point and thermal properties. But more importantly, these particles can be polarized under electromagnetic (EM) irradiation, which provides an innovative smart Nano-EOR process denoted as EM-Assisted Nano-EOR. In this study, parameters involved in the oil recovery mechanism under EM waves, such as reducing mobility ratio, lowering interfacial tensions (IFT) and altering wettability were investigated. Two-phase displacement experiments were performed in sandpacks under the water-wet condition at 95°C, with permeability in the range of 265-300 mD. A crude oil from Tapis oil field was employed; while ZnO nanofluids of two different particle sizes (55.7 and 117.1 nm) were prepared using 0.1 wt. % nanoparticles that dispersed into brine (3 wt. % NaCl) along with SDBS as a dispersant. In each flooding scheme, three injection sequential scenarios have been conducted: (i) brine flooding as a secondary process, (ii) surfactant/nano/EM-assisted nano flooding, and (iii) second brine flooding to flush nanoparticles. Compare with surfactant flooding (2% original oil in place/OOIP) as tertiary recovery, nano flooding almost reaches 8.5-10.2% of OOIP. On the other hand, EM-assisted nano flooding provides an incremental oil recovery of approximately 9-10.4% of OOIP. By evaluating the contact angle and interfacial tension, it was established that the degree of IFT reduction plays a governing role in the oil displacement mechanism via nano-EOR, compare to mobility ratio. These results reveal a promising way to employ water-based ZnO nanofluid for

  2. Experimental study on electromagnetic-assisted ZnO nanofluid flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad Latiff, Noor Rasyada; Alnarabiji, Mohamad Sahban

    2018-01-01

    Recently, nano-EOR has emerged as a new frontier for improved and enhanced oil recovery (IOR & EOR). Despite their benefits, the nanoparticles tend to agglomerate at reservoir conditions which cause their detachment from the oil/water interface, and are consequently retained rather than transported through a porous medium. Dielectric nanoparticles including ZnO have been proposed to be a good replacement for EOR due to their high melting point and thermal properties. But more importantly, these particles can be polarized under electromagnetic (EM) irradiation, which provides an innovative smart Nano-EOR process denoted as EM-Assisted Nano-EOR. In this study, parameters involved in the oil recovery mechanism under EM waves, such as reducing mobility ratio, lowering interfacial tensions (IFT) and altering wettability were investigated. Two-phase displacement experiments were performed in sandpacks under the water-wet condition at 95°C, with permeability in the range of 265–300 mD. A crude oil from Tapis oil field was employed; while ZnO nanofluids of two different particle sizes (55.7 and 117.1 nm) were prepared using 0.1 wt. % nanoparticles that dispersed into brine (3 wt. % NaCl) along with SDBS as a dispersant. In each flooding scheme, three injection sequential scenarios have been conducted: (i) brine flooding as a secondary process, (ii) surfactant/nano/EM-assisted nano flooding, and (iii) second brine flooding to flush nanoparticles. Compare with surfactant flooding (2% original oil in place/OOIP) as tertiary recovery, nano flooding almost reaches 8.5–10.2% of OOIP. On the other hand, EM-assisted nano flooding provides an incremental oil recovery of approximately 9–10.4% of OOIP. By evaluating the contact angle and interfacial tension, it was established that the degree of IFT reduction plays a governing role in the oil displacement mechanism via nano-EOR, compare to mobility ratio. These results reveal a promising way to employ water-based ZnO nanofluid

  3. Effects of particle shape and size on nanofluid properties for potential Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tengku Mohd Tengku Amran

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Application of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR in oil and gas industry is very important to increase oil recovery and prolong the lifetime of a reservoir but it has been very costly and losing properties of EOR agent due to harsh condition. Nanoparticles have been used in EOR application since they are not degradable in reservoir condition and used in smaller amount compared to polymer usage. Commonly, EOR techniques are focusing on increasing the sweep efficiency by controlling the mobility ratio between reservoir fluid and injected fluid. Thus, this research aimed to analyze the nanofluid viscosity at different particle size and shape, volumetric concentration and types of dispersing fluid, as well as to determine the oil recovery performance at different nanofluid concentration. The nanofluid viscosity was investigated at nanoparticle sizes of 15nm and 60nm and shapes of 15nm spherical-solid and porous. Five nanofluid samples with concentration ranging from 0.1wt.% to 7wt.% were used to investigate the effect of volumetric concentration. Distilled water, ethanol, ethylene glycol (EG and brine were used for the effect of dispersing fluids. Oil recovery was investigated at five different concentrations of nanofluid samples through flooding test. It was found that viscosity of nanofluid increased with decreasing particle size and increasing volumetric concentration. Solid shape particle and increasing dispersing fluid viscosity resulted in higher nanofluid viscosity. The higher the nanofluid concentration, the higher the oil recovery obtained. It can be concluded that nanofluid properties have been significantly affected by the environment and the particle used for potential EOR application.

  4. Enzymes for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nasiri, Hamidreza

    2011-04-15

    Primary oil recovery by reservoir pressure depletion and secondary oil recovery by waterflooding usually result in poor displacement efficiency. As a consequence there is always some trapped oil remaining in oil reservoirs. Oil entrapment is a result of complex interactions between viscous, gravity and capillary forces. Improving recovery from hydrocarbon fields typically involves altering the relative importance of the viscous and capillary forces. The potential of many EOR methods depends on their influence on fluid/rock interactions related to wettability and fluid/fluid interactions reflected in IFT. If the method has the potential to change the interactions favorably, it may be considered for further investigation, i.e. core flooding experiment, pilot and reservoir implementation. Enzyme-proteins can be introduced as an enhanced oil recovery method to improve waterflood performance by affecting interactions at the oil-water-rock interfaces. An important part of this thesis was to investigate how selected enzymes may influence wettability and capillary forces in a crude oil-brine-rock system, and thus possibly contribute to enhanced oil recovery. To investigate further by which mechanisms selected enzyme-proteins may contribute to enhance oil recovery, groups of enzymes with different properties and catalytic functions, known to be interfacially active, were chosen to cover a wide range of possible effects. These groups include (1) Greenzyme (GZ) which is a commercial EOR enzyme and consists of enzymes and stabilizers (surfactants), (2) The Zonase group consists of two types of pure enzyme, Zonase1 and Zonase2 which are protease enzymes and whose catalytic functions are to hydrolyze (breakdown) peptide bonds, (3) The Novozyme (NZ) group consists of three types of pure enzyme, NZ2, NZ3 and NZ6 which are esterase enzymes and whose catalytic functions are to hydrolyze ester bonds, and (4) Alpha-Lactalbumin ( -La) which is an important whey protein. The effect of

  5. Importance of fines in smart water enhanced oil recovery (SmW-EOR) for chalk outcrops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chakravarty, Krishna Hara; Fosbøl, Philip Loldrup; Thomsen, Kaj

    2015-01-01

    In SmW-EOR it is generally believed that precipitation of brines must be avoided since it can have a negative impact on the SmW sweep efficiency. But substitution of Mg2+ by Ca2+ on calcite surfaces (a well-accepted phenomenon) can change the brine combination and enhance the possibility of fine ......W-EOR experiments reported in literature. Both the amount of available soluble SO4 2- (aq) in the solution and the amount of CaSO4 precipitation has been calculated and correlated to the corresponding oil recovery.......In SmW-EOR it is generally believed that precipitation of brines must be avoided since it can have a negative impact on the SmW sweep efficiency. But substitution of Mg2+ by Ca2+ on calcite surfaces (a well-accepted phenomenon) can change the brine combination and enhance the possibility of fine...

  6. EOR increases 24% worldwide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moritis, G.

    1992-01-01

    Although the higher cost of enhanced oil recovery has taken its toll in projects, the Journal's worldwide EOR survey reveals that production from EOR is a significant and growing component of the world's oil production. This paper outlines hundreds of projects in 14 countries. Pilot, field wide, and planned projects are all included

  7. Can Producing Oil Store Carbon? Greenhouse Gas Footprint of CO2EOR, Offshore North Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, R Jamie; Haszeldine, R Stuart

    2015-05-05

    Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2EOR) is a proven and available technology used to produce incremental oil from depleted fields while permanently storing large tonnages of injected CO2. Although this technology has been used successfully onshore in North America and Europe, there are currently no CO2EOR projects in the United Kingdom. Here, we examine whether offshore CO2EOR can store more CO2 than onshore projects traditionally have and whether CO2 storage can offset additional emissions produced through offshore operations and incremental oil production. Using a high-level Life Cycle system approach, we find that the largest contribution to offshore emissions is from flaring or venting of reproduced CH4 and CO2. These can already be greatly reduced by regulation. If CO2 injection is continued after oil production has been optimized, then offshore CO2EOR has the potential to be carbon negative--even when emissions from refining, transport, and combustion of produced crude oil are included. The carbon intensity of oil produced can be just 0.056-0.062 tCO2e/bbl if flaring/venting is reduced by regulation. This compares against conventional Saudi oil 0.040 tCO2e/bbl or mined shale oil >0.300 tCO2e/bbl.

  8. Carbon balance of CO2-EOR for NCNO classification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nunez-Lopez, Vanessa [The University of Texas at Austin; Gil-Egui, Ramon; Gonzalez-Nicolas, Ana; Hovorka, Susan D

    2017-03-18

    The question of whether carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) constitutes a valid alternative for greenhouse gas emission reduction has been frequently asked by the general public and environmental sectors. Through this technology, operational since 1972, oil production is enhanced by injecting CO2 into depleted oil reservoirs in order displace the residual oil toward production wells in a solvent/miscible process. For decades, the CO2 utilized for EOR has been most commonly sourced from natural CO2 accumulations. More recently, a few projects have emerged where anthropogenic CO2 (A-CO2) is captured at an industrial facility, transported to a depleted oil field, and utilized for EOR. If carbon geologic storage is one of the project objectives, all the CO2 injected into the oil field for EOR could technically be stored in the formation. Even though the CO2 is being prevented from entering the atmosphere, and permanently stored away in a secured geologic formation, a question arises as to whether the total CO2 volumes stored in order to produce the incremental oil through EOR are larger than the CO2 emitted throughout the entire CO2-EOR process, including the capture facility, the EOR site, and the refining and burning of the end product. We intend to answer some of these questions through a DOE-NETL funded study titled “Carbon Life Cycle Analysis of CO2-EOR for Net Carbon Negative Oil (NCNO) Classification”. NCNO is defined as oil whose carbon emissions to the atmosphere, when burned or otherwise used, are less than the amount of carbon permanently stored in the reservoir in order to produce the oil. In this paper, we focus on the EOR site in what is referred to as a gate-to-gate system, but are inclusive of the burning of the refined product, as this end member is explicitly stated in the definition of NCNO. Finally, we use Cranfield, Mississippi, as a case study and come to the conclusion that the incremental oil produced is net carbon negative.

  9. Enhanced oil recovery: an update review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarado, V.; Manrique, E.

    2010-01-01

    With the decline in oil discoveries during the last decades it is believed that Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technologies will play a key role to meet the energy demand in years to come. This paper presents a comprehensive review of EOR status and opportunities to increase final recovery factors in reservoirs ranging from extra heavy oil to gas condensate. Specifically, the paper discusses EOR status and opportunities organized by reservoir lithology (sandstone and carbonates formations and turbiditic reservoirs to a lesser extent) and offshore and onshore fields. Risk and rewards of EOR methods including growing trends in recent years such as CO 2 injection, high pressure air injection (HPAI) and chemical flooding are addressed including a brief overview of CO 2 -EOR project economics. (authors)

  10. Design and implementation of a caustic flooding EOR pilot at Court Bakken heavy oil reservoir

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xie, J.; Chung, B.; Leung, L. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Canadian Section, Calgary, AB (Canada)]|[Nexen Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2008-10-15

    Successful waterflooding has been ongoing since 1988 at the Court Bakken heavy oil field in west central Saskatchewan. There are currently 20 injectors and 28 active oil producers in the Court main unit which is owned by Nexen and Pengrowth. The Court pool has an estimated 103.8 mmbbl of original oil in place (OOIP), of which 24 per cent has been successfully recovered after 20 years of waterflooding. A high-level enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening study was conducted to evaluate other EOR technologies for a heavy oil reservoir of this viscosity range (17 degrees API). Laboratory studies showed that caustic flooding may enhance oil recovery after waterflooding at the Court Bakken heavy oil pool. A single well test demonstrated that caustic injection effectively reduced residual oil saturation. A sector model reservoir simulation revealed that caustic flood could achieve 9 per cent incremental oil recovery in the pilot area. Following the promising laboratory results, a successful caustic flood pilot was implemented at Court heavy oil pool where the major challenges encountered were low reservoir pressure and water channeling. 6 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs.

  11. Enhanced oil recovery projects data base

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pautz, J.F.; Sellers, C.A.; Nautiyal, C.; Allison, E.

    1992-04-01

    A comprehensive enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project data base is maintained and updated at the Bartlesville Project Office of the Department of Energy. This data base provides an information resource that is used to analyze the advancement and application of EOR technology. The data base has extensive information on 1,388 EOR projects in 569 different oil fields from 1949 until the present, and over 90% of that information is contained in tables and graphs of this report. The projects are presented by EOR process, and an index by location is provided.

  12. Polymeric surfactants for enhanced oil recovery : A review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raffa, Patrizio; Broekhuis, Antonius A.; Picchioni, Francesco

    Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is surely a topic of interest, as conventional oil resources become more scarce and the necessity of exploiting heavy and unconventional oils increases. EOR methods based on polymer flooding, surfactant-polymer flooding and alkali-surfactant-polymer flooding are

  13. Fundamentals of carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR): a supporting document of the assessment methodology for hydrocarbon recovery using CO2-EOR associated with carbon sequestration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Mahendra K.

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this report is to provide basic technical information regarding the CO2-EOR process, which is at the core of the assessment methodology, to estimate the technically recoverable oil within the fields of the identified sedimentary basins of the United States. Emphasis is on CO2-EOR because this is currently one technology being considered as an ultimate long-term geologic storage solution for CO2 owing to its economic profitability from incremental oil production offsetting the cost of carbon sequestration.

  14. Potential use of California lignite and other alternate fuel for enhanced oil recovery. Phase I and II. Final report. [As alternative fuels for steam generation in thermal EOR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shelton, R.; Shimizu, A.; Briggs, A.

    1980-02-01

    The Nation's continued reliance on liquid fossil fuels and decreasing reserves of light oils gives increased impetus to improving the recovery of heavy oil. Thermal enhanced oil recovery EOR techniques, such as steam injection, have generally been the most effective for increasing heavy oil production. However, conventional steam generation consumes a large fraction of the produced oil. The substitution of alternate (solid) fuels would release much of this consumed oil to market. This two-part report focuses on two solid fuels available in California, the site of most thermal EOR - petroleum coke and lignite. Phase I, entitled Economic Analysis, shows detailed cost comparisons between the two candidate fuels and also with Western coal. The analysis includes fuels characterizations, process designs for several combustion systems, and a thorough evaluation of the technical and economic uncertainties. In Phase II, many technical parameters of petroleum coke combustion were measured in a pilot-plant fluidized bed. The results of the study showed that petroleum coke combustion for EOR is feasible and cost effective in a fluidized bed combustor.

  15. Recovery rates, enhanced oil recovery and technological limits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muggeridge, Ann; Cockin, Andrew; Webb, Kevin; Frampton, Harry; Collins, Ian; Moulds, Tim; Salino, Peter

    2014-01-13

    Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques can significantly extend global oil reserves once oil prices are high enough to make these techniques economic. Given a broad consensus that we have entered a period of supply constraints, operators can at last plan on the assumption that the oil price is likely to remain relatively high. This, coupled with the realization that new giant fields are becoming increasingly difficult to find, is creating the conditions for extensive deployment of EOR. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the nature, status and prospects for EOR technologies. It explains why the average oil recovery factor worldwide is only between 20% and 40%, describes the factors that contribute to these low recoveries and indicates which of those factors EOR techniques can affect. The paper then summarizes the breadth of EOR processes, the history of their application and their current status. It introduces two new EOR technologies that are beginning to be deployed and which look set to enter mainstream application. Examples of existing EOR projects in the mature oil province of the North Sea are discussed. It concludes by summarizing the future opportunities for the development and deployment of EOR.

  16. Worldwide Comparison of CO₂-EOR Conditions: Comparison of fiscal and industrial conditions in seven global regions where CO₂-EOR is active or under consideration

    OpenAIRE

    Brownsort, Peter

    2015-01-01

    Previous work within the Scottish Carbon Capture & Storage (SCCS) joint industry project (JIP) on carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) which looked at financial incentives for CO2-EOR in the United Kingdom (UK) suggested that development of an EOR project in the UK continental shelf area was most likely only to be considered by a super-major or multinational oil company (Durusut and Pershad, 2014). For such a project to be initiated the overall conditions for CO2-EOR – financial, po...

  17. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR by Miscible CO2 and Water Flooding of Asphaltenic and Non-Asphaltenic Oils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edwin A. Chukwudeme

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available An EOR study has been performed applying miscible CO2 flooding and compared with that for water flooding. Three different oils are used, reference oil (n-decane, model oil (n-C10, SA, toluene and 0.35 wt % asphaltene and crude oil (10 wt % asphaltene obtained from the Middle East. Stearic acid (SA is added representing a natural surfactant in oil. For the non-asphaltenic oil, miscible CO2 flooding is shown to be more favourable than that by water. However, it is interesting to see that for first years after the start of the injection (< 3 years it is shown that there is almost no difference between the recovered oils by water and CO2, after which (> 3 years oil recovery by gas injection showed a significant increase. This may be due to the enhanced performance at the increased reservoir pressure during the first period. Maximum oil recovery is shown by miscible CO2 flooding of asphaltenic oil at combined temperatures and pressures of 50 °C/90 bar and 70 °C/120 bar (no significant difference between the two cases, about 1% compared to 80 °C/140 bar. This may support the positive influence of the high combined temperatures and pressures for the miscible CO2 flooding; however beyond a certain limit the oil recovery declined due to increased asphaltene deposition. Another interesting finding in this work is that for single phase oil, an almost linear relationship is observed between the pressure drop and the asphaltene deposition regardless of the flowing fluid pressure.

  18. Combustion for Enhanced Recovery of Light Oil at Medium Pressures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Khoshnevis Gargar, N.

    2014-01-01

    Using conventional production methods, recovery percentages from oil reservoirs range from 5% for difficult oil to 50% for light oil in highly permeable homogeneous reservoirs. To increase the oil recovery factor, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are used. We distinguish EOR that uses chemical

  19. Screening Criteria and Considerations of Offshore Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pan-Sang Kang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR in offshore oil fields has received significant attention due to the potentially enormous amount of recoverable oil. However, EOR application offshore is in its very early stage due to conditions that are more complex than onshore oil fields, owing to the unique parameters present offshore. Therefore, successful EOR applications in offshore oil fields require different screening criteria than those for conventional onshore applications. A comprehensive database for onshore applications of EOR processes together with a limited offshore EOR application database are analyzed in this paper, and the important parameters for successful offshore application are incorporated into the new EOR screening criteria. In this paper, screening criteria to determine acceptable EOR processes for offshore fields, including hydrocarbon gas miscible, CO2 miscible, and polymer processes, are presented. Suggested screening criteria for these EOR processes comprise quantitative boundaries and qualitative considerations. Quantitative screening criteria are predominantly based on quantifiable data, such as oil and reservoir properties. Qualitative screening considerations mainly focus on the operational issues present offshore, including platform space constraints, limited disposal options, injectant availability, and flow assurance matters (including hydrate formation and difficulties in emulsion separation.

  20. Tracer monitoring of enhanced oil recovery projects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kleven R.

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available In enhanced oil recovery (EOR, chemicals are injected into the oil reservoir, either to increase macroscopic sweep efficiency, or to reduce remaining oil saturation in swept zones. Tracers can be used to identify reservoirs that are specifically suited for EOR operations. Injection of a selection of partitioning tracers, combined with frequent sample analysis of produced fluids, provides information suited for estimation of residual oil saturation. Tracers can also be used to evaluate and optimize the application of EOR chemicals in the reservoir. Suitable tracers will follow the EOR chemicals and assist in evaluation of retention, degradation or trapping. In addition to field applications, tracers also have a large potential as a tool to perform mechanistic studies of EOR chemicals in laboratory experiments. By labelling EOR chemicals with radioactive isotopes of elements such as H, C and S, detailed studies of transport mechanisms can be carried out. Co-injection of labelled compounds in dynamic flooding experiments in porous media will give information about retention or separation of the unique compounds constituting the chemical formulation. Separation of such compounds may be detrimental to obtaining the EOR effect expected. The paper gives new information of specific methods, and discusses current status for use of tracers in EOR operations.

  1. A study of the effects of enhanced oil recovery agents on the quality of Strategic Petroleum Reserves crude oil. [Physical and chemical interactions of Enhanced Oil Recovery reagents with hydrocarbons present in petroleum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kabadi, V.N.

    1992-10-01

    The project was initiated on September 1, 1990. The objective of the project was to carry out a literature search to estimate the types and extents of long time interactions of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) agents, such as surfactants, caustics and polymers, with crude oil. This information is necessary to make recommendations about mixing EOR crude oil with crude oils from primary and secondary recovery processes in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Data were sought on both adverse and beneficial effects of EOR agents that would impact handling, transportation and refining of crude oil. An extensive literature search has been completed, and the following informations has been compiled: (1) a listing of existing EOR test and field projects; (2) a listing of currently used EOR agents; and (3) evidence of short and long term physical and chemical interactions of these EOR-agents with hydrocarbons, and their effects on the quality of crude oil at long times. This information is presented in this report. Finally some conclusions are derived and recommendations are made. Although the conclusions are based mostly on extrapolations because of lack of specific data, it is recommended that the enhancement of the rates of biodegradation of oil catalyzed by the EOR agents needs to be further studied. There is no evidence of substantial long term effects on crude oil because of other interactions. Some recommendations are also made regarding the types of studies that would be necessary to determine the effect of certain EOR agents on the rates of biodegradation of crude oil.

  2. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) by miscible CO{sub 2} and water flooding of asphaltenic and non-asphaltenic oils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chukwudeme, E. A.; Hamouda, A. A. [Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger (Norway)

    2009-07-01

    An EOR study has been performed applying miscible CO{sub 2} flooding and compared with that for water flooding. Three different oils are used, reference oil (n-decane), model oil (n-C10, SA, toluene and 0.35 wt % asphaltene) and crude oil (10 wt % asphaltene) obtained from the Middle East. Stearic acid (SA) is added representing a natural surfactant in oil. For the non-asphaltenic oil, miscible CO{sub 2} flooding is shown to be more favourable than that by water. However, it is interesting to see that for first years after the start of the injection (< 3 years) it is shown that there is almost no difference between the recovered oils by water and CO{sub 2}, after which (> 3 years) oil recovery by gas injection showed a significant increase. This may be due to the enhanced performance at the increased reservoir pressure during the first period. Maximum oil recovery is shown by miscible CO{sub 2} flooding of asphaltenic oil at combined temperatures and pressures of 50 {sup o}C/90 bar and 70 {sup o}C/120 bar (no significant difference between the two cases, about 1%) compared to 80 {sup o}C/140 bar. This may support the positive influence of the high combined temperatures and pressures for the miscible CO{sub 2} flooding; however beyond a certain limit the oil recovery declined due to increased asphaltene deposition. Another interesting finding in this work is that for single phase oil, an almost linear relationship is observed between the pressure drop and the asphaltene deposition regardless of the flowing fluid pressure. (author)

  3. PENENTUAN LAMA SULFONASI PADA PROSES PRODUKSI SURFAKTAN MES UNTUK APLIKASI EOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mira Rivai

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available For producing oil remains that remained at old oil wells (mature field, a method of advanced oil acquirement improvement known as an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR should be applied. Surfactant plays an important role in EOR process by reducing interfacial tension (IFT, altering wettability, reducing oil viscosity, and stabilizing dispersion to facilitate the process of oil jetting from reservoir to production well. To optimally cleanse oil that still remained a surfactant compatible with formation water and reservoir is needed. This study was conducted to get the best time of sulfonation process for producing MES surfactant with lower interfacial tension for EOR application. Results showed that the best times of sulfonation process with lower interfacial tension value were 3 and 4 hours

  4. Study of Synthesis Polyethylene glycol oleate Sulfonated as an Anionic Surfactant for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampora, Yulianti; Juwono, Ariadne L.; Haryono, Agus; Irawan, Yan

    2017-11-01

    Mechanical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) through chemical injection is using an anionic surfactant to improve the recovery of oil residues, particularly in a reservoir area that has certain characteristics. This case led the authors to conduct research on the synthesis of an anionic surfactant based on oleic acid and polyethylene glycol 400 that could be applied as a chemical injection. In this work, we investigate the sulfonation of Polyethylene glycol oleate (PDO) in a sulfuric acid agent. PDO in this experiment was derived from Indonesian palm oil. Variation of mole reactant and reaction time have been studied. The surfactant has been characterized by measuring the interfacial tension, acid value, ester value, saponification value, iodine value, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and particle size analyzer. There is a new peak at 1170-1178 cm-1 indicating that S=O bond has formed. PDO sulfonate exhibits good surface activity due to interfacial tension of 0,003 mN/m. Thus, polyethylene glycol oleate sulfonate was successfully synthesized and it could be useful as a novel an anionic surfactant.

  5. Stability Proxies for Water-in-Oil Emulsions and Implications in Aqueous-based Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehrnoosh Moradi

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Several researchers have proposed that mobility control mechanisms can positively contribute to oil recovery in the case of emulsions generated in Enhanced-Oil Recovery (EOR operations. Chemical EOR techniques that use alkaline components or/and surfactants are known to produce undesirable emulsions that create operational problems and are difficult to break. Other water-based methods have been less studied in this sense. EOR processes such as polymer flooding and LoSalTM injection require adjustments of water chemistry, mainly by lowering the ionic strength of the solution or by decreasing hardness. The decreased ionic strength of EOR solutions can give rise to more stable water-in-oil emulsions, which are speculated to improve mobility ratio between the injectant and the displaced oil. The first step toward understanding the connection between the emulsions and EOR mechanisms is to show that EOR conditions, such as salinity and hardness requirements, among others, are conducive to stabilizing emulsions. In order to do this, adequate stability proxies are required. This paper reviews commonly used emulsion stability proxies and explains the advantages and disadvantage of methods reviewed. This paper also reviews aqueous-based EOR processes with focus on heavy oil to contextualize in-situ emulsion stabilization conditions. This context sets the basis for comparison of emulsion stability proxies.

  6. Market potential of solar thermal enhanced oil recovery-a techno-economic model for Issaran oil field in Egypt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Sunay; Guédez, Rafael; Laumert, Björn

    2017-06-01

    Solar thermal enhanced oil recovery (S-EOR) is an advanced technique of using concentrated solar power (CSP) technology to generate steam and recover oil from maturing oil reservoirs. The generated steam is injected at high pressure and temperature into the reservoir wells to facilitate oil production. There are three common methods of steam injection in enhanced oil recovery - continuous steam injection, cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). Conventionally, this steam is generated through natural gas (NG) fired boilers with associated greenhouse gas emissions. However, pilot projects in the USA (Coalinga, California) and Oman (Miraah, Amal) demonstrated the use of S-EOR to meet their steam requirements despite the intermittent nature of solar irradiation. Hence, conventional steam based EOR projects under the Sunbelt region can benefit from S-EOR with reduced operational expenditure (OPEX) and increased profitability in the long term, even with the initial investment required for solar equipment. S-EOR can be realized as an opportunity for countries not owning any natural gas resources to make them less energy dependent and less sensible to gas price fluctuations, and for countries owning natural gas resources to reduce their gas consumption and export it for a higher margin. In this study, firstly, the market potential of S-EOR was investigated worldwide by covering some of the major ongoing steam based EOR projects as well as future projects in pipeline. A multi-criteria analysis was performed to compare local conditions and requirements of all the oil fields based on a defined set of parameters. Secondly, a modelling approach for S-EOR was designed to identify cost reduction opportunities and optimum solar integration techniques, and the Issaran oil field in Egypt was selected for a case study to substantiate the approach. This modelling approach can be consulted to develop S-EOR projects for any steam flooding based oil

  7. PIROLISIS LIGNIN DARI LIMBAH INDUSTRI KELAPA SAWIT UNTUK PENGEMBANGAN SURFAKTAN DALAM PROSES ENHANCE OIL RECOVERY (EOR (Pyrolysis of Lignin From Waste of Palm Oil Industries for The Development of Surfactants for Enhance Oil Recovery (EOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suryo Purwono

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRAK Pirolisis dari lignin yang berasal dari limbah industri kelapa sawit dapat menghasilkan alkohol dan derivatif lainnyd yang dapat digunakan sehagai surfaktan. Prosedur penelitian proses pirolisis ini odalah sebagai berikut: I serabut atau tandan sisa pengolahon kelapa sawit yang sudah dikeringkan dimasukkan kedalam reaktor dengan berat tertentu dan dipanaskan sampai suhu yang diinginkan, 2 produk pirolisis yang keluar dari reoktor kemudian didinginkan sampoi mencapai suhu kamor, 3 hasil cair ditampung didalam gelas ukur dan hasil gasnya ditampung di suatu botol tertentu. Suhu paling baik yang dicapai adalah 4A0 "C untuk lignin yong berasal dari serabut dan 350'C untuk lignin yang berasal dari tandan kelapa sawit. Surfaktan yang dihasilkan sekitar j4 sampai 38% dari produk pirolisis. Pada penelitian ini kecepatan reaksi dianggap order satu. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa surfakton yang dihasilkan dapat membentuk emulsi dengan minyak menta.h. Hal ini menunjukkon bahwa surfaktan yang dihasilkan dapat digunakan sebagai bahan untuk proses EOR.   ABSTRACT Pyrolysis of lignin from waste of palm oil industries produces alcohol and its derivatives which can be sulfonated to become surfactant. The experimental procedures for the pyrolysis process were as follows: 1 dried palm oil husks at a certain weight were put into the pyrolysis reactor and heated up to a certain temperafure; 2 the product leaving the reactor was cooled down to room temperature; and 3 the liquid product was collected in a flask while the gas product was put into a big bottle. The best temperature obtained for producing liquid product was 400 oC for lignin from palm oil fruit fibers and 350 oC for lignin from palm oil fruit stems. The surfactant developed was in the range between 34 and 38% from the pyrolysis product. In this experiment, the reaction rate was assumed to be in first order. The result showed that the surfactant obtained from the experiment could form emulsion

  8. Using Polymer Alternating Gas to Enhance Oil Recovery in Heavy Oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yongzhi; Li, Weirong; Zhou, Tiyao; Dong, Zhenzhen

    2018-02-01

    CO2 has been used to recover oil for more than 40 years. Currently, about 43% of EOR production in U.S. is from CO2 flooding. CO2 flooding is a well-established EOR technique, but its density and viscosity nature are challenges for CO2 projects. Low density (0.5 to 0.8 g/cm3) causes gas to rise upward in reservoirs and bypass many lower portions of the reservoir. Low viscosity (0.02 to 0.08 cp) leads to poor volumetric sweep efficiency. So water-alternating-gas (WAG) method was used to control the mobility of CO2 and improve sweep efficiency. However, WAG process has some other problems in heavy oil reservoir, such as poor mobility ratio and gravity overriding. To examine the applicability of carbon dioxide to recover viscous oil from highly heterogeneous reservoirs, this study suggests a new EOR method--polymer-alternating gas (PAG) process. The process involves a combination of polymer flooding and CO2 injection. To confirm the effectiveness of PAG process in heavy oils, a reservoir model from Liaohe Oilfield is used to compare the technical and economic performance among PAG, WAG and polymer flooding. Simulation results show that PAG method would increase oil recovery over 10% compared with other EOR methods and PAG would be economically success based on assumption in this study. This study is the first to apply PAG to enhance oil recovery in heavy oil reservoir with highly heterogeneous. Besides, this paper provides detailed discussions and comparison about PAG with other EOR methods in this heavy oil reservoir.

  9. Enhanced Oil Recovery with Application of Enzymes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khusainova, Alsu

    Enzymes have recently been reported as effective enhanced oil recovery (EOR) agents. Both laboratory and field tests demonstrated significant increase in the ultimate oil production. Up to16% of additional oil was produced in the laboratory conditions and up to 269 barrels of additional oil per day...... were recovered in the field applications. The following mechanisms were claimed to be responsible for the enhancement of the oil production due to enzymes: wettability improvement of the rock surface; formation of the emulsions; reduction of oil viscosity; and removal of high molecular weight paraffins....... However, the positive effect of enzymes on oil recovery is not that obvious. In most of the studies commercial enzyme products composed of enzymes, surfactants and stabilisers were used. Application of such samples makes it difficult to assign a positive EOR effect to a certain compound, as several...

  10. A study of the effects of enhanced oil recovery agents on the quality of Strategic Petroleum Reserves crude oil. Final technical report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kabadi, V.N.

    1992-10-01

    The project was initiated on September 1, 1990. The objective of the project was to carry out a literature search to estimate the types and extents of long time interactions of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) agents, such as surfactants, caustics and polymers, with crude oil. This information is necessary to make recommendations about mixing EOR crude oil with crude oils from primary and secondary recovery processes in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Data were sought on both adverse and beneficial effects of EOR agents that would impact handling, transportation and refining of crude oil. An extensive literature search has been completed, and the following informations has been compiled: (1) a listing of existing EOR test and field projects; (2) a listing of currently used EOR agents; and (3) evidence of short and long term physical and chemical interactions of these EOR-agents with hydrocarbons, and their effects on the quality of crude oil at long times. This information is presented in this report. Finally some conclusions are derived and recommendations are made. Although the conclusions are based mostly on extrapolations because of lack of specific data, it is recommended that the enhancement of the rates of biodegradation of oil catalyzed by the EOR agents needs to be further studied. There is no evidence of substantial long term effects on crude oil because of other interactions. Some recommendations are also made regarding the types of studies that would be necessary to determine the effect of certain EOR agents on the rates of biodegradation of crude oil.

  11. Sonochemical approaches to enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abramov, Vladimir O; Abramova, Anna V; Bayazitov, Vadim M; Altunina, Lyubov K; Gerasin, Artyom S; Pashin, Dmitriy M; Mason, Timothy J

    2015-07-01

    Oil production from wells reduces with time and the well becomes uneconomic unless enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are applied. There are a number of methods currently available and each has specific advantages and disadvantages depending on conditions. Currently there is a big demand for new or improved technologies in this field, the hope is that these might also be applicable to wells which have already been the subject of EOR. The sonochemical method of EOR is one of the most promising methods and is important in that it can also be applied for the treatment of horizontal wells. The present article reports the theoretical background of the developed sonochemical technology for EOR in horizontal wells; describes the requirements to the equipment needed to embody the technology. The results of the first field tests of the technology are reported. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. On the use of sodium lignosulphonate for enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azis, M. M.; Rachmadi, H.; Wintoko, J.; Yuliansyah, A. T.; Hasokowati, W.; Purwono, S.; Rochmadi, W.; Murachman, B.

    2017-05-01

    There has been large interest to utilize oil reservoirs in Indonesia by using Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes. Injection of surfactant as a part of chemical injection technique in EOR is known to aid the mobility and reduction in surface tension. One potential surfactant for EOR application is Sodium Lignosulphonate (SLS) which can be made from various sources particularly empty fruit bunch of oil palm and black liquor from kraft pulp production. Here, we will discuss a number of methods for SLS production which includes lignin isolation techniques and sulphonation reaction. The use of SLS alone as EOR surfactant, however, is often not feasible as the Interfacial Tension (IFT) value of SLS is typically above the order of 10-3 dyne/cm which is mandated for EOR application. Hence, brief discussion on SLS formulation screening is provided which illustrates an extensive labwork experience during the SLS development in our lab.

  13. Study on the reutilization of clear fracturing flowback fluids in surfactant flooding with additives for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Caili; Wang, Kai; Liu, Yifei; Fang, Jichao; Zhao, Mingwei

    2014-01-01

    An investigation was conducted to study the reutilization of clear fracturing flowback fluids composed of viscoelastic surfactants (VES) with additives in surfactant flooding, making the process more efficient and cost-effective. The clear fracturing flowback fluids were used as surfactant flooding system with the addition of α-olefin sulfonate (AOS) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The interfacial activity, emulsification activity and oil recovery capability of the recycling system were studied. The interfacial tension (IFT) between recycling system and oil can be reduced by 2 orders of magnitude to 10(-3) mN/m, which satisfies the basic demand of surfactant flooding. The oil can be emulsified and dispersed more easily due to the synergetic effect of VES and AOS. The oil-wet surface of quartz can be easily converted to water-wet through adsorption of surfactants (VES/AOS) on the surface. Thirteen core plug flooding tests were conducted to investigate the effects of AOS concentrations, slug sizes and slug types of the recycling system on the incremental oil recovery. The investigations prove that reclaiming clear fracturing flowback fluids after fracturing operation and reuse it in surfactant flooding might have less impact on environment and be more economical.

  14. Discerning in situ performance of an eor agent in the midst of geological uncertainty

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fatemi, S.A.; Jansen, J.D.; Rossen, W.R.

    2015-01-01

    An enhanced-oil-recovery pilot test has multiple goals, among them to verify the properties of the EOR agent in situ. Given the complexity of EOR processes and the inherent uncertainty in the reservoir description, it is a challenge to discern the properties of the EOR agent in situ. We present a

  15. Tracing enhanced oil recovery signatures in casing gases from the Lost Hills oil field using noble gases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, Peter H.; Kulongoski, Justin; Landon, Matthew K.; Tyne, R.L.; Gillespie, Janice; Stephens, Michael; Hillegonds, D.J.; Byrne, D.J.; Ballentine, C.J.

    2018-01-01

    Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and hydraulic fracturing practices are commonly used methods to improve hydrocarbon extraction efficiency; however the environmental impacts of such practices remain poorly understood. EOR is particularly prevalent in oil fields throughout California where water resources are in high demand and disposal of high volumes of produced water may affect groundwater quality. Consequently, it is essential to better understand the fate of injected (EOR) fluids in California and other subsurface petroleum systems, as well as any potential effect on nearby aquifer systems. Noble gases can be used as tracers to understand hydrocarbon generation, migration, and storage conditions, as well as the relative proportions of oil and water present in the subsurface. In addition, a noble gas signature diagnostic of injected (EOR) fluids can be readily identified. We report noble gas isotope and concentration data in casing gases from oil production wells in the Lost Hills oil field, northwest of Bakersfield, California, and injectate gas data from the Fruitvale oil field, located within the city of Bakersfield. Casing and injectate gas data are used to: 1) establish pristine hydrocarbon noble-gas signatures and the processes controlling noble gas distributions, 2) characterize the noble gas signature of injectate fluids, 3) trace injectate fluids in the subsurface, and 4) construct a model to estimate EOR efficiency. Noble gas results range from pristine to significantly modified by EOR, and can be best explained using a solubility exchange model between oil and connate/formation fluids, followed by gas exsolution upon production. This model is sensitive to oil-water interaction during hydrocarbon expulsion, migration, and storage at reservoir conditions, as well as any subsequent modification by EOR.

  16. Enhanced oil recovery program review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-05-01

    Canada accounts for 40% of the global resources in heavy oils and oil sands bitumen, however, more than 90% of these resources need new and innovative technologies if they are to be made available at a competitive price. CANMET's Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) program was created in the late 1970s in response to the drive for energy self-sufficiency. Funding of the project is highly leveraged; industry funding towards projects supported under the CANMET Energy Conversion Program averaged over 300% annually since the previous review in 1990. Multi-client EOR technology projects include horizontal well technology, development of the vapour extraction process, and field testing of oil sands extraction technology. Direction and priorities of the program are established in consultation with the Minister's Advisory Council to CANMET (MNACC), industry and other performers and sponsors of enhanced oil recovery R and D. This review, including client feedback from interviews with several industry spokespersons, concluded that the program was well managed, and of high priority. Various options capable of meeting future needs were examined. Continuation of the current program, incorporating a number of significant changes, was recommended

  17. Study on the reutilization of clear fracturing flowback fluids in surfactant flooding with additives for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caili Dai

    Full Text Available An investigation was conducted to study the reutilization of clear fracturing flowback fluids composed of viscoelastic surfactants (VES with additives in surfactant flooding, making the process more efficient and cost-effective. The clear fracturing flowback fluids were used as surfactant flooding system with the addition of α-olefin sulfonate (AOS for enhanced oil recovery (EOR. The interfacial activity, emulsification activity and oil recovery capability of the recycling system were studied. The interfacial tension (IFT between recycling system and oil can be reduced by 2 orders of magnitude to 10(-3 mN/m, which satisfies the basic demand of surfactant flooding. The oil can be emulsified and dispersed more easily due to the synergetic effect of VES and AOS. The oil-wet surface of quartz can be easily converted to water-wet through adsorption of surfactants (VES/AOS on the surface. Thirteen core plug flooding tests were conducted to investigate the effects of AOS concentrations, slug sizes and slug types of the recycling system on the incremental oil recovery. The investigations prove that reclaiming clear fracturing flowback fluids after fracturing operation and reuse it in surfactant flooding might have less impact on environment and be more economical.

  18. Thermal enhanced oil recovery in Indonesia. Prospect of HTGR application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahman, M.; Sumardiono; Lasman, A.N.; Sudarto; Prihardany, D.

    1997-01-01

    In the next future, Indonesia will face oil scarcity. The present reserves are estimated to be depleted in 20 years. However, after primary and secondary recovery processes, there are still more than 50% of original oil in place remaining in the reservoir, and this could be recovered by using tertiary recovery method or which is known as enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Among the three major methods of EOR, steam flooding is a thermal recovery method into which High Temperature Reactor (HTR) module can be integrated for producing steam. However, the feasibility of application of HTR as an alternative to conventional oil-fired steam generator will depend strongly on the price of oil. This paper discusses EOR screening for Indonesian oil fields to identify the appropriate oil reservoirs for steam flooding application as well as the possibility of steam supply by HTR module. Also reviewed is the previous study on HTR application for Duri Steam Flood Project. (author). 8 refs, 6 figs, 5 tabs

  19. Simulation and Optimization of Foam EOR Processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Namdar Zanganeh, M.

    2011-01-01

    Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is relatively expensive due to the high cost of the injected chemicals such as surfactants. Excessive use of these chemicals leads to processes that are not economically feasible. Therefore, optimizing the volume of these injected chemicals is of extreme

  20. Essays on carbon policy and enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Benjamin R.

    The growing concerns about climate change have led policy makers to consider various regulatory schemes designed to reduce the stock and growth of atmospheric CO2 concentrations while at the same time improving energy security. The most prominent proposals are the so called "cap-and-trade" frameworks which set aggregate emission levels for a jurisdiction and then issue or sell a corresponding number of allowances to emitters. Typically, these policy measures will also encourage the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in geological formations and mature oil fields through subsidies or other incentives. The ability to store CO 2 in mature oil fields through the deployment of CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2--EOR) is particularly attractive as it can simultaneously improve oil recovery at those fields, and serve as a possible financial bridge to the development of CO2 transportation infrastructure. The purpose of this research is to explore the impact that a tandem subsidy-tax policy regime may have on bargaining between emitters and sequestration providers, and also to identify oil units in Wyoming that can profitably undertake CO 2--EOR as a starting point for the build-out of CO2 pipelines. In the first essay an economics lab experiment is designed to simulate private bargaining between carbon emitters (such as power plants) and carbon sequestration sites when the emitter faces carbon taxes, sequestration subsidies or both. In a tax-subsidy policy regime the carbon tax (or purchased allowances) can be avoided by sequestering the carbon, and in some cases the emitter can also earn a subsidy to help pay for the sequestration. The main policy implications of the experiment results are that the sequestration market might be inefficient, and sequestration providers seem to have bargaining power sufficient to command high prices. This may lead to the integration of CO2 sources and sequestration sites, and reduced prices for the injectable CO2 purchased by oil

  1. Viability of Biopolymers for Enhanced Oil Recovery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sveistrup, Marte; van Mastrigt, Frank; Norrman, Jens; Picchioni, Francesco; Paso, Kristofer

    2016-01-01

    Xanthan gum and scleroglucan are assessed as environmentally friendly enhanced oil recovery (EOR) agents. Viscometric and interfacial tension measurements show that the polysaccharides exhibit favorable viscosifying performance, robust shear tolerance, electrolyte tolerance, and moderate

  2. Revisiting EOR Projects in Indonesia through Integrated Study: EOR Screening, Predictive Model, and Optimisation

    KAUST Repository

    Hartono, A. D.; Hakiki, Farizal; Syihab, Z.; Ambia, F.; Yasutra, A.; Sutopo, S.; Efendi, M.; Sitompul, V.; Primasari, I.; Apriandi, R.

    2017-01-01

    EOR preliminary analysis is pivotal to be performed at early stage of assessment in order to elucidate EOR feasibility. This study proposes an in-depth analysis toolkit for EOR preliminary evaluation. The toolkit incorporates EOR screening, predictive, economic, risk analysis and optimisation modules. The screening module introduces algorithms which assimilates statistical and engineering notions into consideration. The United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) predictive models were implemented in the predictive module. The economic module is available to assess project attractiveness, while Monte Carlo Simulation is applied to quantify risk and uncertainty of the evaluated project. Optimization scenario of EOR practice can be evaluated using the optimisation module, in which stochastic methods of Genetic Algorithms (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Evolutionary Strategy (ES) were applied in the algorithms. The modules were combined into an integrated package of EOR preliminary assessment. Finally, we utilised the toolkit to evaluate several Indonesian oil fields for EOR evaluation (past projects) and feasibility (future projects). The attempt was able to update the previous consideration regarding EOR attractiveness and open new opportunity for EOR implementation in Indonesia.

  3. Revisiting EOR Projects in Indonesia through Integrated Study: EOR Screening, Predictive Model, and Optimisation

    KAUST Repository

    Hartono, A. D.

    2017-10-17

    EOR preliminary analysis is pivotal to be performed at early stage of assessment in order to elucidate EOR feasibility. This study proposes an in-depth analysis toolkit for EOR preliminary evaluation. The toolkit incorporates EOR screening, predictive, economic, risk analysis and optimisation modules. The screening module introduces algorithms which assimilates statistical and engineering notions into consideration. The United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) predictive models were implemented in the predictive module. The economic module is available to assess project attractiveness, while Monte Carlo Simulation is applied to quantify risk and uncertainty of the evaluated project. Optimization scenario of EOR practice can be evaluated using the optimisation module, in which stochastic methods of Genetic Algorithms (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Evolutionary Strategy (ES) were applied in the algorithms. The modules were combined into an integrated package of EOR preliminary assessment. Finally, we utilised the toolkit to evaluate several Indonesian oil fields for EOR evaluation (past projects) and feasibility (future projects). The attempt was able to update the previous consideration regarding EOR attractiveness and open new opportunity for EOR implementation in Indonesia.

  4. Study of polyacrylamide-surfactant system on the water–oil interface properties and rheological properties for EOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.Z. Mahdavi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, due to the remarkable oil reduction in oil fields, enhanced oil recovery (EOR techniques have been considered by a large number of scientists and company. Situ oil extraction is normally done by these techniques with high efficiency. In this particular study, five different surface active agents (surfactant, two kinds of oil with various API, two kinds of sulfonated polyacrylamide, two different electrolyte solutions with various TDS and two distinctive alcohols were tested and evaluated. An optimal formulation in terms of the properties and quantity of materials has to be used in order to enhance oil recovery, achieved by investigation of surface tension and the phase behavior of mentioned substances. Rheological behavior of polymer flooding and surfactant was studied. Employing this formulation, the maximum micro emulsion of oil in water occurred. Due to the synergy between surfactant and alcohol (as a co-surfactant, relatively lower amounts of surfactants were used which led to the dip in the cost of operation, and ultimately the efficiency of operation improved.

  5. Economics show CO2 EOR potential in central Kansas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubois, M.K.; Byrnes, A.P.; Pancake, R.E.; Willhite, G.P.; Schoeling, L.G.

    2000-01-01

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) may be the key to recovering hundreds of millions of bbl of trapped oil from the mature fields in central Kansas. Preliminary economic analysis indicates that CO2 EOR should provide an internal rate of return (IRR) greater than 20%, before income tax, assuming oil sells for \\$20/bbl, CO2 costs \\$1/Mcf, and gross utilization is 10 Mcf of CO2/bbl of oil recovered. If the CO2 cost is reduced to \\$0.75/Mcf, an oil price of $17/bbl yields an IRR of 20%. Reservoir and economic modeling indicates that IRR is most sensitive to oil price and CO2 cost. A project requires a minimum recovery of 1,500 net bbl/acre (about 1 million net bbl/1-mile section) under a best-case scenario. Less important variables to the economics are capital costs and non-CO2 related lease operating expenses.

  6. An extended model for ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery with experimental validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohsin, Mohammed; Meribout, Mahmoud

    2015-03-01

    This paper suggests a new ultrasonic-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) model for application in oil field reservoirs. The model is modular and consists of an acoustic module and a heat transfer module, where the heat distribution is updated when the temperature rise exceeds 1 °C. The model also considers the main EOR parameters which includes both the geophysical (i.e., porosity, permeability, temperature rise, and fluid viscosity) and acoustical (e.g., acoustic penetration and pressure distribution in various fluids and mediums) properties of the wells. Extended experiments were performed using powerful ultrasonic waves which were applied for different kind of oils & oil saturated core samples. The corresponding results showed a good matching with those obtained from simulations, validating the suggested model to some extent. Hence, a good recovery rate of around 88.2% of original oil in place (OOIP) was obtained after 30 min of continuous generation of ultrasonic waves. This leads to consider the ultrasonic-based EOR as another tangible solution for EOR. This claim is supported further by considering several injection wells where the simulation results indicate that with four (4) injection wells; the recovery rate may increase up-to 96.7% of OOIP. This leads to claim the high potential of ultrasonic-based EOR as compared to the conventional methods. Following this study, the paper also proposes a large scale ultrasonic-based EOR hardware system for installation in oil fields. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Using Horizontal Wells for Chemical EOR: Field Cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Delamaide

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Primary production of heavy oil in general only achieves a recovery of less than 10% OOIP. Waterflooding has been applied for a number of years in heavy oil pools and can yield much higher recovery but the efficiency of the process diminishes when viscosity is above a few hundreds cp with high water-cuts and the need to recycle significant volumes of water; in addition, significant quantities of oil are still left behind. To increase recovery beyond that, Enhanced Oil Recovery methods are needed. Thermal methods such as steam injection or Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD are not always applicable, in particular when the pay is thin and in that case chemical EOR can be an alternative. The two main chemical EOR processes are polymer and Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP flooding. The earlier records of field application of polymer injection in heavy oil fields date from the 1970’s however; the process had seen very few applications until recently. ASP in heavy oil has seen even fewer applications. A major specificity of chemical EOR in heavy oil is that the highly viscous oil bank is difficult to displace and that injectivity with vertical wells can be limited, particularly in thin reservoirs which are the prime target for chemical EOR. This situation has changed with the development of horizontal drilling and as a result, several chemical floods in heavy oil have been implemented in the past 10 years, using horizontal wells. The goal of this paper is to present some of the best documented field cases. The most successful and largest of these is the Pelican Lake polymer flood in Canada, operated by CNRL and Cenovus which is currently producing over 60,000 bbl/d. The Patos Marinza polymer flood by Bankers Petroleum in Albania and the Mooney project (polymer, ASP by BlackPearl (again in Canada are also worthy of discussion.

  8. Impact of recent Federal tax and R and D initiatives on enhanced oil recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brashear, J.P.; Biglarbigi, K.; Ray, M.R.

    1991-01-01

    The National Energy Strategy contains two major elements designed to increase oil production from known reservoirs in the contiguous United States: (1) a tax credit for specific investment and injectant costs for qualified enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects; and (2) a highly focused, public-private cooperative R ampersand D program. Both are currently being implemented by the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Energy, respectively. The present paper estimates the potential reserve additions and impacts on public treasuries at oil prices between $22 and $34/Bbl. The new Federal tax credit, alone, could doubler current proved EOR reserves at oil prices in the $22/Bbl range and increase them by about one-third at prices in the $30/Bbl range. The effect of technology advances alone could also about double EOR reserves at these prices. The combination of technology advances and the tax incentive synergistically amplifies the effects on potential EOR reserves

  9. Noble Gas signatures of Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, P. H.; Kulongoski, J. T.; Tyne, R. L.; Hillegonds, D.; Byrne, D. J.; Landon, M. K.; Ballentine, C. J.

    2017-12-01

    Noble gases are powerful tracers of fluids from various oil and gas production activities in hydrocarbon reservoirs and nearby groundwater. Non-radiogenic noble gases are introduced into undisturbed oil and natural gas reservoirs through exchange with formation waters [1-3]. Reservoirs with extensive hydraulic fracturing, injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and/or waste disposal also show evidence for a component of noble gases introduced from air [4]. Isotopic and elemental ratios of noble gases can be used to 1) assess the migration history of the injected and formation fluids, and 2) determine the extent of exchange between multiphase fluids in different reservoirs. We present noble gas isotope and abundance data from casing, separator and injectate gases of the Lost Hills and Fruitvale oil fields in the San Joaquin basin, California. Samples were collected as part of the California State Water Resource Control Board's Oil and Gas Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program. Lost Hills (n=7) and Fruitvale (n=2) gases are geochemically distinct and duplicate samples are highly reproducible. Lost Hills casing gas samples were collected from areas where EOR and hydraulic fracturing has occurred in the past several years, and from areas where EOR is absent. The Fruitvale samples were collected from a re-injection port. All samples are radiogenic in their He isotopes, typical of a crustal environment, and show enrichments in heavy noble gases, resulting from preferential adsorption on sediments. Fruitvale samples reflect air-like surface conditions, with higher air-derived noble gas concentrations. Lost Hills gases show a gradation from pristine crustal signatures - indicative of closed-system exchange with formation fluids - to strongly air-contaminated signatures in the EOR region. Pristine samples can be used to determine the extent of hydrocarbon exchange with fluids, whereas samples with excess air can be used to quantify the extent of EOR. Determining noble

  10. Preference of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) to single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and activated carbon for preparing silica nanohybrid pickering emulsion for chemical enhanced oil recovery (C-EOR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    AfzaliTabar, M. [Department of Chemistry, Islamic Azad University Branch of Tehran North, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Alaei, M., E-mail: alaiem@ripi.ir [Nanotechnology Research Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ranjineh Khojasteh, R.; Motiee, F. [Department of Chemistry, Islamic Azad University Branch of Tehran North, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rashidi, A.M. [Nanotechnology Research Center, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2017-01-15

    The aim of this research was to determine the best nano hybrid that can be used as a Pickering emulsion Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (C-EOR). Therefore, we have prepared different carbon structures nano hybrids with SiO{sub 2} nano particles with different weight percent using sol-gel method. The as-prepared nano materials were characterized with X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). Pickering emulsions of these nanohybrids were prepared at pH=7 in ambient temperature and with distilled water. Stability of the mentioned Pickering emulsions was controlled for one month. Emulsion phase morphology was investigated using optical microscopic imaging. Evaluation results demonstrated that the best sample is the 70% MWCNT/SiO{sub 2} nanohybrid. Stability of the selected nanohybrid (70% MWCNT/SiO{sub 2} nanohybrid) was investigated by alteration of salinity, pH and temperature. Results showed that the mentioned Pickering emulsion has very good stability at 0.1%, 1% salinity, moderate and high temperature (25 °C and 90 °C) and neutral and alkaline pH (7, 10) that is suitable for the oil reservoirs conditions. The effect of the related nano fluid on the wettability of carbonate rock was investigated by measuring the contact angle and interfacial tension. Results show that the nanofluid could significantly change the wettability of the carbonate rock from oil wet to water wet and can decrease the interfacial tension. Therefore, the 70% MWCNT/SiO{sub 2} nanohybrid Pickering emulsion can be used for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (C-EOR).

  11. Preference of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) to single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and activated carbon for preparing silica nanohybrid pickering emulsion for chemical enhanced oil recovery (C-EOR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    AfzaliTabar, M.; Alaei, M.; Ranjineh Khojasteh, R.; Motiee, F.; Rashidi, A.M.

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this research was to determine the best nano hybrid that can be used as a Pickering emulsion Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (C-EOR). Therefore, we have prepared different carbon structures nano hybrids with SiO 2 nano particles with different weight percent using sol-gel method. The as-prepared nano materials were characterized with X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). Pickering emulsions of these nanohybrids were prepared at pH=7 in ambient temperature and with distilled water. Stability of the mentioned Pickering emulsions was controlled for one month. Emulsion phase morphology was investigated using optical microscopic imaging. Evaluation results demonstrated that the best sample is the 70% MWCNT/SiO 2 nanohybrid. Stability of the selected nanohybrid (70% MWCNT/SiO 2 nanohybrid) was investigated by alteration of salinity, pH and temperature. Results showed that the mentioned Pickering emulsion has very good stability at 0.1%, 1% salinity, moderate and high temperature (25 °C and 90 °C) and neutral and alkaline pH (7, 10) that is suitable for the oil reservoirs conditions. The effect of the related nano fluid on the wettability of carbonate rock was investigated by measuring the contact angle and interfacial tension. Results show that the nanofluid could significantly change the wettability of the carbonate rock from oil wet to water wet and can decrease the interfacial tension. Therefore, the 70% MWCNT/SiO 2 nanohybrid Pickering emulsion can be used for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (C-EOR).

  12. Chemically evolving systems for oil recovery enhancement in heavy oil deposits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altunina, L. K.; Kuvshinov, I. V.; Kuvshinov, V. A.; Stasyeva, L. A.

    2017-12-01

    This work presents the results of laboratory studies and field tests of new physicochemical technologies for enhanced oil recovery of heavy oil fields under natural development conditions and with thermal-steam stimulation using oil-displacing "smart" systems. The systems are based on surfactants and buffer systems. Their rheological and acid-base properties can be regulated by their chemical evolution directly in the formation. Field tests of the technologies carried out on high-viscosity oil deposit in the Usinskoye oilfield have shown that the EOR technologies are environmentally friendly and technologically effective.

  13. Air injection low temperature oxidation process for enhanced oil recovery from light oil reservoirs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tunio, A.H.; Harijan, K.

    2010-01-01

    This paper represents EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) methods to recover unswept oil from depleted light oil reservoirs. The essential theme here is the removal of oxygen at LTO (Low Temperature Oxidation) from the injected air for a light oil reservoir by means of some chemical reactions occurring between oil and oxygen. In-situ combustion process, HTO (High Temperature Oxidation) is not suitable for deep light oil reservoirs. In case of light oil reservoirs LTO is more suitable to prevail as comparative to HTO. Few laboratory experimental results were obtained from air injection process, to study the LTO reactions. LTO process is suitable for air injection rate in which reservoir has sufficiently high temperature and spontaneous reaction takes place. Out comes of this study are the effect of LTO reactions in oxygen consumption and the recovery of oil. This air injection method is economic compared to other EOR methods i.e. miscible hydrocarbon gas, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide flooding etc. This LTO air injection process is suitable for secondary recovery methods where water flooding is not feasible due to technical problems. (author)

  14. Status and scope for EOR development in Oman

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Adawy, M.S.; Nandyal, M.

    1991-01-01

    In view of a significant STOIIP (3000 + million m 3 ) of medium/heavy oil (less than 31 degrees API), EOR development in Oman has been and remains a major strategic option in its challenge to increase recovery and to meet long term production requirements. The initial EOR Development Program (1980-89) of which results are highlighted in this paper was based on a series of pilots and tests to gain experience and reduce uncertainties prior to embarking on wider EOR application. The processes tested included Steam and Polymer Flooding in the Marmul field, Steam Soak in five South Oman heavy oil fields and Hot water Injection in the Qarn Alam field. A wide range of reservoir types, oil characteristics and reservoir drive mechanisms have been covered in this test program. The initial program has provided the necessary operating/technical knowledge to enable new projects to be better defined. In this paper an overview of future EOR scope taking into consideration the current oil economic climate is developed and presented

  15. Fractional Flow Theory Applicable to Non-Newtonian Behavior in EOR Processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rossen, W.R.; Venkatraman, A.; Johns, R.T.; Kibodeaux, K.R.; Lai, H.; Moradi Tehrani, N.

    2011-01-01

    The method of characteristics, or fractional-flow theory, is extremely useful in understanding complex Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes and in calibrating simulators. One limitation has been its restriction to Newtonian rheology except in rectilinear flow. Its inability to deal with

  16. Application of Sodium Ligno Sulphonate as Surfactant in Enhanced Oil Recovery and Its Feasibility Test for TPN 008 Oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prakoso, N. I.; Rochmadi; Purwono, S.

    2018-04-01

    One of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods is using surfactants to reduce the interfacial tension between the injected fluid and the oil in old reservoir. The most important principle in enhanced oil recovery process is the dynamic interaction of surfactants with crude oil. Sodium ligno sulphonate (SLS) is a commercial surfactant and already synthesized from palm solid waste by another researcher. This work aimed to apply SLS as a surfactant for EOR especially in TPN 008 oil from Pertamina Indonesia. In its application as an EOR’s surfactant, SLS shall be passed feasibility test like IFT, thermal stability, compatibility, filtration, molecular weight, density, viscosity and pH tests. The feasibility test is very important for a preliminary test prior to another advanced test. The results demonstrated that 1% SLS solution in formation water (TPN 008) had 0.254 mN/M IFT value and was also great in thermal stability, compatibility, filtration, molecular weight, viscosity and pH test.

  17. Environmental regulations handbook for enhanced oil recovery. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, T.D.

    1980-08-01

    A guide to environmental laws and regulations which have special significance for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is presented. The Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, federal regulations, and state regulations are discussed. This handbook has been designed as a planning tool and a convenient reference source. The 16 states included comprise the major oil-producing states in various regions of the state. The major topics covered are: general guidelines for complying with environmental laws and regulations; air pollution control; water pollution control; protecting drinking water: underground injection control; hazardous waste management; and federal laws affecting siting or operation of EOR facilities. (DMC)

  18. Using CO2 Prophet to estimate recovery factors for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attanasi, Emil D.

    2017-07-17

    IntroductionThe Oil and Gas Journal’s enhanced oil recovery (EOR) survey for 2014 (Koottungal, 2014) showed that gas injection is the most frequently applied method of EOR in the United States and that carbon dioxide (CO2 ) is the most commonly used injection fluid for miscible operations. The CO2-EOR process typically follows primary and secondary (waterflood) phases of oil reservoir development. The common objective of implementing a CO2-EOR program is to produce oil that remains after the economic limit of waterflood recovery is reached. Under conditions of miscibility or multicontact miscibility, the injected CO2 partitions between the gas and liquid CO2 phases, swells the oil, and reduces the viscosity of the residual oil so that the lighter fractions of the oil vaporize and mix with the CO2 gas phase (Teletzke and others, 2005). Miscibility occurs when the reservoir pressure is at least at the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP). The MMP depends, in turn, on oil composition, impurities of the CO2 injection stream, and reservoir temperature. At pressures below the MMP, component partitioning, oil swelling, and viscosity reduction occur, but the efficiency is increasingly reduced as the pressure falls farther below the MMP. CO2-EOR processes are applied at the reservoir level, where a reservoir is defined as an underground formation containing an individual and separate pool of producible hydrocarbons that is confined by impermeable rock or water barriers and is characterized by a single natural pressure system. A field may consist of a single reservoir or multiple reservoirs that are not in communication but which may be associated with or related to a single structural or stratigraphic feature (U.S. Energy Information Administration [EIA], 2000). The purpose of modeling the CO2-EOR process is discussed along with the potential CO2-EOR predictive models. The data demands of models and the scope of the assessments require tradeoffs between reservoir

  19. Small core flood experiments for foam EOR: Screening surfactant applications

    OpenAIRE

    Jones, S.A.; Van der Bent, V.; Farajzadeh, R.; Rossen, W.R.; Vincent-Bonnieu, S.

    2015-01-01

    Aqueous foams are a means of increasing the sweep efficiency of enhanced oil recovery processes. An understanding of how a foam behaves in the presence of oil is therefore of great importance when selecting suitable surfactants for EOR processes. The consensus is currently that the most reliable method for determining the foam behavior in the presence of oil is to inject foam through a rock core. Coreflood tests, however, are typically carried out using large rock cores (e.g. diameter = 4 cm,...

  20. CO2-driven Enhanced Oil Recovery as a Stepping Stone to What?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dooley, James J.; Dahowski, Robert T.; Davidson, Casie L.

    2010-07-14

    This paper draws heavily on the authors’ previously published research to explore the extent to which near term carbon dioxide-driven enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) can be “a stepping stone to a long term sequestration program of a scale to be material in climate change risk mitigation.” The paper examines the historical evolution of CO2-EOR in the United States and concludes that estimates of the cost of CO2-EOR production or the extent of CO2 pipeline networks based upon this energy security-driven promotion of CO2-EOR do not provide a robust platform for spurring the commercial deployment of carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies (CCS) as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The paper notes that the evolving regulatory framework for CCS makes a clear distinction between CO2-EOR and CCS and the authors examine arguments in the technical literature about the ability for CO2-EOR to generate offsetting revenue to accelerate the commercial deployment of CCS systems in the electric power and industrial sectors of the economy. The authors conclude that the past 35 years of CO2-EOR in the U.S. have been important for boosting domestic oil production and delivering proven system components for future CCS systems. However, though there is no reason to suggest that CO2-EOR will cease to deliver these benefits, there is also little to suggest that CO2-EOR is a necessary or significantly beneficial step towards the commercial deployment of CCS as a means of addressing climate change.

  1. Albania, offshore subscribed, offering EOR opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that Albania is starting a campaign to offer field development/enhanced recovery projects to foreign companies. The fields chosen for EOR projects and their producing lithologies are: Patos-Marinza, sandstone. Kucova-Arrza, sandstone. Gorisht-Kocul, limestone. Ballsh-Hekal, limestone. Cakran-Mollaj, limestone. Visoka, limestone. Delvina, limestone. Field locations mostly lie along Albania's Adriatic Sea coast. Oil production began in Albania in 1929, peaked at about 60,000 b/d in 1975 and has steadily fallen

  2. Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery performance according to the literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olea, Ricardo A.

    2017-07-17

    IntroductionThe need to increase the efficiency of oil recovery and environmental concerns are bringing to prominence the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a tertiary recovery agent. Assessment of the impact of flooding with CO2 all eligible reservoirs in the United States not yet undergoing enhanced oil recovery (EOR) requires making the best possible use of the experience gained in 40 years of applications. Review of the publicly available literature has located relevant CO2-EOR information for 53 units (fields, reservoirs, pilot areas) in the United States and 17 abroad.As the world simultaneously faces an increasing concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and a higher demand for fossil fuels, the CO2-EOR process continues to gain popularity for its efficiency as a tertiary recovery agent and for the potential for having some CO2 trapped in the subsurface as an unintended consequence of the enhanced production (Advanced Resources International and Melzer Consulting, 2009). More extensive application of CO2-EOR worldwide, however, is not making it significantly easier to predict the exact outcome of the CO2 flooding in new reservoirs. The standard approach to examine and manage risks is to analyze the intended target by conducting laboratory work, running simulation models, and, finally, gaining field experience with a pilot test. This approach, though, is not always possible. For example, assessment of the potential of CO2-EOR at the national level in a vast country such as the United States requires making forecasts based on information already available.Although many studies are proprietary, the published literature has provided reviews of CO2-EOR projects. Yet, there is always interest in updating reports and analyzing the information under new perspectives. Brock and Bryan (1989) described results obtained during the earlier days of CO2-EOR from 1972 to 1987. Most of the recovery predictions, however, were based on intended injections of 30 percent the size of

  3. Three approaches for estimating recovery factors in carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Mahendra K.

    2017-07-17

    PrefaceThe Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 authorized the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2) and requested the USGS to estimate the “potential volumes of oil and gas recoverable by injection and sequestration of industrial carbon dioxide in potential sequestration formations” (42 U.S.C. 17271(b)(4)). Geologic CO2 sequestration associated with enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using CO2 in existing hydrocarbon reservoirs has the potential to increase the U.S. hydrocarbon recoverable resource. The objective of this report is to provide detailed information on three approaches that can be used to calculate the incremental recovery factors for CO2-EOR. Therefore, the contents of this report could form an integral part of an assessment methodology that can be used to assess the sedimentary basins of the United States for the hydrocarbon recovery potential using CO2-EOR methods in conventional oil reservoirs.

  4. Application of nanotechnology for enhancing oil recovery – A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chegenizadeh Negin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Nanotechnology has attracted a great attention in enhancing oil recovery (EOR due to the cost-effective and environmental friendly manner. The size of nanoparticles for EOR usually is in a range of 1–100 nm, which may slightly differ from various international organisations. Nanoparticles exhibit significantly different properties compared to the same fine or bulk molecules because of much higher concentration of atoms at their surface as a result of ultra-small size. In particular, one of the most useful and fascinating properties of these particles is to creating a massive diffusion driving force due to the large surface area, especially at high temperatures. Previous studies have shown that nanoparticles can enhance oil recovery by shifting reservoir wettability towards more water-wet and reducing interfacial tension, yet this area is still open for discussion. It is worth noting that the potential of nanoparticles to reduce the oil viscosity, increase the mobility ratio, and to alter the reservoir permeability has not been investigated to date. Depending on the operational conditions of the EOR process, some nanoparticles perform more effectively than others, thus leading to different levels of enhanced recovery. In this study, we aim to provide a summary on each of the popular and available nanoparticles in the market and list their optimum operational conditions. We classified nanoparticles into the three categories of metal oxide, organic and inorganic particles in this article.

  5. A Review of CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery with a Simulated Sensitivity Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mandadige Samintha Anne Perera

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on a comprehensive study of the CO2-EOR (Enhanced oil recovery process, a detailed literature review and a numerical modelling study. According to past studies, CO2 injection can recover additional oil from reservoirs by reservoir pressure increment, oil swelling, the reduction of oil viscosity and density and the vaporization of oil hydrocarbons. Therefore, CO2-EOR can be used to enhance the two major oil recovery mechanisms in the field: miscible and immiscible oil recovery, which can be further increased by increasing the amount of CO2 injected, applying innovative flood design and well placement, improving the mobility ratio, extending miscibility, and controlling reservoir depth and temperature. A 3-D numerical model was developed using the CO2-Prophet simulator to examine the effective factors in the CO2-EOR process. According to that, in pure CO2 injection, oil production generally exhibits increasing trends with increasing CO2 injection rate and volume (in HCPV (Hydrocarbon pore volume and reservoir temperature. In the WAG (Water alternating gas process, oil production generally increases with increasing CO2 and water injection rates, the total amount of flood injected in HCPV and the distance between the injection wells, and reduces with WAG flood ratio and initial reservoir pressure. Compared to other factors, the water injection rate creates the minimum influence on oil production, and the CO2 injection rate, flood volume and distance between the flood wells have almost equally important influence on oil production.

  6. Synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for oil-water interfacial tension reduction in enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soleimani, Hassan; Baig, Mirza Khurram; Yahya, Noorhana; Khodapanah, Leila; Sabet, Maziyar; Demiral, Birol M. R.; Burda, Marek

    2018-02-01

    Nanoparticles show potential use in applications associated with upstream oil and gas engineering to increase the performance of numerous methods such as wettability alteration, interfacial tension reduction, thermal conductivity and enhanced oil recovery operations. Surface tension optimization is an important parameter in enhanced oil recovery. Current work focuses on the new economical method of surface tension optimization of ZnO nanofluids for oil-water interfacial tension reduction in enhanced oil recovery. In this paper, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystallites were prepared using the chemical route and explored for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Adsorption of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on calcite (111) surface was investigated using the adsorption locator module of Materials Studio software. It was found that ZnO nanoparticles show maximum adsorption energy of - 253 kcal/mol. The adsorption of ZnO on the rock surface changes the wettability which results in capillary force reduction and consequently increasing EOR. The nanofluids have been prepared by varying the concentration of ZnO nanoparticles to find the optimum value for surface tension. The surface tension (ST) was calculated with different concentration of ZnO nanoparticles using the pendant drop method. The results show a maximum value of ST 35.57 mN/m at 0.3 wt% of ZnO NPs. It was found that the nanofluid with highest surface tension (0.3 wt%) resulted in higher recovery efficiency. The highest recovery factor of 11.82% at 0.3 wt% is due to the oil/water interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration.

  7. Managing geological uncertainty in CO2-EOR reservoir assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welkenhuysen, Kris; Piessens, Kris

    2014-05-01

    Recently the European Parliament has agreed that an atlas for the storage potential of CO2 is of high importance to have a successful commercial introduction of CCS (CO2 capture and geological storage) technology in Europe. CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) is often proposed as a promising business case for CCS, and likely has a high potential in the North Sea region. Traditional economic assessments for CO2-EOR largely neglect the geological reality of reservoir uncertainties because these are difficult to introduce realistically in such calculations. There is indeed a gap between the outcome of a reservoir simulation and the input values for e.g. cost-benefit evaluations, especially where it concerns uncertainty. The approach outlined here is to turn the procedure around, and to start from which geological data is typically (or minimally) requested for an economic assessment. Thereafter it is evaluated how this data can realistically be provided by geologists and reservoir engineers. For the storage of CO2 these parameters are total and yearly CO2 injection capacity, and containment or potential on leakage. Specifically for the EOR operation, two additional parameters can be defined: the EOR ratio, or the ratio of recovered oil over injected CO2, and the CO2 recycling ratio of CO2 that is reproduced after breakthrough at the production well. A critical but typically estimated parameter for CO2-EOR projects is the EOR ratio, taken in this brief outline as an example. The EOR ratio depends mainly on local geology (e.g. injection per well), field design (e.g. number of wells), and time. Costs related to engineering can be estimated fairly good, given some uncertainty range. The problem is usually to reliably estimate the geological parameters that define the EOR ratio. Reliable data is only available from (onshore) CO2-EOR projects in the US. Published studies for the North Sea generally refer to these data in a simplified form, without uncertainty ranges, and are

  8. Data Analysis and Neuro-Fuzzy Technique for EOR Screening: Application in Angolan Oilfields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geraldo A. R. Ramos

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In this work, a neuro-fuzzy (NF simulation study was conducted in order to screen candidate reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery (EOR projects in Angolan oilfields. First, a knowledge pattern is extracted by combining both the searching potential of fuzzy-logic (FL and the learning capability of neural network (NN to make a priori decisions. The extracted knowledge pattern is validated against rock and fluid data trained from successful EOR projects around the world. Then, data from Block K offshore Angolan oilfields are then mined and analysed using box-plot technique for the investigation of the degree of suitability for EOR projects. The trained and validated model is then tested on the Angolan field data (Block K where EOR application is yet to be fully established. The results from the NF simulation technique applied in this investigation show that polymer, hydrocarbon gas, and combustion are the suitable EOR techniques.

  9. New technologies of enhanced oil recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paweł Wojnarowski

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available It is known from the literature that up to 27 % of oil in oilfields can be produced using primary and hydration methods. The efficiency of production can be increased by employing more advanced methods, i.e. EOR. The Polish Oil and Gas Company iwork with Polish oilfields, where currently primary methods are applied, but the Polish experiences with EOR date back to the years 1932-1987. In view of high oil prices, reconsidering EOR as a production method is economically justifiable. Therefore, it is purposeful to implement new pilot technologies, aimed at implementing new technologies, understanding accompanying phenomena, and calibrating of simulation models, including economical models for an optimal control of the oilfield exploitation. World’s new exploitation methods worked out in the last few years and suggestions for their implementation in Polish conditions are presented in the paper

  10. Hydrophobically associated polymers for wettability alteration and enhanced oil recovery – Article review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.N. El-hoshoudy

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Crude oil and other petroleum products are crucial to the global economy today due to increasing energy demand approximately (∼1.5% per year and significant oil remaining after primary and secondary oil recovery (∼45–55% of original oil in place, OOIP, which accelerates the development of enhanced oil recovery (EOR technologies to maximize the recovered oil amount by non-conventional methods as polymer flooding. This review discusses enhanced oil recovery methods specially polymer flooding techniques and their effects on rock wettability alteration.

  11. Molecular design of high performance zwitterionic liquids for enhanced heavy-oil recovery processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Magadán, J M; Cartas-Rosado, A R; Oviedo-Roa, R; Cisneros-Dévora, R; Pons-Jiménez, M; Hernández-Altamirano, R; Zamudio-Rivera, L S

    2018-03-01

    Branched gemini zwitterionic liquids, which contain two zwitterionic moieties of linked quaternary-ammonium and carboxylate groups, are proposed as chemicals to be applied in the Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) from fractured carbonate reservoirs. The zwitterionic moieties are bridged between them through an alkyl chain containing 12 ether groups, and each zwitterionic moiety has attached a long alkyl tail including a CC double bond. A theoretical molecular mechanism over which EOR could rest, consisting on both the disaggregation of heavy oil and the reservoir-rock wettability alteration, was suggested. Results show that chemicals can both reduce the viscosity and remove heavy-oil molecules from the rock surface. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  12. Tailor-made surfactants for optimized chemical EOR. Meeting oil reservoir conditions by applied knowledge of structure-performance relationship in extended surfactants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trahan, G.; Sorensen, W. [Sasol North America Inc., Westlake, LA (United States); Jakobs-Sauter, B. [Sasol Germany GmbH (Germany)

    2013-08-01

    Formulating the surfactant package for chemical EOR is a time consuming and expensive process - the formulation needs to fit the specific reservoir conditions (like oil type, temperature, salinity, etc.) to give optimum performance and the number of formulation variables is virtually endless. This paper studies the impact of surfactant structure on EOR formulation ability and performance and how to adjust the structure of the surfactant molecule to meet a specific reservoir's needs. Data from salinity phase boundary studies of alcohol propoxy sulfates illustrate how changes in alcohol structure as well as in propylene oxide level can shift optimum salinity and temperature to the desired range in a given model oil. From these data the impact of individual structural units was evaluated. Application of the HLD model (Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Deviation) shows how to extrapolate from the known data set to actual reservoir conditions. This is illustrated by studies on crude oil samples. Additional tests study how effective the selected surfactants perform. The HLD concept proves to be a valuable tool to select and tailor surfactants to individual reservoir needs, thus simplifying the surfactant screening process for EOR formulations by pre-selection of suitable structures and ultimately reducing cost and effort on the way to the most effective chemical EOR package. (orig.)

  13. Foam for Enhanced Oil Recovery : Modeling and Analytical Solutions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ashoori, E.

    2012-01-01

    Foam increases sweep in miscible- and immiscible-gas enhanced oil recovery by decreasing the mobility of gas enormously. This thesis is concerned with the simulations and analytical solutions for foam flow for the purpose of modeling foam EOR in a reservoir. For the ultimate goal of upscaling our

  14. A business process for enhanced heavy oil recovery research and development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlson, P.; Campbell, M.; Kantzas, A.

    1995-01-01

    Husky Oil's enhanced oil recovery (EOR) research management processes for reducing process development time and increasing investment efficiency were described. The considerations that went into the development of the plan a decade ago were reviewed and new ideas incorporated into the revised plan were presented. Four case studies were presented to illustrate the need for process to reservoir matching. A need for strategic research planning was emphasized. Proposed technologies for enhancement of heavy oil reservoir productivity were presented in tabular form. 1 tab., 7 figs

  15. Technologies for the future : conventional recovery enhancement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Isaacs, E. [Alberta Energy Research Inst., Edmonton, AB (Canada)

    2005-07-01

    This conference presentation examined Alberta's oil production and water use; global finding and development costs across continents; and current trends for conventional oil. The presentation examined opportunities for testing new technologies for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and provided several tables of data on EOR production in the United States. The evolution of United States EOR production, and the number of EOR projects in Canada were also addressed. The presentation also discussed where EOR goes from here as well as the different EOR mechanisms to alter phase behaviour and to alter relative flow. It also discussed chemical methods and major challenges for chemical EOR and examined EOR technologies needing a major push in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Lessons learned from the Joffre site regarding carbon dioxide miscible flood were revealed along with how coal gasification produces substitute natural gas and carbon dioxide for EOR. Suggestions for research and technology and enhanced water management were included. tabs., figs.

  16. Measurement of Streaming Potential in Downhole Application: An Insight for Enhanced Oil Recovery Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tengku Mohd Tengku Amran

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Downhole monitoring using streaming potential measurement has been developing in order to respond to actual reservoir condition. Most studies have emphasized on monitoring water flooding at various reservoir condition and improving the approaches of measurement. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR could significantly improve oil recovery and the efficiency of the process should be well-monitored. Alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP flooding is the most promising chemical EOR method due to its synergy of alkaline, surfactant and polymer, which could enhance the extraction of residual oil. However, limited studies have been focused on the application of streaming potential in EOR processes, particularly ASP. Thus, this paper aims to review the streaming potential measurement in downhole monitoring with an insight for EOR application and propose the potential measurement in monitoring ASP flooding. It is important for a preliminary study to investigate the synergy in ASP and the effects on oil recovery. The behaviour of streaming potential should be investigated when the environment of porous media changes with respect to ASP flooding. Numerical model can be generated from the experimental data to forecast the measured streaming potential signal during production associated with ASP flooding. Based on the streaming potential behaviour on foam assisted water alternate gas (FAWAG and water alternate gas (WAG processes, it is expected that the streaming potential could change significantly when ASP flooding alters the environment and surface properties of porous media. The findings could provide new prospect and knowledge in the relationship between streaming potential and ASP mechanisms, which could be a potential approach in monitoring the efficiency of the process.

  17. Play-level distributions of estimates of recovery factors for a miscible carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery method used in oil reservoirs in the conterminous United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attanasi, E.D.; Freeman, P.A.

    2016-03-02

    In a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study, recovery-factor estimates were calculated by using a publicly available reservoir simulator (CO2 Prophet) to estimate how much oil might be recovered with the application of a miscible carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method to technically screened oil reservoirs located in onshore and State offshore areas in the conterminous United States. A recovery factor represents the percentage of an oil reservoir’s original oil in place estimated to be recoverable by the application of a miscible CO2-EOR method. The USGS estimates were calculated for 2,018 clastic and 1,681 carbonate candidate reservoirs in the “Significant Oil and Gas Fields of the United States Database” prepared by Nehring Associates, Inc. (2012).

  18. Polymers for enhanced oil recovery : A paradigm for structure-property relationship in aqueous solution

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wever, D. A. Z.; Picchioni, F.; Broekhuis, A. A.

    Recent developments in the field of water-soluble polymers aimed at enhancing the aqueous solution viscosity are reviewed. Classic and novel associating water-soluble polymers for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications are discussed along with their limitations. Particular emphasis is placed on

  19. CO2 Accounting and Risk Analysis for CO2 Sequestration at Enhanced Oil Recovery Sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Zhenxue; Viswanathan, Hari; Middleton, Richard; Pan, Feng; Ampomah, William; Yang, Changbing; Jia, Wei; Xiao, Ting; Lee, Si-Yong; McPherson, Brian; Balch, Robert; Grigg, Reid; White, Mark

    2016-07-19

    Using CO2 in enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) is a promising technology for emissions management because CO2-EOR can dramatically reduce sequestration costs in the absence of emissions policies that include incentives for carbon capture and storage. This study develops a multiscale statistical framework to perform CO2 accounting and risk analysis in an EOR environment at the Farnsworth Unit (FWU), Texas. A set of geostatistical-based Monte Carlo simulations of CO2-oil/gas-water flow and transport in the Morrow formation are conducted for global sensitivity and statistical analysis of the major risk metrics: CO2/water injection/production rates, cumulative net CO2 storage, cumulative oil/gas productions, and CO2 breakthrough time. The median and confidence intervals are estimated for quantifying uncertainty ranges of the risk metrics. A response-surface-based economic model has been derived to calculate the CO2-EOR profitability for the FWU site with a current oil price, which suggests that approximately 31% of the 1000 realizations can be profitable. If government carbon-tax credits are available, or the oil price goes up or CO2 capture and operating expenses reduce, more realizations would be profitable. The results from this study provide valuable insights for understanding CO2 storage potential and the corresponding environmental and economic risks of commercial-scale CO2-sequestration in depleted reservoirs.

  20. Monitoring of magnetic EOR fluids in reservoir under production by using the electromagnetic method

    Science.gov (United States)

    KIM, S.; Min, D. J.; Moon, S.; Kim, W. K.; Shin, Y.

    2014-12-01

    To increase the amount of oil and gas extracted during production, some techniques like EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) are applied by injecting some materials such as water and CO2. Recently, there are some researches for injecting magnetic nanoparticles with fluids during EOR. The size of particle is nano-scale, which can prevent particles from adhering to the pores of reservoir. The main purpose of injecting magnetic nanoparticles is to monitor movement or distribution of EOR fluids. To monitor the injected magnetic EOR fluids in the reservoir, CSEM (controlled source electromagnetic method) can be the most optimized geophysical method among various geophysical monitoring methods. Depending on the reservoir circumstances, we can control the electric or magnetic sources to monitor reservoir during oil or gas production. In this study, we perform numerical simulation of CSEM for 3D horizontal-layered models assuming a reservoir under production. We suppose that there are two wells: one is for the controlled source; the other is for the receiver. By changing the distribution, movement and magnetization of EOR fluids, we compare the electric or magnetic fields recorded at the receiver. Maxwell's equations are the governing equation of CSEM and are approximated by using the edge-based finite-element method. Direct solver is applied to solve the linear equations. Because injected magnetic nanoparticle changes the conductivity of EOR fluid, there is high contrast of conductivity of reservoir. This high contrast of conductivity induces secondary electric or magnetic fields that are recorded at the receiver well. We compare these recorded secondary fields generated by various movement or distribution of magnetic EOR fluid. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the "Development of Technology for CO2 Marine Geological Storage" grant funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea, by the "Civil Military Technology Cooperation Center", and by the International

  1. Development of an In Situ Biosurfactant Production Technology for Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    M.J. McInerney; R.M. Knapp; Kathleen Duncan; D.R. Simpson; N. Youssef; N. Ravi; M.J. Folmsbee; T.Fincher; S. Maudgalya; Jim Davis; Sandra Weiland

    2007-09-30

    The long-term economic potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is large with more than 300 billion barrels of oil remaining in domestic reservoirs after conventional technologies reach their economic limit. Actual EOR production in the United States has never been very large, less than 10% of the total U. S. production even though a number of economic incentives have been used to stimulate the development and application of EOR processes. The U.S. DOE Reservoir Data Base contains more than 600 reservoirs with over 12 billion barrels of unrecoverable oil that are potential targets for microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). If MEOR could be successfully applied to reduce the residual oil saturation by 10% in a quarter of these reservoirs, more than 300 million barrels of oil could be added to the U.S. oil reserve. This would stimulate oil production from domestic reservoirs and reduce our nation's dependence on foreign imports. Laboratory studies have shown that detergent-like molecules called biosurfactants, which are produced by microorganisms, are very effective in mobilizing entrapped oil from model test systems. The biosurfactants are effective at very low concentrations. Given the promising laboratory results, it is important to determine the efficacy of using biosurfactants in actual field applications. The goal of this project is to move biosurfactant-mediated oil recovery from laboratory investigations to actual field applications. In order to meet this goal, several important questions must be answered. First, it is critical to know whether biosurfactant-producing microbes are present in oil formations. If they are present, then it will be important to know whether a nutrient regime can be devised to stimulate their growth and activity in the reservoir. If biosurfactant producers are not present, then a suitable strain must be obtained that can be injected into oil reservoirs. We were successful in answering all three questions. The specific

  2. Aqueous Hybrids of Silica Nanoparticles and Hydrophobically Associating Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide Used for EOR in High-Temperature and High-Salinity Reservoirs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dingwei Zhu

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Water-soluble polymers are known to be used in chemically enhanced oil recovery (EOR processes, but their applications are limited in high-temperature and high-salinity oil reservoirs because of their inherent poor salt tolerance and weak thermal stability. Hydrophobic association of partially hydrolyzed polyacryamide (HAHPAM complexed with silica nanoparticles to prepare nano-hybrids is reported in this work. The rheological and enhanced oil recovery (EOR properties of such hybrids were studied in comparison with HAHPAM under simulated high-temperature and high-salinity oil reservoir conditions (T: 85 °C; total dissolved solids: 32,868 mg∙L−1; [Ca2+] + [Mg2+]: 873 mg∙L−1. It was found that the apparent viscosity and elastic modulus of HAHPAM solutions increased with addition of silica nanoparticles, and HAHPAM/silica hybrids exhibit better shear resistance and long-term thermal stability than HAHPAM in synthetic brine. Moreover, core flooding tests show that HAHPAM/silica hybrid has a higher oil recovery factor than HAHPAM solution.

  3. Enhanced Oil Recovery with Surfactant Flooding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandersen, Sara Bülow

    , thus reducing the interfacial tension (IFT) to ultra low (0.001 mN/m), which consequently will mobilize the residual oil and result in improved oil recovery. This EOR technology is, however, made challenging by a number of factors, such as the adsorption of surfactant and co-surfactant to the rock...... be resistant to and remain active at reservoir conditions such as high temperatures, pressures and salinities. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of systems that exhibit liquid-liquid equilibrium (e.g. oil-brine systems) at reservoir conditions is an area of increasing interest within EOR. This is true...... studied. The effect of increased pressure became more significant when combined with increasing temperature. The experiments performed on the oil/ seawater systems were similar to the high pressure experiments for the surfactant system discussed above. Oil was contacted with different brine solutions...

  4. Systematic Phase Behaviour Study and Foam Stability Analysis for Optimal Alkaline/Surfactant/Foam Enhanced Oil Recovery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hosseini Nasab, S.M.; Zitha, P.L.J.

    2015-01-01

    Alkaline-Surfactant-Foam (ASF) flooding is a recently introduced enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method. This paper presents laboratory study of this ASF to better understand its mechanisms. The focus is on the interaction of ASF chemical agents with oil and in the presence and absence of naphthenic

  5. Starting up microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegert, Michael; Sitte, Jana; Galushko, Alexander; Krüger, Martin

    2014-01-01

    This chapter gives the reader a practical introduction into microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) including the microbial production of natural gas from oil. Decision makers who consider the use of one of these technologies are provided with the required scientific background as well as with practical advice for upgrading an existing laboratory in order to conduct microbiological experiments. We believe that the conversion of residual oil into natural gas (methane) and the in situ production of biosurfactants are the most promising approaches for MEOR and therefore focus on these topics. Moreover, we give an introduction to the microbiology of oilfields and demonstrate that in situ microorganisms as well as injected cultures can help displace unrecoverable oil in place (OIP). After an initial research phase, the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) manager must decide whether MEOR would be economical. MEOR generally improves oil production but the increment may not justify the investment. Therefore, we provide a brief economical assessment at the end of this chapter. We describe the necessary state-of-the-art scientific equipment to guide EOR managers towards an appropriate MEOR strategy. Because it is inevitable to characterize the microbial community of an oilfield that should be treated using MEOR techniques, we describe three complementary start-up approaches. These are: (i) culturing methods, (ii) the characterization of microbial communities and possible bio-geochemical pathways by using molecular biology methods, and (iii) interfacial tension measurements. In conclusion, we hope that this chapter will facilitate a decision on whether to launch MEOR activities. We also provide an update on relevant literature for experienced MEOR researchers and oilfield operators. Microbiologists will learn about basic principles of interface physics needed to study the impact of microorganisms living on oil droplets. Last but not least, students and technicians trying to understand

  6. SolarOil Project, Phase I preliminary design report. [Solar Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baccaglini, G.; Bass, J.; Neill, J.; Nicolayeff, V.; Openshaw, F.

    1980-03-01

    The preliminary design of the Solar Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery (SolarOil) Plant is described in this document. This plant is designed to demonstrate that using solar thermal energy is technically feasible and economically viable in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The SolarOil Plant uses the fixed mirror solar concentrator (FMSC) to heat high thermal capacity oil (MCS-2046) to 322/sup 0/C (611/sup 0/F). The hot fluid is pumped from a hot oil storage tank (20 min capacity) through a once-through steam generator which produces 4.8 MPa (700 psi) steam at 80% quality. The plant net output, averaged over 24 hr/day for 365 days/yr, is equivalent to that of a 2.4 MW (8.33 x 10/sup 6/ Btu/hr) oil-fired steam generator having an 86% availability. The net plant efficiency is 57.3% at equinox noon, a 30%/yr average. The plant will be demonstrated at an oilfield site near Oildale, California.

  7. CO2 Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery: Bald Unit Test Site, Mumford Hills Oil Field, Posey County, Indiana

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frailey, Scott M. [Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States); Krapac, Ivan G. [Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States); Damico, James R. [Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States); Okwen, Roland T. [Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States); McKaskle, Ray W. [Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States)

    2012-03-30

    The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) carried out a small-scale carbon dioxide (CO2) injection test in a sandstone within the Clore Formation (Mississippian System, Chesterian Series) in order to gauge the large-scale CO2 storage that might be realized from enhanced oil recovery (EOR) of mature Illinois Basin oil fields via miscible liquid CO2 flooding.

  8. Evaluation of solution and rheological properties for hydrophobically associated polyacrylamide copolymer as a promised enhanced oil recovery candidate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.N. El-hoshoudy

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Crude oil is the most critical energy source in the world, especially for transportation, provision of heat and light as there has not been a sufficient energy source to replace crude oil has broadly integrated, so there is an urgent need to maximize the extraction of the original oil in-place for every reservoir, and accelerating the development of enhanced oil recovery (EOR technologies. Polymer flooding by hydrophobically associated polyacrylamides (HAPAM is a widely used technique through EOR technology. For successful application of these polymers, one should evaluate rheological and solution properties at simulated reservoir conditions as a function of polymer concentration, salinity, temperature and shear rate. The results showed that these copolymers exhibit favorable salt tolerance, temperature resistance, and recoverable viscosity after shearing, reasonable thickening behavior and improved viscosity enhancement properties due to presence of hydrophobic association in the copolymer main chains. Moreover, its capacity for oil production improvement was evaluated during flooding experiments through one dimensional sandstone model at simulated reservoir conditions.

  9. Foam-oil interaction in porous media: implications for foam assisted enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farajzadeh, R; Andrianov, A; Krastev, R; Hirasaki, G J; Rossen, W R

    2012-11-15

    The efficiency of a foam displacement process in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) depends largely on the stability of foam films in the presence of oil. Experimental studies have demonstrated the detrimental impact of oil on foam stability. This paper reviews the mechanisms and theories (disjoining pressure, coalescence and drainage, entering and spreading of oil, oil emulsification, pinch-off, etc.) suggested in the literature to explain the impact of oil on foam stability in the bulk and porous media. Moreover, we describe the existing approaches to foam modeling in porous media and the ways these models describe the oil effect on foam propagation in porous media. Further, we present various ideas on an improvement of foam stability and longevity in the presence of oil. The outstanding questions regarding foam-oil interactions and modeling of these interactions are pointed out. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. A database and probabilistic assessment methodology for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warwick, Peter D.; Verma, Mahendra K.; Attanasi, Emil; Olea, Ricardo A.; Blondes, Madalyn S.; Freeman, Philip; Brennan, Sean T.; Merrill, Matthew; Jahediesfanjani, Hossein; Roueche, Jacqueline; Lohr, Celeste D.

    2017-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed an assessment methodology for estimating the potential incremental technically recoverable oil resources resulting from carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) in reservoirs with appropriate depth, pressure, and oil composition. The methodology also includes a procedure for estimating the CO2 that remains in the reservoir after the CO2-EOR process is complete. The methodology relies on a reservoir-level database that incorporates commercially available geologic and engineering data. The mathematical calculations of this assessment methodology were tested and produced realistic results for the Permian Basin Horseshoe Atoll, Upper Pennsylvanian-Wolfcampian Play (Texas, USA). The USGS plans to use the new methodology to conduct an assessment of technically recoverable hydrocarbons and associated CO2 sequestration resulting from CO2-EOR in the United States.

  11. Joint inversion of time-lapse VSP data for monitoring CO2 injection at the Farnsworth EOR field in Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, M.; Gao, K.; Balch, R. S.; Huang, L.

    2016-12-01

    During the Development Phase (Phase III) of the U.S. Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration (SWP), time-lapse 3D vertical seismic profiling (VSP) data were acquired to monitor CO2 injection/migration at the Farnsworth Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) field, in partnership with the industrial partner Chaparral Energy. The project is to inject a million tons of carbon dioxide into the target formation, the deep oil-bearing Morrow Formation in the Farnsworth Unit EOR field. Quantitative time-lapse seismic monitoring has the potential to track CO2 movement in geologic carbon storage sites. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has recently developed new full-waveform inversion methods to jointly invert time-lapse seismic data for changes in elastic and anisotropic parameters in target monitoring regions such as a CO2 reservoir. We apply our new joint inversion methods to time-lapse VSP data acquired at the Farnsworth EOR filed, and present some preliminary results showing geophysical properties changes in the reservoir.

  12. Enhanced Oil Recovery with CO2 Capture and Sequestration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andrei, Maria; De Simoni, Michela; Delbianco, Alberto; Cazzani, Piero; Zanibelli, Laura

    2010-09-15

    This paper presents the results of a feasibility study aimed at extending the production life of a small oilfield in Italy through EOR, employing the CO2 captured from the flue gas streams of the refinery nearby. The EOR operation allows the recovery of additional reserves while a consistent amount of the CO2 injected remains permanently stored into the reservoir. The screening process selection for EOR-CO2 and the main elements of the pilot project for the proper upstream-downstream integration will be described. Evaluation of EOR-CO2 extension to other oilfields and its effect on oil production and project's economics will be reported.

  13. Quantification of oil recovery efficiency, CO 2 storage potential, and fluid-rock interactions by CWI in heterogeneous sandstone oil reservoirs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Seyyedi, Mojtaba; Sohrabi, Mehran; Sisson, Adam

    2017-01-01

    Significant interest exists in improving recovery from oil reservoirs while addressing concerns about increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. The combination of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and safe geologic storage of CO2 in oil reservoirs is appealing and can be achieved by carbonated (CO...... for oil recovery and CO2 storage potential on heterogeneous cores. Since not all the oil reservoirs are homogenous, understanding the potential of CWI as an integrated EOR and CO2 storage scenario in heterogeneous oil reservoirs is essential....

  14. A Multi-scale Approach for CO2 Accounting and Risk Analysis in CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Z.; Viswanathan, H. S.; Middleton, R. S.; Pan, F.; Ampomah, W.; Yang, C.; Jia, W.; Lee, S. Y.; McPherson, B. J. O. L.; Grigg, R.; White, M. D.

    2015-12-01

    Using carbon dioxide in enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) is a promising technology for emissions management because CO2-EOR can dramatically reduce carbon sequestration costs in the absence of greenhouse gas emissions policies that include incentives for carbon capture and storage. This study develops a multi-scale approach to perform CO2 accounting and risk analysis for understanding CO2 storage potential within an EOR environment at the Farnsworth Unit of the Anadarko Basin in northern Texas. A set of geostatistical-based Monte Carlo simulations of CO2-oil-water flow and transport in the Marrow formation are conducted for global sensitivity and statistical analysis of the major risk metrics: CO2 injection rate, CO2 first breakthrough time, CO2 production rate, cumulative net CO2 storage, cumulative oil and CH4 production, and water injection and production rates. A global sensitivity analysis indicates that reservoir permeability, porosity, and thickness are the major intrinsic reservoir parameters that control net CO2 injection/storage and oil/CH4 recovery rates. The well spacing (the distance between the injection and production wells) and the sequence of alternating CO2 and water injection are the major operational parameters for designing an effective five-spot CO2-EOR pattern. The response surface analysis shows that net CO2 injection rate increases with the increasing reservoir thickness, permeability, and porosity. The oil/CH4 production rates are positively correlated to reservoir permeability, porosity and thickness, but negatively correlated to the initial water saturation. The mean and confidence intervals are estimated for quantifying the uncertainty ranges of the risk metrics. The results from this study provide useful insights for understanding the CO2 storage potential and the corresponding risks of commercial-scale CO2-EOR fields.

  15. Fluid characterization for miscible EOR projects and CO2 sequestration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jessen, Kristian; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

    2007-01-01

    Accurate performance prediction of miscible enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) projects or CO, sequestration in depleted oil and gas reservoirs relies in part on the ability of an equation-of-state (EOS) model to adequately represent the properties of a wide range of mixtures of the resident fluid...... in the data reduction and demonstrate that for some gas/oil systems, swelling tests do not contribute to a more accurate prediction of multicontact miscibility. Finally, we report on the impact that use of EOS models based on different characterization procedures can have on recovery predictions from dynamic...... and the injected fluid(s). The mixtures that form when gas displaces oil in a porous medium will, in many cases, differ significantly from compositions created in swelling tests and other standard pressure/volume/temperature (PVT) experiments. Multicontact experiments (e.g., slimtube displacements) are often used...

  16. The system-wide economics of a carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage network: Texas Gulf Coast with pure CO2-EOR flood

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Carey W.; Gülen, Gürcan; Cohen, Stuart M.; Nuñez-Lopez, Vanessa

    2013-09-01

    This letter compares several bounding cases for understanding the economic viability of capturing large quantities of anthropogenic CO2 from coal-fired power generators within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas electric grid and using it for pure CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the onshore coastal region of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico. All captured CO2 in excess of that needed for EOR is sequestered in saline formations at the same geographic locations as the oil reservoirs but at a different depth. We analyze the extraction of oil from the same set of ten reservoirs within 20- and five-year time frames to describe how the scale of the carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) network changes to meet the rate of CO2 demand for oil recovery. Our analysis shows that there is a negative system-wide net present value (NPV) for all modeled scenarios. The system comes close to breakeven economics when capturing CO2 from three coal-fired power plants to produce oil via CO2-EOR over 20 years and assuming no CO2 emissions penalty. The NPV drops when we consider a larger network to produce oil more quickly (21 coal-fired generators with CO2 capture to produce 80% of the oil within five years). Upon applying a CO2 emissions penalty of 602009/tCO2 to fossil fuel emissions to ensure that coal-fired power plants with CO2 capture remain in baseload operation, the system economics drop significantly. We show near profitability for the cash flow of the EOR operations only; however, this situation requires relatively cheap electricity prices during operation.

  17. Technical and economic feasibility study of enhanced oil recovery in six Colombian fields. Appendix C. Export trade information

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1986-09-01

    The primary objectives of the study were to determine which of the reservoirs in the principal fields were amenable to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes, to evaluate which process was the most effective from both a technical and economic point of view, and to propose the steps required to further investigate the recommended EOR methods at the laboratory and field (pilot) level. Appendix C is divided into three sections: (A) Casabe Field; (B) La Cira Field; and (C) Tibu-Barco.

  18. Pore-scale simulation of wettability and interfacial tension effects on flooding process for enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jin; Wen, Dongsheng

    2017-08-27

    For enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications, the oil/water flow characteristics during the flooding process was numerically investigated with the volume-of-fluid method at the pore scale. A two-dimensional pore throat-body connecting structure was established, and four scenarios were simulated in this paper. For oil-saturated pores, the wettability effect on the flooding process was studied; for oil-unsaturated pores, three effects were modelled to investigate the oil/water phase flow behaviors, namely the wettability effect, the interfacial tension (IFT) effect, and the combined wettability/IFT effect. The results show that oil saturated pores with the water-wet state can lead to 25-40% more oil recovery than with the oil-wet state, and the remaining oil mainly stays in the near wall region of the pore bodies for oil-wet saturated pores. For oil-unsaturated pores, the wettability effects on the flooding process can help oil to detach from the pore walls. By decreasing the oil/water interfacial tension and altering the wettability from oil-wet to water-wet state, the remaining oil recovery rate can be enhanced successfully. The wettability-IFT combined effect shows better EOR potential compared with decreasing the interfacial tension alone under the oil-wet condition. The simulation results in this work are consistent with previous experimental and molecular dynamics simulation conclusions. The combination effect of the IFT reducation and wettability alteration can become an important recovery mechanism in future studies for nanoparticles, surfactant, and nanoparticle-surfactant hybrid flooding process.

  19. A 2d model for the effect of gas diffusion on mobility of foam for EOR

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nonnekes, L.E.; Cox, S.J.; Rossen, W.R.

    2012-01-01

    Transport of gas across liquid films between bubbles is cited as one reason why CO2 foams for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are usually weaker than N2 foams and why steam foams are weaker than foams of steam mixed with N2. We examine here the effect of inter-bubble gas diffusion on flowing bubbles in

  20. A Full-Featured User Friendly CO2-EOR and Sequestration Planning Software

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Savage, Bill [Nitec LLC, Denver, CO (United States)

    2013-11-30

    A Full-Featured, User Friendly CO2-EOR and Sequestration Planning Software This project addressed the development of an integrated software solution that includes a graphical user interface, numerical simulation, visualization tools and optimization processes for reservoir simulation modeling of CO2-EOR. The objective was to assist the industry in the development of domestic energy resources by expanding the application of CO2-EOR technologies, and ultimately to maximize the CO2} sequestration capacity of the U.S. The software resulted in a field-ready application for the industry to address the current CO2-EOR technologies. The software has been made available to the public without restrictions and with user friendly operating documentation and tutorials. The software (executable only) can be downloaded from NITEC’s website at www.nitecllc.com. This integrated solution enables the design, optimization and operation of CO2-EOR processes for small and mid-sized operators, who currently cannot afford the expensive, time intensive solutions that the major oil companies enjoy. Based on one estimate, small oil fields comprise 30% of the of total economic resource potential for the application of CO2-EOR processes in the U.S. This corresponds to 21.7 billion barrels of incremental, technically recoverable oil using the current “best practices”, and 31.9 billion barrels using “next-generation” CO2-EOR techniques. The project included a Case Study of a prospective CO2-EOR candidate field in Wyoming by a small independent, Linc Energy Petroleum Wyoming, Inc. NITEC LLC has an established track record of developing innovative and user friendly software. The Principle Investigator is an experienced manager and engineer with expertise in software development, numerical techniques, and GUI applications. Unique, presently-proprietary NITEC technologies have been integrated

  1. 4-D tomographic monitoring of enhanced oil recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brzostowski, M.A.; McMechan, G.A.

    1991-01-01

    One application of tomography that has recently received considerable attention is reservoir monitoring for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Tomographic monitoring of a moving steam front uses the significant decrease in compressional wave velocity that occurs as hydrocarbon temperature increases. The purposes of this paper are to present a working algorithm for 3-D tomography, to demonstrate the feasibility of 3-D imaging of a simulated reservoir in which the position of a steam front changes with time, and to illustrate the relations between survey geometry and the resolution of the target

  2. Environmental regulations handbook for enhanced oil recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madden, M.P.; Blatchford, R.P.; Spears, R.B.

    1991-12-01

    This handbook is intended to assist owners and operators of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations in acquiring some introductory knowledge of the various state agencies, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the many environmental laws, rules and regulations which can have jurisdiction over their permitting and compliance activities. It is a compendium of summarizations of environmental rules. It is not intended to give readers specific working details of what is required from them, nor can it be used in that manner. Readers of this handbook are encouraged to contact environmental control offices nearest to locations of interest for current regulations affecting them

  3. Environmental regulations handbook for enhanced oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Madden, M.P. [National Inst. for Petroleum and Energy Research, Bartlesville, OK (United States); Blatchford, R.P.; Spears, R.B. [Spears and Associates, Inc., Tulsa, OK (United States)

    1991-12-01

    This handbook is intended to assist owners and operators of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations in acquiring some introductory knowledge of the various state agencies, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the many environmental laws, rules and regulations which can have jurisdiction over their permitting and compliance activities. It is a compendium of summarizations of environmental rules. It is not intended to give readers specific working details of what is required from them, nor can it be used in that manner. Readers of this handbook are encouraged to contact environmental control offices nearest to locations of interest for current regulations affecting them.

  4. HEAVY-OIL PRODUCTION USING EMULSION FLOODING

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    ... American Petroleum Institute, EOR = Enhanced Oil Recovery, GOR = Gas Oil Ratio ... concentration, 166.003 is the constant (molar mass of ... (molar mass of CaCO3),1M is the constant value. ... volume of prepared oil-in-water emulsion, that.

  5. Production, Characterization, and Application of Bacillus licheniformis W16 Biosurfactant in Enhancing Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, Sanket J; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M; Al-Bahry, Saif N; Elshafie, Abdulkadir E; Al-Bemani, Ali S; Al-Bahri, Asma; Al-Mandhari, Musallam S

    2016-01-01

    The biosurfactant production by Bacillus licheniformis W16 and evaluation of biosurfactant based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using core-flood under reservoir conditions were investigated. Previously reported nine different production media were screened for biosurfactant production, and two were further optimized with different carbon sources (glucose, sucrose, starch, cane molasses, or date molasses), as well as the strain was screened for biosurfactant production during the growth in different media. The biosurfactant reduced the surface tension and interfacial tension to 24.33 ± 0.57 mN m -1 and 2.47 ± 0.32 mN m -1 respectively within 72 h, at 40°C, and also altered the wettability of a hydrophobic surface by changing the contact angle from 55.67 ± 1.6 to 19.54°± 0.96°. The critical micelle dilution values of 4X were observed. The biosurfactants were characterized by different analytical techniques and identified as lipopeptide, similar to lichenysin-A. The biosurfactant was stable over wide range of extreme environmental conditions. The core flood experiments showed that the biosurfactant was able to enhance the oil recovery by 24-26% over residual oil saturation (S or ). The results highlight the potential application of lipopeptide biosurfactant in wettability alteration and microbial EOR processes.

  6. Amphiphilic copolymers based on PEG-acrylate as surface active water viscosifiers : Towards new potential systems for enhanced oil recovery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Raffa, Patrizio; Broekhuis, Antonius A.; Picchioni, Francesco

    2016-01-01

    With the purpose of investigating new potential candidates for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), amphiphilic copolymers based on Poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate (PEGA) have been prepared by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP). A P(PEGA) homopolymer, a block copolymer with styrene

  7. The economics of CO2-EOR cluster developments in the UK Central North Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kemp, Alexander G.; Kasim, Sola

    2013-01-01

    Studies to date have generally shown that individual CO 2 -EOR offshore projects are uneconomic except under questionable assumptions. The present study is based on an interconnected cluster of nine oilfields in the Central North Sea linked to an onshore CO 2 collection hub by a set of existing and new pipelines. Monte Carlo simulation modelling was undertaken of the prospective returns to investments in CO 2 -EOR in the fields. Relatively high oil prices were employed for the study period (2020–2050) and two contrasting CO 2 transfer price scenarios, the first being the Carbon Price Floor (CPF) introduced by the UK Government and the second being relatively low negotiated prices reflecting recent and prospective levels under the EU-ETS. At CPF prices the investment returns were all found to be negative, but at prices averaging £10 per tonne positive returns were generally achieved. The study emphasises the importance of CO 2 prices and the taxation system in determining the viability of the investments. - Highlights: • Detailed modelling of CO 2 EOR in nine North Sea oil fields. • Overall investment risks are demonstrated to be very high. • Sharing of pipelines in network and cluster of CO 2 -EOR fields significantly reduces investment costs. • Range of plausible CO 2 prices paid by investor results in very wide range of returns from CO 2 -EOR. • CO 2 pricing and tax arrangements for EOR need further attention by policy makers

  8. Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Spontaneous Imbibition in Nanopores and Recovery of Asphaltenic Crude Oils Using Surfactants for EOR Applications Simulations de dynamique moléculaire d’imbibition spontanée dans des nanopores et pour la récupération d’huiles brutes asphalténiques en utilisant des agents tensioactifs pour des applications d’EOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stukan M.R.

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available We present Molecular Dynamics (MD simulations of the imbibition process in nanopores in case of two different mechanisms of the wettability modification. We compare the imbibition of an aqueous surfactant solution into an oil-wet pore driven by surfactant adsorption onto the oil-wet rock surface (coating mechanism and the imbibition of an aqueous surfactants solution driven by surfactants removing the contaminant molecules from the originally water-wet surface (cleaning mechanism. Our results show qualitative difference in the imbibition dynamics in these two cases and indicate that MD simulation is a useful tool to investigate details of the imbibition mechanisms at the pore scale with direct implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR operations. Nous presentons des simulations de Dynamique Moleculaire (DM du processus d’imbibition dans des nanopores dans le cas de deux mecanismes differents de modification de mouillabilite. Nous comparons l’imbibition d’une solution aqueuse d’agent tensioactif dans un pore mouille d’huile entrainee par une adsorption d’agent tensioactif sur la surface de roche mouillee d’huile (mecanisme de revetement et l’imbibition d’une solution aqueuse d’agent tensioactif entrainee par des agents tensioactifs eliminant les molecules contaminantes de la surface originellement mouillee d’eau (mecanisme de nettoyage. Nos resultats montrent une difference qualitative en matiere de dynamique d’imbibition dans ces deux cas et indiquent que la simulation de DM constitue un outil utile pour etudier les mecanismes d’imbibition a l’echelle des pores avec des implications directes pour des operations de recuperation renforcee d’huile (EOR, Enhanced Oil Recovery.

  9. Technology strategy for enhanced recovery; Technology Target Areas; TTA3 - enhanced recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2007-07-01

    The Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) is facing new challenges in reserve replacement and improved recovery in order to maintain the overall oil production rate from the area. A new target for an increase in oil reserves of 800 million Sm3 of oil (5 billion barrels) by year 2015 has been set by NPD. This is an ambitious goal considering several of the large fields are on a steep decline, and most of the recent discoveries are relatively small. A significant part of these increased reserves will have to come from fields currently on production, from reservoir areas that have been partly or fully swept, and it is therefore evident that Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods have to play a key role in achieving this target. EOR methods can be divided into gas based EOR methods and water based EOR methods. Thermal methods are not considered applicable on the NCS due to the relatively light oils present, and the depth of the reservoirs. Gas Based EOR; Water Based EOR; CO{sub 2} injection; Surfactants; Air injection; Polymer; Nitrogen injection; Alkaline; Flue gas injection; Polymer gels; WAG; MEOR; FAWAG. The former OG21 strategy document gave high priority to Water Alternating Gas (WAG) methods and CO{sub 2} injection for enhanced recovery. A lot of research and development and evaluation projects on CO{sub 2} injection were launched and are on-going, most of these are being CO{sub 2} WAG studies. The main challenge now in order to realize CO{sub 2} injection on the NCS is on CO{sub 2} availability and transport. It is also believed that increasing gas prices will limit the availability of hydrocarbon gas for injection purposes in the future. There is, however, a clear need for developing alternative cost efficient EOR methods that can improve the sweep efficiency significantly. Since a majority of the fields on the NCS are being produced under water flooding (or WAG), methods that can improve the water flooding efficiency by chemical additives are of special interest and

  10. EOR by stimulated microflora

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Svarovskaya, L.I.; Altunina, L.K.; Rozhenkova, Z.A.; Bulavin, V.D. [Institute of Petroleum Chemistry, Tomsk (Russian Federation)

    1995-12-31

    A combined microbiological and physico-chemical method for EOR has been developed for flooded West Siberia oil fields with formation temperature of 45{degrees}-95{degrees}C (318-365K). Formation water includes rich and various biocenoses numbering up to 2 x 10{sup 7} cells per ml. Representatives of genera, i.e, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Actinomyces, Micrococcus, Mycobacterium, Sarcina, etc. were found to be the most widely distributed microorganisms. The method is based on injection of systems exhibiting high oil displacing capacity and at the same time being an additional nitrous nutrient for endemic populations of microorganisms. Their injection into formation water favors biomass growth by 4-6 orders and promotes syntheses of biosurfactants, biopolymers, acids, etc., and gaseous products. The features of residual oil displacement have been studied on laboratory models using a combined microbiological and physico-chemical method. A curve for the yield of residual oil is presented by two peaks. The first peak is stipulated by the washing action of oil displacement system, and the second one by the effect of metabolites produced at stimulation of biogenic processes. Oil displacement index increases by 15%-30%.

  11. Modeling and simulation of multiphase multicomponent multiphysics porous media flows in the context of chemical enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutta, Sourav; Daripa, Prabir; Fluids Team

    2015-11-01

    One of the most important methods of chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) involves the use of complex flooding schemes comprising of various layers of fluids mixed with suitable amounts of polymer or surfactant or both. The fluid flow is characterized by the spontaneous formation of complex viscous fingering patterns which is considered detrimental to oil recovery. Here we numerically study the physics of such EOR processes using a modern, hybrid method based on a combination of a discontinuous, multiscale finite element formulation and the method of characteristics. We investigate the effect of different types of heterogeneity on the fingering mechanism of these complex multiphase flows and determine the impact on oil recovery. We also study the effect of surfactants on the dynamics of the flow via reduction of capillary forces and increase in relative permeabilities. Supported by the grant NPRP 08-777-1-141 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation).

  12. Applicability of anaerobic nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation to microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Hongbo; Carlson, Han K; Coates, John D

    2013-08-06

    Microbial processes that produce solid-phase minerals could be judiciously applied to modify rock porosity with subsequent alteration and improvement of floodwater sweep in petroleum reservoirs. However, there has been little investigation of the application of this to enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Here, we investigate a unique approach of altering reservoir petrology through the biogenesis of authigenic rock minerals. This process is mediated by anaerobic chemolithotrophic nitrate-dependent Fe(II)-oxidizing microorganisms that precipitate iron minerals from the metabolism of soluble ferrous iron (Fe(2+)) coupled to the reduction of nitrate. This mineral biogenesis can result in pore restriction and reduced pore throat diameter. Advantageously and unlike biomass plugs, these biominerals are not susceptible to pressure or thermal degradation. Furthermore, they do not require continual substrate addition for maintenance. Our studies demonstrate that the biogenesis of insoluble iron minerals in packed-bed columns results in effective hydrology alteration and homogenization of heterogeneous flowpaths upon stimulated microbial Fe(2+) biooxidation. We also demonstrate almost 100% improvement in oil recovery from hydrocarbon-saturated packed-bed columns as a result of this metabolism. These studies represent a novel departure from traditional microbial EOR approaches and indicate the potential for nitrate-dependent Fe(2+) biooxidation to improve volumetric sweep efficiency and enhance both the quality and quantity of oil recovered.

  13. CO{sub 2} capture and utilization for enhanced oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vilhelmsen, P.J.; Well, W. van; Nielsen, Charles [DONG Energy Generation, Fredericia (Denmark); Harrar, W.; Reffstrup, J. [DONG Energy Exploration and Production, Hoersholm (Denmark)

    2007-05-15

    CO{sub 2} is an international theme and the cap-and-trade systems under implementation will lead to significant alterations in the energy market and in the energy system altogether. A possible technical step to reduce atmospheric emissions is CO{sub 2} capture and the utilisation of the CO{sub 2} for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). CO{sub 2} capture is to some extent a know technology but has not yet been optimised and commercialised for power plant utilisation. Correspondingly CO{sub 2} utilisation for EOR is a known method in other areas of the world where the reservoir conditions are different from those of the North Sea. For several years Elsam and Energi E2, part of DONG Energy, have worked on reducing CO{sub 2} emissions through increased efficiency at the coal-fired power plants, and this work has now been extended to also include capture and utilisation of CO{sub 2}. DONG E and P within DONG Energy has started work on the utilisation of CO{sub 2} for EOR at the company's fields in the North Sea. Based on DONG Energy's interest in working through the whole value chain from power plants to EOR utilisation in the North Sea, this paper describes our experience with CO{sub 2} capture at the trial plant CASTOR at Esbjerg power plant and the actual work of investigating and preparing the pilot test of CO{sub 2} for EOR in the North Sea. The paper also illustrates the perspectives of retrofitting the existing fleet of super critical coal-fired power plants close to the North Sea with CO{sub 2} capture and the utilisation of the CO{sub 2} for EOR in the North Sea. DONG Energy's perspective is that CO{sub 2} for EOR can contribute to materialising the vision that the central power plant can be developed into an energy refinery. The development work presented will be carried out in cooperation with leading international players and Danish universities and knowledge centres Technical University of Denmark (DTU), The Danish Geotechnical Institute (GEO) and Geological

  14. Evaluating the climate benefits of CO2-enhanced oil recovery using life cycle analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooney, Gregory; Littlefield, James; Marriott, Joe; Skone, Timothy J

    2015-06-16

    This study uses life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) performance of carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) systems. A detailed gate-to-gate LCA model of EOR was developed and incorporated into a cradle-to-grave boundary with a functional unit of 1 MJ of combusted gasoline. The cradle-to-grave model includes two sources of CO2: natural domes and anthropogenic (fossil power equipped with carbon capture). A critical parameter is the crude recovery ratio, which describes how much crude is recovered for a fixed amount of purchased CO2. When CO2 is sourced from a natural dome, increasing the crude recovery ratio decreases emissions, the opposite is true for anthropogenic CO2. When the CO2 is sourced from a power plant, the electricity coproduct is assumed to displace existing power. With anthropogenic CO2, increasing the crude recovery ratio reduces the amount of CO2 required, thereby reducing the amount of power displaced and the corresponding credit. Only the anthropogenic EOR cases result in emissions lower than conventionally produced crude. This is not specific to EOR, rather the fact that carbon-intensive electricity is being displaced with captured electricity, and the fuel produced from that system receives a credit for this displacement.

  15. Large scale carbon dioxide production from coal-fired power stations for enhanced oil recovery : a new economic feasibility study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tontiwachwuthikul, P.; Chan, C.W.; Kritpiphat, W.; DeMontigny, D.; Skoropad, D.; Gelowitz, D.; Aroonwilas, A.; Mourits, F.; Wilson, M.; Ward, L.

    1998-01-01

    A study was conducted to investigate the economics of capturing carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants to be subsequently used as a flooding agent for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies. It was shown that the production of CO 2 for EOR projects can be technically and economically feasible, particularly when the concepts of cogeneration and optimization are used to reduce steam and electricity expenditures. This is done by using low-pressure steam and waste heat from various sections of the power generation process. It was shown that recovery costs could range between $0.50 to $2.00 per mscf. This translates to a recovered oil price of in the range of $17.39 to $19.95 per bbl., suggesting that even at today's low oil prices there is room for CO 2 flooding with flue gas extracted CO 2 . Practical implications for Saskatchewan were examined. 15 refs., 4 tabs., 7 figs

  16. Off-shore enhanced oil recovery in the North Sea: The impact of price uncertainty on the investment decisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Compernolle, T.; Welkenhuysen, K.; Huisman, K.; Piessens, K.; Kort, P.

    2017-01-01

    Although CO_2 Capture and Storage (CCS) is considered a key solution for CO_2 emission mitigation, it is currently not economically feasible. CO_2 enhanced oil recovery can play a significant role in stimulating CCS deployment because CO_2 is used to extract additional quantities of oil. This study analyzes the investment decision of both a carbon emitting source and an oil company separately by adopting a real options approach. It is shown that when uncertainty is integrated in the economic analysis, CO_2 and oil price threshold levels at which investments in CO_2 capture and enhanced oil recovery will take place, are higher than when a net present value approach is adopted. We also demonstrate that a tax on CO_2 instead of an emission trading system results in a lower investment threshold level for the investment in the CO_2 capture unit. Furthermore, we determine a minimum CO_2 selling price between the two firms and show that CO_2-EOR has the potential to pull CCS into the market by providing an additional revenue on the capture plant. However, when CO_2 permit prices are above an identifiable level, the EU ETS does not necessarily result in the adoption of CCS and stimulates oil production. - Highlights: • Real options theory is applied to study how uncertainty affects CO2EOR investments. • Compared to an NPV approach, investment threshold levels are higher. • A tax on CO2 would result in lower investment threshold levels compared to EUETS. • A minimum CO2 selling price is determined • The CO2 needed for enhanced oil recovery is not necessarily a cost.

  17. Production of a Lipopeptide Biosurfactant by a Novel Bacillus sp. and Its Applicability to Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varadavenkatesan, Thivaharan; Murty, Vytla Ramachandra

    2013-01-01

    Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds derived from varied microbial sources including bacteria and fungi. They are secreted extracellularly and have a wide range of exciting properties for bioremediation purposes. They also have vast applications in the food and medicine industry. With an objective of isolating microorganisms for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations, the study involved screening of organisms from an oil-contaminated site. Morphological, biochemical, and 16S rRNA analysis of the most promising candidate revealed it to be Bacillus siamensis, which has been associated with biosurfactant production, for the first time. Initial fermentation studies using mineral salt medium supplemented with crude oil resulted in a maximum biosurfactant yield of 0.64 g/L and reduction of surface tension to 36.1 mN/m at 96 h. Characterization studies were done using thin layer chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. FTIR spectra indicated the presence of carbonyl groups, alkyl bonds, and C-H and N-H stretching vibrations, typical of peptides. The extracted biosurfactant was stable at extreme temperatures, pH, and salinity. Its applicability to EOR was further verified by conducting sand pack column studies that yielded up to 60% oil recovery.

  18. Dataset on experimental investigation of gum arabic coated alumina nanoparticles for enhanced recovery of nigerian medium crude oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orodu, Oyinkepreye D; Orodu, Kale B; Afolabi, Richard O; Dafe, Eboh A

    2018-08-01

    The dataset in this article are related to an experimental Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) scheme involving the use of dispersions containing Gum Arabic coated Alumina Nanoparticles (GCNPs) for Nigerian medium crude oil. The result contained in the dataset showed a 7.18% (5 wt% GCNPs), 7.81% (5 wt% GCNPs), and 5.61% (3 wt% GCNPs) improvement in the recovery oil beyond the water flooding stage for core samples A, B, and C respectively. Also, the improvement in recovery of the medium crude oil by the GCNPs dispersions when compared to Gum Arabic polymer flooding was evident in the dataset.

  19. Assessment of environmental problems associated with increased enhanced oil recovery in the United States: 1980-2000

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaplan, E.; Garrell, M.; Royce, B.; Riedel, E.F.; Sathaye, J.

    1983-01-01

    Water requirements and uncontrolled air emissions from well vents and steam generators were estimated for each technology based upon available literature. Estimates of best air emission control technologies were made using data for EOR steam generators actually in use, as well as control technologies presently available but used by other industries. Amounts of solid wastes were calculated for each air emission control technology. Estimates were also made of the heavy metal content of these solid wastes. The study also included environmental residuals which may be expected should coal be used instead of lean crude to produce steam for thermal EOR. It was concluded that from an environmental prospective tertiary oil is preferable in many respects to shale oil, coal and synfuels. Alternative sources of oil such as syncrude, new exploration, and primary production could cause far more environmental damage than incremental EOR. Future EOR in specific regions may be constrained because of environmental issues: air emissions, solid waste disposal, water availability, and aquifer contaminators. Competition for water and the scarcity of surface water or groundwater which are low in total diminutive solids will impede some EOR projects. Risks of groundwater contamination should be minimized particularly because of requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency's new underground injection control program. A quantitative environmental assessment will require a complete and consistent data base for all fields for which EOR is planned out in which tertiary production is taking place. This is particularly true for EOR which will occur in Alaska or in offshore areas, where environments are fragile and where operating conditions are severe. 147 references, 29 figures, 46 tables.

  20. Interactions of fines with base fractions of oil and its implication in smart water flooding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chakravarty, Krishna Hara; Fosbøl, Philip Loldrup; Thomsen, Kaj

    2015-01-01

    Migration of fines, and formation of oil emulsion have been independently observed during smart water flooding both have been suggested to play a vital role in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). But, the exact role of fines and the reason of emulsion formation are not well studied for carbonate...... reservoirs. This study shows that addition of water and crude oil on calcite fines leads to formation of soluble oil emulsions in the water phase. Formation of these emulsions and its implication in EOR has been experimentally analyzed....

  1. Off-shore enhanced oil recovery in the north sea: matching CO_2 demand and supply given uncertain market conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Compernolle, Tine; Welkenhuysen, Kris; Huisman, Kuno; Piessens, Kris; Kort, Peter

    2015-04-01

    Introduction CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) entails the injection of CO2 in mature oil fields in order to mobilize the oil. In particular, the injected CO2 reduces the oil's viscosity and acts as a propellant, resulting in an increased oil extraction rate (Leach et al., 2011). Given uncertainty in both oil price and CO2 price under the EU ETS system, aim of this study is to analyze under which economic conditions a CO2 exchange can be established between a CO2 supplier (an electricity producer for whom CO2 is a by-product) and a CO2 user (an offshore oil company that exploits oil fields in the North Sea and needs CO2 for enhanced oil recovery). Methodology A techno-economic simulation tool, PSS IV, was developed to provide investment decision support on integrated CO2-EOR projects (Welkenhuysen et al., 2014). Until now, a fixed onshore supply of CO2 was presumed. An economic optimization model is now developed for both the CO2 producer and the CO2 user. Because net present value and discounted cash flow methods are inadequate to deal with issues like uncertainty and the irreversibility of an investment decision, the real options theory is applied (Dixit and Pindyck, 1994). The way in which cooperation between the companies can take place, will be studied using game theoretical concepts (Lukas and Welling, 2014). Economic and technical data on CO2 capture are available from the PSS database (Piessens et al., 2012). Data on EOR performance, CO2 requirements and various costs are taken from literature (BERR, 2007; Klokk et al., 2010; Pershad et al., 2012). Results/Findings It will be shown what the impact of price uncertainty is on the investment decision of the electricity producer to capture and sell CO2, and on the decision of the oil producer to make the necessary investments to inject CO2 for enhanced oil recovery. Based on these results, it will be determined under which economic conditions a CO2 exchange and transport can take place. Furthermore, also the

  2. Microfluidics: an enabling screening technology for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lifton, Victor A

    2016-05-21

    Oil production is a critical industrial process that affects the entire world population and any improvements in its efficiency while reducing its environmental impact are of utmost societal importance. The paper reviews recent applications of microfluidics and microtechnology to study processes of oil extraction and recovery. It shows that microfluidic devices can be useful tools in investigation and visualization of such processes used in the oil & gas industry as fluid propagation, flooding, fracturing, emulsification and many others. Critical macro-scale processes that define oil extraction and recovery are controlled by the micro-scale processes based on wetting, adhesion, surface tension, colloids and other concepts of microfluidics. A growing number of research efforts demonstrates that microfluidics is becoming, albeit slowly, an accepted methodology in this area. We propose several areas of development where implementation of microfluidics may bring about deeper understanding and hence better control over the processes of oil recovery based on fluid propagation, droplet generation, wettability control. Studies of processes such as hydraulic fracturing, sand particle propagation in porous networks, high throughput screening of chemicals (for example, emulsifiers and surfactants) in microfluidic devices that simulate oil reservoirs are proposed to improve our understanding of these complicated physico-chemical systems. We also discuss why methods of additive manufacturing (3D printing) should be evaluated for quick prototyping and modification of the three-dimensional structures replicating natural oil-bearing rock formations for studies accessible to a wider audience of researchers.

  3. Research needs to maximize economic producibility of the domestic oil resource

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tham, M.K.; Burchfield, T.; Chung, Ting-Horng; Lorenz, P.; Bryant, R.; Sarathi, P.; Chang, Ming Ming; Jackson, S.; Tomutsa, L.; Dauben, D.L.

    1991-10-01

    NIPER was contracted by the US Department of Energy Bartlesville (Okla.) Project Office (DOE/BPO) to identify research needs to increase production of the domestic oil resource, and K ampersand A Energy Consultants, Inc. was subcontracted to review EOR field projects. This report summarizes the findings of that investigation. Professional society and trade journals, DOE reports, dissertations, and patent literature were reviewed to determine the state-of-the-art of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and drilling technologies and the constraints to wider application of these technologies. The impacts of EOR on the environment and the constraints to the application of EOR due to environmental regulations were also reviewed. A review of well documented EOR field projects showed that in addition to the technical constraints, management factors also contributed to the lower-than-predicted oil recovery in some of the projects reviewed. DOE-sponsored projects were reviewed, and the achievements by these projects and the constraints which these projects were designed to overcome were also identified. Methods of technology transfer utilized by the DOE were reviewed, and several recommendations for future technology transfer were made. Finally, several research areas were identified and recommended to maximize economic producibility of the domestic oil resource. 14 figs., 41 tabs

  4. Research needs to maximize economic producibility of the domestic oil resource

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tham, M.K.; Burchfield, T.; Chung, Ting-Horng; Lorenz, P.; Bryant, R.; Sarathi, P.; Chang, Ming Ming; Jackson, S.; Tomutsa, L. (National Inst. for Petroleum and Energy Research, Bartlesville, OK (United States)); Dauben, D.L. (K and A Energy Consultants, Inc., Tulsa, OK (United States))

    1991-10-01

    NIPER was contracted by the US Department of Energy Bartlesville (Okla.) Project Office (DOE/BPO) to identify research needs to increase production of the domestic oil resource, and K A Energy Consultants, Inc. was subcontracted to review EOR field projects. This report summarizes the findings of that investigation. Professional society and trade journals, DOE reports, dissertations, and patent literature were reviewed to determine the state-of-the-art of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and drilling technologies and the constraints to wider application of these technologies. The impacts of EOR on the environment and the constraints to the application of EOR due to environmental regulations were also reviewed. A review of well documented EOR field projects showed that in addition to the technical constraints, management factors also contributed to the lower-than-predicted oil recovery in some of the projects reviewed. DOE-sponsored projects were reviewed, and the achievements by these projects and the constraints which these projects were designed to overcome were also identified. Methods of technology transfer utilized by the DOE were reviewed, and several recommendations for future technology transfer were made. Finally, several research areas were identified and recommended to maximize economic producibility of the domestic oil resource. 14 figs., 41 tabs.

  5. Brine crude oil interactions at the oil-water interface

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chakravarty, Krishna Hara; Fosbøl, Philip Loldrup; Thomsen, Kaj

    2015-01-01

    The impact of brine salinity and its ionic composition on oil displacement efficiency has been investigated extensively in recent years due to the potential of enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Wettability alterations through relative interactions at the mineral surface have been the basis of proposed...... in enhancing oil emulsion formation by increasing interactions between polar acids and brine solutions. The results propose the potential use of HPO42- ions in reservoirs having inactive mineral surfaces. The relative oil affinity of different ions including K+, Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ (cations), and Cl-, SO42...... and thus reduces the interfacial viscoelasticity of the trapped oil. These results show significant correlation between oil emulsion formation and increased oil recovery. Copyright 2015; Society of Petroleum Engineers...

  6. Distance determination of NPP and oil reservoir on enhanced oil recovery based on heat loss and safety in view point

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erlan Dewita; Dedy Priambodo; Sudi Ariyanto

    2013-01-01

    EOR is a method used to increasing oil recovery by injecting material or other to the reservoir. There are 3 EOR technique have been used in the world, namely thermal injection, chemical injection dan Miscible. Thermal injection method is the method most widely used in the world, however, one drawback is the loss of heat during steam distribution to the injection wells. In Indonesia, EOR application has been successfully done in the field of Duri, Chevron uses steam injection method, but still use petroleum as a fuel for steam production. In order to save oil reserves, it was done the introduction of co-generation nuclear power plants to supply some of the heat of nuclear power plants for EOR processes. In cogeneration nuclear power plant, the safety aspect is main priority. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the distance NPP with oil wells by considering heat loss and safety aspects. The method of study and calculations done using Tempo Cycle program. The study results showed that in the distance of 400 meter as exclusion zone of PBMR reactor, with pipe insulation thickness 1 in, the amount of heat loss of 277, 883 kw, while in pipe isolation thickness 2 in, amount of heat loss became 162,634 kw and with isolation thickness 3 in, amount of heat loss 120,767 kw., heat loss can be overcome and provide insulation pipes and improve the quality of saturated steam into superheated. (author)

  7. Monitoring of IOR/EOR operations by electrical prospecting; Denki tansaho ni yoru IOR/EOR monitoring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ushijima, K; Mizunaga, H; Ikeda, H; Masuda, K [Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

    1996-10-01

    Fluid flow tomography (FFT) was developed to monitor enhanced oil recovery IOR/EOR operations. This method uses a casing pipe as linear current source by connecting a current electrode with a well inlet, and the other electrode is grounded at a point far different from the well. Potentials are rapidly measured at the same time by multi-channel receiving electrodes installed on the ground to obtain time series data composed of charged potential and superimposed spontaneous potential. After separation of both potentials, the charged potential data are processed by the conventional mise-a-la-masse method to extract local anomaly, determine the residual distribution and relative change distribution of time-sliced apparent resistivity, and obtain the 3-D profile of fluid. The spontaneous potential is also processed to obtain the deflection distribution of time-sliced potential at a specific time. Quantitative 3-D interpretation is conducted focusing attention on the generation mechanism of spontaneous potential. Behavior of underground permeated flow is determined as time series animation images to image fluid direction. This method was effective in real fields. 8 refs., 4 figs.

  8. Maximize Liquid Oil Production from Shale Oil and Gas Condensate Reservoirs by Cyclic Gas Injection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheng, James [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Li, Lei [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Yu, Yang [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Meng, Xingbang [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Sharma, Sharanya [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Huang, Siyuan [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Shen, Ziqi [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Zhang, Yao [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Wang, Xiukun [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States); Carey, Bill [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Nguyen, Phong [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Porter, Mark [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Jimenez-Martinez, Joaquin [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Viswanathan, Hari [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Mody, Fersheed [Apache Corp., Houston, TX (United States); Barnes, Warren [Apache Corp., Houston, TX (United States); Cook, Tim [Apache Corp., Houston, TX (United States); Griffith, Paul [Apache Corp., Houston, TX (United States)

    2017-11-17

    The current technology to produce shale oil reservoirs is the primary depletion using fractured wells (generally horizontal wells). The oil recovery is less than 10%. The prize to enhance oil recovery (EOR) is big. Based on our earlier simulation study, huff-n-puff gas injection has the highest EOR potential. This project was to explore the potential extensively and from broader aspects. The huff-n-puff gas injection was compared with gas flooding, water huff-n-puff and waterflooding. The potential to mitigate liquid blockage was also studied and the gas huff-n-puff method was compared with other solvent methods. Field pilot tests were initiated but terminated owing to the low oil price and the operator’s budget cut. To meet the original project objectives, efforts were made to review existing and relevant field projects in shale and tight reservoirs. The fundamental flow in nanopores was also studied.

  9. Integrated Mid-Continent Carbon Capture, Sequestration & Enhanced Oil Recovery Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brian McPherson

    2010-08-31

    A consortium of research partners led by the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration and industry partners, including CAP CO2 LLC, Blue Source LLC, Coffeyville Resources, Nitrogen Fertilizers LLC, Ash Grove Cement Company, Kansas Ethanol LLC, Headwaters Clean Carbon Services, Black & Veatch, and Schlumberger Carbon Services, conducted a feasibility study of a large-scale CCS commercialization project that included large-scale CO{sub 2} sources. The overall objective of this project, entitled the 'Integrated Mid-Continent Carbon Capture, Sequestration and Enhanced Oil Recovery Project' was to design an integrated system of US mid-continent industrial CO{sub 2} sources with CO{sub 2} capture, and geologic sequestration in deep saline formations and in oil field reservoirs with concomitant EOR. Findings of this project suggest that deep saline sequestration in the mid-continent region is not feasible without major financial incentives, such as tax credits or otherwise, that do not exist at this time. However, results of the analysis suggest that enhanced oil recovery with carbon sequestration is indeed feasible and practical for specific types of geologic settings in the Midwestern U.S.

  10. Citronelle Dome: A giant opportunity for multizone carbon storage and enhanced oil recovery in the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin of Alabama

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esposito, R.A.; Pashin, J.C.; Walsh, P.M.

    2008-01-01

    The Citronelle Dome is a giant, salt-cored anticline in the eastern Mississippi Interior Salt Basin of southern Alabama that is located near several large-scale, stationary, carbon-emitting sources in the greater Mobile area. The dome forms an elliptical, four-way structural closure containing opportunities for CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) and large-capacity saline reservoir CO2 sequestration. The Citronelle oil field, located on the crest of the dome, has produced more than 169 million bbl of 42-46?? API gravity oil from sandstone bodies in the Lower Cretaceous Rodessa Formation. The top seal for the oil accumulation is a thick succession of shale and anhydrite, and the reservoir is underfilled such that oil-water contacts are typically elevated 30-60 m (100-200 ft) above the structural spill point. Approximately 31-34% of the original oil in place has been recovered by primary and secondary methods, and CO2-EOR has the potential to increase reserves by up to 20%. Structural contour maps of the dome demonstrate that the area of structural closure increases upward in section. Sandstone units providing prospective carbon sinks include the Massive and Pilot sands of the lower Tuscaloosa Group, as well as several sandstone units in the upper Tuscaloosa Group and the Eutaw Formation. Many of these sandstone units are characterized by high porosity and permeability with low heterogeneity. The Tuscaloosa-Eutaw interval is capped by up to 610 m (2000 ft) of chalk and marine shale that are proven reservoir seals in nearby oil fields. Therefore, the Citronelle Dome can be considered a major geologic sink where CO2 can be safely stored while realizing the economic benefits associated with CO2-EOR. Copyright ?? 2008. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists/Division of Environmental Geosciences. All rights reserved.

  11. Impact of Three-Phase Relative Permeability and Hysteresis Models on Forecasts of Storage Associated With CO2-EOR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Wei; McPherson, Brian; Pan, Feng; Dai, Zhenxue; Moodie, Nathan; Xiao, Ting

    2018-02-01

    Geological CO2 sequestration in conjunction with enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) includes complex multiphase flow processes compared to CO2 storage in deep saline aquifers. Two of the most important factors affecting multiphase flow in CO2-EOR are three-phase relative permeability and associated hysteresis, both of which are difficult to measure and are usually represented by numerical interpolation models. The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of (1) the relative impacts of different three-phase relative permeability models and hysteresis models on CO2 trapping mechanisms, and (2) uncertainty associated with these two factors. Four different three-phase relative permeability models and three hysteresis models were applied to simulations of an active CO2-EOR site, the SACROC unit located in western Texas. To eliminate possible bias of deterministic parameters, we utilized a sequential Gaussian simulation technique to generate 50 realizations to describe heterogeneity of porosity and permeability, based on data obtained from well logs and seismic survey. Simulation results of forecasted CO2 storage suggested that (1) the choice of three-phase relative permeability model and hysteresis model led to noticeable impacts on forecasted CO2 sequestration capacity; (2) impacts of three-phase relative permeability models and hysteresis models on CO2 trapping are small during the CO2-EOR injection period, and increase during the post-EOR CO2 injection period; (3) the specific choice of hysteresis model is more important relative to the choice of three-phase relative permeability model; and (4) using the recommended three-phase WAG (Water-Alternating-Gas) hysteresis model may increase the impact of three-phase relative permeability models and uncertainty due to heterogeneity.

  12. Improved Characterization and Modeling of Tight Oil Formations for CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential and Storage Capacity Estimation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sorensen, James [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Smith, Steven [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Kurz, Bethany [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Hawthorne, Steven [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Jin, Lu [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Bosshart, Nicholas [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Torres, Jose [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Nyberg, Carolyn [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Heebink, Loreal [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC); Hurley, John [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States). Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC)

    2018-03-09

    Tight oil formations such as those in the Bakken petroleum system are known to hold hundreds of billions of barrels of oil in place; however, the primary recovery factor for these plays is typically less than 10%. Tight oil formations, including the Bakken Formation, therefore, may be attractive candidates for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using CO2. Multiphase fluid behavior and flow in fluid-rich shales can vary substantially depending on the size of pore throats, and properties such as fluid viscosity and density are much different in nanoscale pores than in macroscale pores. Thus it is critical to understand the nature and distribution of nano-, micro-, and macroscale pores and fracture networks. To address these issues, the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has been conducting a research program entitled “Improved Characterization and Modeling of Tight Oil Formations for CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential and Storage Capacity Estimation.” The objectives of the project are 1) the use of advanced characterization methods to better understand and quantify the petrophysical and geomechanical factors that control CO2 and oil mobility within tight oil formation samples, 2) the determination of CO2 permeation and oil extraction rates in tight reservoir rocks and organic-rich shales of the Bakken, and 3) the integration of the laboratory-based CO2 permeation and oil extraction data and the characterization data into geologic models and dynamic simulations to develop predictions of CO2 storage resource and EOR in the Bakken tight oil formation. A combination of standard and advanced petrophysical characterization techniques were applied to characterize samples of Bakken Formation tight reservoir rock and shales from multiple wells. Techniques included advanced computer tomography (CT) imaging, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, whole-core and micro x-ray CT imaging, field

  13. Artificial Neural Network Model to Estimate the Viscosity of Polymer Solutions for Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pan-Sang Kang

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Polymer flooding is now considered a technically- and commercially-proven method for enhanced oil recovery (EOR. The viscosity of the injected polymer solution is the key property for successful polymer flooding. Given that the viscosity of a polymer solution has a non-linear relationship with various influential parameters (molecular weight, degree of hydrolysis, polymer concentration, cation concentration of polymer solution, shear rate, temperature and that measurement of viscosity based on these parameters is a time-consuming process, the range of solution samples and the measurement conditions need to be limited and precise. Viscosity estimation of the polymer solution is effective for these purposes. An artificial neural network (ANN was applied to the viscosity estimation of FlopaamTM 3330S, FlopaamTM 3630S and AN-125 solutions, three commonly-used EOR polymers. The viscosities measured and estimated by ANN and the Carreau model using Lee’s correlation, the only method for estimating the viscosity of an EOR polymer solution in unmeasured conditions, were compared. Estimation accuracy was evaluated by the average absolute relative deviation, which has been widely used for accuracy evaluation of the results of ANN models. In all conditions, the accuracy of the ANN model is higher than that of the Carreau model using Lee’s correlation.

  14. Application of fractal theory in refined reservoir description for EOR pilot area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yue Li; Yonggang Duan; Yun Li; Yuan Lu

    1997-08-01

    A reliable reservoir description is essential to investigate scenarios for successful EOR pilot test. Reservoir characterization includes formation composition, permeability, porosity, reservoir fluids and other petrophysical parameters. In this study, various new tools have been applied to characterize Kilamayi conglomerate formation. This paper examines the merits of various statistical methods for recognizing rock property correlation in vertical columns and gives out methods to determine fractal dimension including R/S analysis and power spectral analysis. The paper also demonstrates that there is obvious fractal characteristics in conglomerate reservoirs of Kilamayi oil fields. Well log data in EOR pilot area are used to get distribution profile of parameters including permeability, porosity, water saturation and shale content.

  15. Performance experimental investigation of novel multifunctional nanohybrids on enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gharibshahi, Reza; Jafari, Arezou; Omidkhah, Mohammadreza; Nezhad, Javad Razavi

    2018-01-01

    The unique characteristics of materials at the nanoscale make them a good candidate to use in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Therefore, in this study, the effect of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube/silica nanohybrids on the oil recovery factor is investigated experimentally and nanofluids were injected into a glass micromodel for the first time. The nanohybrids synthesized by using sol-gel method. Micromodels as microscale apparatuses considered as 2D porous medium. Because they enable visual observation of phase displacement behavior at the pore scale. Distillated water used as the dispersion medium of nanoparticles for nanofluids preparation. A series of runs designed for flooding operations included water injection, carbon nanotube/water injection and two nanohybrids with different weight of MWCNT to the overall weight of the nanohybrid structure (10% and 70%) into the distilled water. Also, the oil recovery factor was considered as the goal parameter to compare the results. It has been found that functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube/silica nanohybrids have a great potential in enhanced oil recovery processes. Results showed that addition of nanohybrids into distillate water causes enhancement of sweep efficiency. In other words, the fingering effect decreases and higher surface of porous medium is in contact with the injected fluid. So the higher amount of oil can produce from the porous medium consequently. By injecting nanofluid with 0.1 wt. % of carbon nanotube, the oil recovery factor increases about 11 % in comparison with water injection alone. Also by increasing the weight of MWCNT to the overall weight of the nanohybrid structure from 10% to 70%, the oil recovery factor increases from 35% to 39%.

  16. Wettability Improvement with Enzymes: Application to Enhanced Oil Recovery under Conditions of the North Sea Reservoirs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khusainova, Alsu; Shapiro, Alexander; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

    2012-01-01

    (Nasiri et al., 2009), working mechanisms are poorly known and understood. The main goal of the present work is to establish possible mechanisms in which enzymes may enhance oil recovery. Improvement of the brine wettability of the rock and decrease of oil adhesion to it by addition of an enzyme is one...... of the possible mechanisms of enzymatic action. This mechanism has been investigated experimentally, by measurements of the contact angles between oil drops and enzyme solutions in brine on the mineral surfaces. Fifteen enzyme samples belonging to different enzyme classes, such as esterases/lipases, carbohydrases......, proteases and oxidoreductases, provided by Novozymes, have been investigated. Two commercial mixtures containing enzymes: Apollo-GreenZyme™ and EOR-ZYMAX™ have also been applied. The North Sea dead oil and the synthetic sea water were used as test fluids. Internal surface of a carbonate rock has been...

  17. On the feasibility of inducing oil mobilization in existing reservoirs via wellbore harmonic fluid action

    KAUST Repository

    Jeong, Chanseok; Huh, Chun; Kallivokas, Loukas F.

    2011-01-01

    Although vibration-based mobilization of oil remaining in mature reservoirs is a promising low-cost method of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), research on its applicability at the reservoir scale is still at an early stage. In this paper, we use

  18. Nanoparticle-stabilized CO₂ foam for CO₂ EOR application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Ning [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); Lee, Robert [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); Yu, Jianjia [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); Li, Liangxiong [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); Bustamante, Elizabeth [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); Khalil, Munawar [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); Mo, Di [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); Jia, Bao [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); Wang, Sai [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); San, Jingshan [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States); An, Cheng [New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center, Socorro, NM (United States)

    2015-01-31

    The purpose of this project was to develop nanoparticle-stabilized CO₂ foam for CO₂ -EOR application, in which nanoparticles instead of surfactants are used for stabilizing CO₂ foam to improve the CO₂ sweep efficiency and increase oil recovery. The studies included: (1) investigation of CO₂ foam generation nanoparticles, such as silica nanoparticles, and the effects of particle concentration and surface properties, CO₂/brine ratio, brine salinity, pressure, and temperature on foam generation and foam stability; (2) coreflooding tests to understand the nanoparticle-stabilized CO₂ foam for waterflooded residual oil recovery, which include: oil-free coreflooding experiments with nanoparticle-stabilized CO₂ foam to understand the transportation of nanoparticles through the core; measurements of foam stability and CO₂ sweep efficiency under reservoir conditions to investigate temperature and pressure effects on the foam performance and oil recovery as well as the sweep efficiency in different core samples with different rock properties; and (3) long-term coreflooding experiments with the nanoparticle- stabilized CO₂ foam for residual oil recovery. Finally, the technical and economical feasibility of this technology was evaluated.

  19. Prediction of fluid phase behaviors in a CO{sub 2}-EOR process in Weyburn Field, Saskatchewan, Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, L.; Law, D.H.S. [Alberta Research Council, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Freitag, N.; Huang, S. [Saskatchewan Research Council, Regina, SK (Canada)

    2005-07-01

    The mechanisms of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) storage in an oil depleted reservoir are being studied at the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Weyburn CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project in Saskatchewan. One of the objectives of this multi-disciplinary project has been to develop a Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) model for the CO{sub 2}-Weyburn oil system that can be coupled with compositional reservoir models for short- and long-term field-scale reservoir simulations. In order to assess the long term risk of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) injection for the purpose of EOR, it is important to accurately predict the CO{sub 2} distribution in different phases in the reservoir (aqueous, oleic and gaseous). The newly developed seven-component PVT model for Weyburn oil was based on measurements of phase-behavior properties such as oil density, viscosity, gas-oil ratio, saturation pressure and minimum miscibility pressure from oil samples collected from wells in different parts of the reservoir. The Peng-Robinson equation of state was used for the PVT model development and CO{sub 2} solubility in water was described by Henry's Law. Estimations of mineral trapping, ionic trapping and solubility trapping of CO{sub 2} are based on the amount of CO{sub 2} stored in the aqueous phase, but the amount of CO{sub 2} stored in the gaseous phase, which is the most mobile phase of CO{sub 2} in the reservoir, is essential in the estimation of CO{sub 2} leakage. The model was continuously modified as the field process proceeded in order to identify the dynamic change in fluid properties and the effect of contaminants in the injecting CO{sub 2}. The model, coupled with a compositional reservoir model, was used to predict the CO{sub 2} distribution and storage performance in the Weyburn field. 2 refs., 4 tabs., 8 figs.

  20. CO2-EOR:Approaching an NCNO classification

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nunez-Lopez, Vanessa [The University of Texas at Austin; Gil-Egui, Ramon

    2017-09-20

    This presentation provides an overview of progress made under the sponsored project and provides valuable input into the following questions: 1. Is CO2-EOR a valid option for greenhouse gas emission reduction? 2. How do different injection strategies affect EOR's Carbon Balance? 3. What is the impact of different gas separation processes on EOR emissions? 4. What is the impact of the downstream emissions on the Carbon Balance?

  1. Design and screening of synergistic blends of SiO2 nanoparticles and surfactants for enhanced oil recovery in high-temperature reservoirs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le, Nhu Y Thi; Pham, Duy Khanh; Le, Kim Hung; Nguyen, Phuong Tung

    2011-01-01

    SiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by the sol–gel method in an ultrasound reactor and monodispersed NPs with an average particle size of 10–12 nm were obtained. The synergy occurring in blending NPs and anionic surfactant solutions was identified by ultra-low interfacial tension (IFT) reduction measured by a spinning drop tensiometer (Temco500). The oil displacement efficiency of the synergistic blends and surfactant solutions at Dragon South-East (DSE) reservoir temperature was evaluated using contact angle measurement (Dataphysics OCA 20). It was found that SiO 2 /surfactant synergistic blends displace oil as well as their original surfactant solutions at the same 1000 ppm total concentration. Abundant slag appearing in the SiO 2 /surfactant medium during oil displacement could be attributed to an adsorption of surfactants onto the NPs. The results indicate that at a concentration of 1000 ppm in total, the original surfactant SS16-47A and its blend with SiO 2 NPs in the ratio of 8:2 exhibited an IFT reduction as high as fourfold of the IFT recorded for the DSE oil–brine interface and very high speed of oil displacement. Therefore, it could potentially be applicable to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in high-temperature reservoirs with high hardness-injection-brine, like the one at DSE. This opens up a new direction for developing effective EOR compositions, which require less surfactant and are environmentally safer

  2. Adsorption of surfactants on sand surface in enhanced oil recovery: Isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamic studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bera, Achinta; Kumar, T.; Ojha, Keka; Mandal, Ajay, E-mail: mandal_ajay@hotmail.com

    2013-11-01

    Adsorption of surfactants onto reservoir rock surface may result in the loss and reduction of their concentrations in surfactant flooding, which may render them less efficient or ineffective in practical applications of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. Surfactant flooding for EOR received attraction due to its ability to increase the displacement efficiency by lowering the interfacial tension between oil and water and mobilizing the residual oil. This article highlights the adsorption of surfactants onto sand surface with variation of different influencing factors. It has been experimentally found that adsorption of cationic surfactant on sand surface is more and less for anionic surfactant, while non-ionic surfactant shows intermediate behaviour. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study of clean sand particles has been made to determine the main component present in the sand particles. The interaction between sand particles and surfactant has been studied by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy of the sand particles before and after aging with surfactant. Salinity plays an important role in adsorption of anionic surfactant. Batch experiments were also performed to understand the effects of pH and adsorbent dose on the sorption efficiency. The sand particles exhibited high adsorption efficiency at low pH for anionic and nonionic surfactants. But opposite trend was found for cationic surfactant. Adsorption data were analyzed by fitting with Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, and Sips isotherm models. Results show that the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetics models suit the equilibrium and kinetics of adsorption on sand surface. Thermodynamics feasibility of the adsorption process was also studied to verify the spontaneity of the process.

  3. Advanced Reservoir Characterization in the Antelope Shale to Establish the Viability of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery in California's Monterey Formation Siliceous Shales

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morea, Michael F.

    1999-01-01

    The primary objective of this research is to conduct advanced reservoir characterization and modeling studies in the Antelope Shale reservoir. Characterization studies will be used to determine the technical feasibility of implementing a CO2 enhanced oil recovery project in the Antelope Shale in Buena Vista Hills Field. The Buena Vista Hills pilot CO2 project will demonstrate the economic viability and widespread applicability of CO2 flooding in fractured siliceous shale reservoirs of the San Joaquin Valley. The research consists of four primary work processes: (1) Reservoir Matrix and Fluid Characterization; (2) Fracture characterization; (3) reservoir Modeling and Simulation; and (4) CO2 Pilot Flood and Evaluation. Work done in these areas is subdivided into two phases or budget periods. The first phase of the project will focus on the application of a variety of advanced reservoir characterization techniques to determine the production characteristics of the Antelope Shale reservoir. Reservoir models based on the results of the characterization work will be used to evaluate how the reservoir will respond to secondary recovery and EOR processes. The second phase of the project will include the implementation and evaluation of an advanced enhanced oil recovery (EOR) pilot in the United Anticline (West Dome) of the Buena Vista Hills Field

  4. Applying monitoring, verification, and accounting techniques to a real-world, enhanced oil recovery operational CO2 leak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wimmer, B.T.; Krapac, I.G.; Locke, R.; Iranmanesh, A.

    2011-01-01

    The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is being tested for oil fields in the Illinois Basin, USA. While this technology has shown promise for improving oil production, it has raised some issues about the safety of CO2 injection and storage. The Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium (MGSC) organized a Monitoring, Verification, and Accounting (MVA) team to develop and deploy monitoring programs at three EOR sites in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky, USA. MVA goals include establishing baseline conditions to evaluate potential impacts from CO2 injection, demonstrating that project activities are protective of human health and the environment, and providing an accurate accounting of stored CO2. This paper focuses on the use of MVA techniques in monitoring a small CO2 leak from a supply line at an EOR facility under real-world conditions. The ability of shallow monitoring techniques to detect and quantify a CO2 leak under real-world conditions has been largely unproven. In July of 2009, a leak in the pipe supplying pressurized CO2 to an injection well was observed at an MGSC EOR site located in west-central Kentucky. Carbon dioxide was escaping from the supply pipe located approximately 1 m underground. The leak was discovered visually by site personnel and injection was halted immediately. At its largest extent, the hole created by the leak was approximately 1.9 m long by 1.7 m wide and 0.7 m deep in the land surface. This circumstance provided an excellent opportunity to evaluate the performance of several monitoring techniques including soil CO2 flux measurements, portable infrared gas analysis, thermal infrared imagery, and aerial hyperspectral imagery. Valuable experience was gained during this effort. Lessons learned included determining 1) hyperspectral imagery was not effective in detecting this relatively small, short-term CO2 leak, 2) even though injection was halted, the leak remained dynamic and presented a safety risk concern

  5. CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery from the Residual Zone - A Sustainable Vision for North Sea Oil Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Jamie; Haszeldine, Stuart; Wilkinson, Mark; Johnson, Gareth

    2014-05-01

    This paper presents a 'new vision for North Sea oil production' where previously unattainable residual oil can be produced with the injection of CO2 that has been captured at power stations or other large industrial emitters. Not only could this process produce incremental oil from a maturing basin, reducing imports, it also has the capability to store large volumes of CO2 which can offset the emissions of additional carbon produced. Around the world oil production from mature basins is in decline and production from UK oil fields peaked in 1998. Other basins around the world have a similar story. Although in the UK a number of tax regimes, such as 'brown field allowances' and 'new field allowances' have been put in place to re-encourage investment, it is recognised that the majority of large discoveries have already been made. However, as a nation our demand for oil remains high and in the last decade imports of crude oil have been steadily increasing. The UK is dependent on crude oil for transport and feedstock for chemical and plastics production. Combined with the necessity to provide energy security, there is a demand to re-assess the potential for CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2-EOR) in the UK offshore. Residual oil zones (ROZ) exist where one of a number of natural conditions beyond normal capillary forces have caused the geometry of a field's oil column to be altered after filling [1]. When this re-structuring happens the primary interest to the hydrocarbon industry has in the past been in where the mobile oil has migrated to. However it is now considered that significant oil resource may exist in the residual zone play where the main oil column has been displaced. Saturations within this play are predominantly close to residual saturation (Sr) and would be similar to that of a water-flooded field [2]. Evidence from a number of hydrocarbon fairways shows that, under certain circumstances, these residual zones in US fields are comparable in thickness to the

  6. Profiles of Reservoir Properties of Oil-Bearing Plays for Selected Petroleum Provinces in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, P.A.; Attanasi, E.D.

    2015-11-05

    Profiles of reservoir properties of oil-bearing plays for selected petroleum provinces in the United States were developed to characterize the database to be used for a potential assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) of oil that would be technically recoverable by the application of enhanced oil recovery methods using injection of carbon dioxide (CO2-EOR). The USGS assessment methodology may require reservoir-level data for the purposes of screening conventional oil reservoirs and projecting CO2-EOR performance in terms of the incremental recoverable oil. The information used in this report is based on reservoir properties from the “Significant Oil and Gas Fields of the United States Database” prepared by Nehring Associates, Inc. (2012). As described by Nehring Associates, Inc., the database “covers all producing provinces (basins) in the United States except the Appalachian Basin and the Cincinnati Arch.”

  7. Mixing in three-phase systems: Implications for enhanced oil recovery and unconventional gas extraction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimenez-Martinez, J.; Porter, M. L.; Hyman, J.; Carey, J. W.; Viswanathan, H. S.

    2015-12-01

    Although the mixing of fluids within a porous media is a common process in natural and industrial systems, how the degree of mixing depends on the miscibility of multiple phases is poorly characterized. Often, the direct consequence of miscible mixing is the modification of the resident fluid (brine and hydrocarbons) rheological properties. We investigate supercritical (sc)CO2 displacement and mixing processes in a three-phase system (scCO2, oil, and H2O) using a microfluidics experimental system that accommodates the high pressures and temperatures encountered in fossil fuel extraction operations. The miscibility of scCO2 with the resident fluids, low with aqueous solutions and high with hydrocarbons, impacts the mixing processes that control sweep efficiency in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the unlocking of the system in unconventional oil and gas extraction. Using standard volume-averaging techniques we upscale the aqueous phase saturation to the field-scale (i.e., Darcy scale) and interpret the results as a simpler two-phase system. This process allows us to perform a statistical analysis to quantify i) the degree of heterogeneity in the system resulting from the immiscible H2O and ii) how that heterogeneity impacts mixing between scCO2 and oil and their displacement. Our results show that when scCO2 is used for miscible displacement, the presence of an aqueous solution, which is common in secondary and tertiary EOR and unconventional oil and gas extraction, strongly impacts the mixing of scCO2 with the hydrocarbons due to low scCO2-H2O miscibility. H2O, which must be displaced advectively by the injected scCO2, introduces spatio-temporal variability into the system that acts as a barrier between the two miscibile fluids. This coupled with the effect of viscosity contrast, i.e., viscous fingering, has an impact on the mixing of the more miscible pair.

  8. Oil recovery enhancement from fractured, low permeability reservoirs. Annual report 1990--1991, Part 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poston, S.W.

    1991-12-31

    Joint funding by the Department of Energy and the State of Texas has Permitted a three year, multi-disciplinary investigation to enhance oil recovery from a dual porosity, fractured, low matrix permeability oil reservoir to be initiated. The Austin Chalk producing horizon trending thru the median of Texas has been identified as the candidate for analysis. Ultimate primary recovery of oil from the Austin Chalk is very low because of two major technological problems. The commercial oil producing rate is based on the wellbore encountering a significant number of natural fractures. The prediction of the location and frequency of natural fractures at any particular region in the subsurface is problematical at this time, unless extensive and expensive seismic work is conducted. A major portion of the oil remains in the low permeability matrix blocks after depletion because there are no methods currently available to the industry to mobilize this bypassed oil. The following multi-faceted study is aimed to develop new methods to increase oil and gas recovery from the Austin Chalk producing trend. These methods may involve new geological and geophysical interpretation methods, improved ways to study production decline curves or the application of a new enhanced oil recovery technique. The efforts for the second year may be summarized as one of coalescing the initial concepts developed during the initial phase to more in depth analyses. Accomplishments are predicting natural fractures; relating recovery to well-log signatures; development of the EOR imbibition process; mathematical modeling; and field test.

  9. Experimental Design of a Polymeric Solution to Improve the Mobility Ratio in a Reservoir previous implementation of a pilot project of EOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa Cuenca

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes experimental formulations of polymeric solutions through lab evaluations with the objective of finding optimum solution concentration to fluid mobility in reservoirs as previous step before implementing a pilot project of enhanced oil recovery. The polymers, firstly, were selected based on the properties from fluids from reservoir. Two types of polymers were used TCC-330 and EOR909 and the experimental tests were: thermal stability, compatibility, adsorption, salinity, and displacement. The design with the best results was with polymer TCC-330 at 1,500 ppm concentration.

  10. In situ microbial systems for the enhancement of oil recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moses, V.

    1991-01-01

    Microbial Enhancement of Oil Recovery (MEOR) offers important new opportunities in the quest for increased oil production. It refers not to a single technique but rather to a collection of methodologies, analogous to parallel non-microbiological methods. MEOR has relevance for many type of production and reservoir problems detailed protocols: may be tailored specifically to a range of individual reservoir conditions. Microorganisms downhole can generate a wide variety of chemical products from inexpensive feed stocks: where these are more cost-effective than oil field chemicals injected from the surface, microbial methods may win widespread acceptance. MEOR methods must be defined precisely; in any particular reservoir procedure their proposed mechanism of action must be clearly understood and criteria established for evaluating their success. The most important applications for MEOR are 1) the production f insoluble or highly viscous polymer to control coning or to plug selectively high permeability thief zones and fractures, 2) the continuous generation of the active agents for polymer-and/or surfactant floods, 3) matrix acidisation and acid fracturing in carbonate rocks stimulate flows into production wells. All these approaches are currently actively been explored; several programmes for field-testing microbial EOR methods already exist, or are being readied, and rapid progress is likely within the next few years. (author)

  11. An innovative treatment method for an aqueous waste from the enhanced oil recovery process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alimahmoodi, M.; Mulligan, C.N.

    2009-01-01

    Anaerobic treatment was evaluated to determine its effectiveness in treating a waste stream from the process of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) to remove solubilized CO 2 (98%) and petroleum hydrocarbons (83%) using formate (2 g/L) and sucrose (2.5 g/L) as electron donors in two consecutive reactors. The method of evolutionary operation (EVOP) factorial design was applied to optimize the system and the net energy ratio (NER) of 3.7 was calculated for the system which showed a sustainable biogas production. This method is less complex than other competitive methods, and in addition to its low energy requirements, it can produce CH 4 from CO 2 as a clean source of energy. (author)

  12. Overview of a compre­hensive resource database for the assessment of recoverable hydrocarbons produced by carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carolus, Marshall; Biglarbigi, Khosrow; Warwick, Peter D.; Attanasi, Emil D.; Freeman, Philip A.; Lohr, Celeste D.

    2017-10-24

    A database called the “Comprehensive Resource Database” (CRD) was prepared to support U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessments of technically recoverable hydrocarbons that might result from the injection of miscible or immiscible carbon dioxide (CO2) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The CRD was designed by INTEK Inc., a consulting company under contract to the USGS. The CRD contains data on the location, key petrophysical properties, production, and well counts (number of wells) for the major oil and gas reservoirs in onshore areas and State waters of the conterminous United States and Alaska. The CRD includes proprietary data on petrophysical properties of fields and reservoirs from the “Significant Oil and Gas Fields of the United States Database,” prepared by Nehring Associates in 2012, and proprietary production and drilling data from the “Petroleum Information Data Model Relational U.S. Well Data,” prepared by IHS Inc. in 2012. This report describes the CRD and the computer algorithms used to (1) estimate missing reservoir property values in the Nehring Associates (2012) database, and to (2) generate values of additional properties used to characterize reservoirs suitable for miscible or immiscible CO2 flooding for EOR. Because of the proprietary nature of the data and contractual obligations, the CRD and actual data from Nehring Associates (2012) and IHS Inc. (2012) cannot be presented in this report.

  13. Potential of Russian Regions to Implement CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexey Cherepovitsyn

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper assesses the techno-economic potential of Russia to implement carbon capture and storage technologies that imply the capture of anthropogenic CO2 and its injection into geologic reservoirs for long-term storage. The focus is on CO2 enhanced oil recovery projects that seem to be the most economically promising option of carbon capture and storage. The novelty of the work lies in the formulation of a potential assessment method of CO2 enhanced oil recovery, which allows for establishing a connection between energy production and oil extraction from the viewpoint of CO2 supply and demand. Using linear optimization, the most promising combinations of CO2 sources and sinks are identified and an economic evaluation of these projects is carried out. Based on this information, regions of Russia are ranked according to their prospects in regards to CO2 capture and enhanced oil recovery storage. The results indicate that Russia has a significant potential to utilize its power plants as CO2 sources for enhanced oil recovery projects. It has been estimated that 71 coal-fired power plants, and 185 of the gas-fired power plants of Russia annually produce 297.1 and 309.6 Mt of CO2 that can cover 553.4 Mt of the demand of 322 Russian oil fields. At the same time, the total CO2 storage capacity of the Russian fields is estimated at 7382.6 Mt, however, due to geological and technical factors, only 22.6% can be used for CO2-EOR projects. Of the 183 potential projects identified in the regional analysis phase, 99 were found to be cost-effective, with an average unit cost of € 19.07 per ton of CO2 and a payback period of 8.71 years. The most promising of the estimated regions is characterized by a well-developed energy industry, relatively low transportation costs, numerous large and medium-sized oil fields at the final stages of development, and favorable geological conditions that minimize the cost of injection. Geographically, they are located in the

  14. Faults as Windows to Monitor Gas Seepage: Application to CO2 Sequestration and CO2-EOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronald W. Klusman

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring of potential gas seepage for CO2 sequestration and CO2-EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery in geologic storage will involve geophysical and geochemical measurements of parameters at depth and at, or near the surface. The appropriate methods for MVA (Monitoring, Verification, Accounting are needed for both cost and technical effectiveness. This work provides an overview of some of the geochemical methods that have been demonstrated to be effective for an existing CO2-EOR (Rangely, CA, USA and a proposed project at Teapot Dome, WY, USA. Carbon dioxide and CH4 fluxes and shallow soil gas concentrations were measured, followed by nested completions of 10-m deep holes to obtain concentration gradients. The focus at Teapot Dome was the evaluation of faults as pathways for gas seepage in an under-pressured reservoir system. The measurements were supplemented by stable carbon and oxygen isotopic measurements, carbon-14, and limited use of inert gases. The work clearly demonstrates the superiority of CH4 over measurements of CO2 in early detection and quantification of gas seepage. Stable carbon isotopes, carbon-14, and inert gas measurements add to the verification of the deep source. A preliminary accounting at Rangely confirms the importance of CH4 measurements in the MVA application.

  15. Supporting Technology for Enhanced Oil Recovery-EOR Thermal Processes Report IV-12

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Izequeido, Alexandor

    2001-04-01

    This report contains the results of efforts under the six tasks of the Ninth Amendment and Extension of Annex IV, Enhanced Oil Recovery Thermal Processes of the Venezuela/USA Agreement. The report is presented in sections (for each of the 6 tasks) and each section contains one or more reports prepared by various individuals or groups describing the results of efforts under each of the tasks. A statement of each task, taken from the agreement, is presented on the first page of each section. The tasks are numbered 62 through 67. The first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eight, and ninth reports on Annex IV, [Venezuela MEM/USA-DOE Fossil Energy Report IV-1, IV-2, IV-3, IV-4, IV-5, IV-6, IV-7, and IV-8 (DOE/BETC/SP-83/15, DOE/BC-84/6/SP, DOE/BC-86/2/SP, DOE/BC-87/2/SP, DOE/BC-89/1/SP, DOE/BC-90/1/SP) DOE/BC-92/1/SP, DOE/BC-93/3/SP, and DOE/BC-95/3/SP] contain the results from the first 61 tasks. Those reports are dated April 1983, August 1984, March 1986, July 1! 987, November 1988, December 1989, October 1991, February 1993, and March 1995 respectively.

  16. Formation of Anhydrite due to Interaction Between Water Soluble CO2 (aq) and Calcite Mineral During Enhanced Oil Recovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chakravarty, Krishna Hara; Fosbøl, Philip Loldrup; Thomsen, Kaj

    2015-01-01

    In the Low Salinity based EOR method, formation and migration of fines have proved to have profound effect on the displacement efficiency of residual oil. Salinity variations of injected brines have also been shown to affect oil recovery for WAG-CO2 processes. But the effect of fines in EOR during...... simulations were conducted over a temperature range of 50°C to 250°C and a pressure range of 5 bars to 500 bars. The amounts of fines formation taking place for different LSWAG-CO2 processes were correlated to the described oil recovery. It is observed that significant amounts of fines formation can take...... with the available SO42- ions. The salinity and composition of brines present in pore space shows direct correlation with the amount of fines produced during CO2 injection. With increase in temperature and pressure, the amount fines formation increased significantly. The described oil recovery for different LSWAG...

  17. Large scale carbon dioxide production from coal-fired power stations for enhanced oil recovery: a new economic feasibility study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tontiwachwuthikul, P.; Chan, C. W.; Kritpiphat, W.; Demontigny, D.; Skoropad, D.; Gelowitz, D.; Aroonwilas, A.; Mourits, F.; Wilson, M.; Ward, L.

    1998-01-01

    The concept of capturing carbon dioxide from fossil-fuelled electric power generating plants and utilizing it as a flooding agent in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes, was explored. In this context, this paper describes how cogeneration concepts, together with process optimization strategies, help to reduce the carbon dioxide production cost by utilizing low-pressure steam and waste heat from various sections of the power generation process. Based on these optimization strategies, the recovery cost of carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations is estimated to be in the range of $ 0.50 to $ 2.00/mscf. Assuming an average cost of $ 1.25/mscf, the production cost of incremental oil would be about $ 18.00. This means that even with today's modest oil prices, there is room for profit to be made operating a carbon dioxide flood with flue gas extracted carbon dioxide

  18. TOGA: A TOUGH code for modeling three-phase, multi-component, and non-isothermal processes involved in CO2-based Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pan, Lehua [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Oldenburg, Curtis M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2016-10-10

    TOGA is a numerical reservoir simulator for modeling non-isothermal flow and transport of water, CO2, multicomponent oil, and related gas components for applications including CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) and geologic carbon sequestration in depleted oil and gas reservoirs. TOGA uses an approach based on the Peng-Robinson equation of state (PR-EOS) to calculate the thermophysical properties of the gas and oil phases including the gas/oil components dissolved in the aqueous phase, and uses a mixing model to estimate the thermophysical properties of the aqueous phase. The phase behavior (e.g., occurrence and disappearance of the three phases, gas + oil + aqueous) and the partitioning of non-aqueous components (e.g., CO2, CH4, and n-oil components) between coexisting phases are modeled using K-values derived from assumptions of equal-fugacity that have been demonstrated to be very accurate as shown by comparison to measured data. Models for saturated (water) vapor pressure and water solubility (in the oil phase) are used to calculate the partitioning of the water (H2O) component between the gas and oil phases. All components (e.g., CO2, H2O, and n hydrocarbon components) are allowed to be present in all phases (aqueous, gaseous, and oil). TOGA uses a multiphase version of Darcy’s Law to model flow and transport through porous media of mixtures with up to three phases over a range of pressures and temperatures appropriate to hydrocarbon recovery and geologic carbon sequestration systems. Transport of the gaseous and dissolved components is by advection and Fickian molecular diffusion. New methods for phase partitioning and thermophysical property modeling in TOGA have been validated against experimental data published in the literature for describing phase partitioning and phase behavior. Flow and transport has been verified by testing against related TOUGH2 EOS modules and

  19. Determining CO2 storage potential during miscible CO2 enhanced oil recovery: Noble gas and stable isotope tracers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, Jenna L.; McIntosh, Jennifer C.; Hunt, Andrew; Beebe, Thomas L; Parker, Andrew D; Warwick, Peter D.; Drake, Ronald; McCray, John E.

    2016-01-01

    Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations are fueling anthropogenic climate change. Geologic sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 in depleted oil reservoirs is one option for reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere while enhancing oil recovery. In order to evaluate the feasibility of using enhanced oil recovery (EOR) sites in the United States for permanent CO2 storage, an active multi-stage miscible CO2flooding project in the Permian Basin (North Ward Estes Field, near Wickett, Texas) was investigated. In addition, two major natural CO2 reservoirs in the southeastern Paradox Basin (McElmo Dome and Doe Canyon) were also investigated as they provide CO2 for EOR operations in the Permian Basin. Produced gas and water were collected from three different CO2 flooding phases (with different start dates) within the North Ward Estes Field to evaluate possible CO2 storage mechanisms and amounts of total CO2retention. McElmo Dome and Doe Canyon were sampled for produced gas to determine the noble gas and stable isotope signature of the original injected EOR gas and to confirm the source of this naturally-occurring CO2. As expected, the natural CO2produced from McElmo Dome and Doe Canyon is a mix of mantle and crustal sources. When comparing CO2 injection and production rates for the CO2 floods in the North Ward Estes Field, it appears that CO2 retention in the reservoir decreased over the course of the three injections, retaining 39%, 49% and 61% of the injected CO2 for the 2008, 2010, and 2013 projects, respectively, characteristic of maturing CO2 miscible flood projects. Noble gas isotopic composition of the injected and produced gas for the flood projects suggest no active fractionation, while δ13CCO2 values suggest no active CO2dissolution into formation water, or mineralization. CO2 volumes capable of dissolving in residual formation fluids were also estimated along with the potential to store pure-phase supercritical CO2. Using a combination

  20. Results from the MWA EoR Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Rachel L.; MWA EoR Collaboration

    2018-05-01

    The MWA EoR is one of a small handful of experiments designed to detect the statistical signal from the Epoch of Reionisation. Each of these experiments has reached a level of maturity, where the challenges, in particular of foreground removal, are being more fully understood. Over the past decade, the MWA EoR Collaboration has developed expertise and an understanding of the elements of the telescope array, the end-to-end pipelines, ionospheric conditions, and and the foreground emissions. Sufficient data has been collected to detect the theoretically predicted EoR signal. Limits have been published regularly, however we still several orders of magnitude from a possible detection. This paper outlines recent progress and indicates directions for future efforts.

  1. Sources and delivery of carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery. Final report, October 1977--December 1978

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hare, M.; Perlich, H.; Robinson, R.; Shah, M.; Zimmerman, F.

    1978-12-01

    Results are presented from a comprehensive study by Pullman Kellogg, with assistance from Gulf Universities Research Consortium (GURC) and National Cryo-Chemics Incorporated (NCI), of the carbon dioxide supply situation for miscible flooding operations to enhance oil recovery. A survey of carbon dioxide sources within the geographic areas of potential EOR are shown on four regional maps with the tabular data for each region to describe the sources in terms of quantity and quality. Evaluation of all the costs, such as purchase, production, processing, and transportation, associated with delivering the carbon dioxide from its source to its destination are presented. Specific cases to illustrate the use of the maps and cost charts generated in this study have been examined.

  2. Investigating the influence of pressure and temperature on malaysian crude oil density and viscosity for improved recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahoor, M.K.; Derahman, M.N.

    2012-01-01

    Malaysia has great potential as a crude oil or fossil fuel producing country. To increase oil production, behavior of Malaysian Crude Oil has been analyzed with reference to temperature and pressure variations. The effect of these parameters on crude oil density and viscosity has been observed, to select the methodology to be adopted for increases recovery by implementing enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project. Based on this study it has been decided to further explore the feasibility of increasing reservoir pressure. (author)

  3. Effect of exogenous inoculants on enhancing oil recovery and indigenous bacterial community dynamics in long-term field pilot of low permeability reservoir.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jing; Xue, Shuwen; He, Chunqiu; Qi, Huixia; Chen, Fulin; Ma, Yanling

    2018-03-20

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa DN1 strain and Bacillus subtilis QHQ110 strain were chosen as rhamnolipid and lipopeptide producer respectively, to evaluate the efficiency of exogenous inoculants on enhancing oil recovery (EOR) and to explore the relationship between injected bacteria and indigenous bacterial community dynamics in long-term filed pilot of Hujianshan low permeability water-flooded reservoir for 26 months. Core-flooding tests showed that the oil displacement efficiency increased by 18.46% with addition of exogenous consortia. Bacterial community dynamics using quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing revealed that the exogenous inoculants survived and could live together with indigenous bacterial populations. They gradually became the dominant community after the initial activation, while their comparative advantage weakened continually after 3 months of the first injection. The bacterial populations did not exert an observable change in the process of the second injection of exogenous inoculants. On account of facilitating oil emulsification and accelerating bacterial growth with oil as the carbon source by the injection of exogenous consortia, γ-proteobacteria was finally the prominent bacterial community at class level varying from 25.55 to 32.67%, and the dominant bacterial populations were increased by 2-3 orders of magnitude during the whole processes. The content of organic acids and rhamnolipids in reservoir were promoted with the change of bacterial community diversity, respectively. Cumulative oil increments reached 26,190 barrels for 13 months after the first injection, and 55,947 barrels of oil had been accumulated in all of A20 wells block through two rounds of bacterial consortia injection. The performance of EOR has a cumulative improvement by the injection of exogenous inoculants without observable inhibitory effect on the indigenous bacterial populations, demonstrating the application potential in low permeability water

  4. Simulation study to determine the feasibility of injecting hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas injection to improve gas and oil recovery oil-rim reservoir

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eid, Mohamed El Gohary

    This study is combining two important and complicated processes; Enhanced Oil Recovery, EOR, from the oil rim and Enhanced Gas Recovery, EGR from the gas cap using nonhydrocarbon injection gases. EOR is proven technology that is continuously evolving to meet increased demand and oil production and desire to augment oil reserves. On the other hand, the rapid growth of the industrial and urban development has generated an unprecedented power demand, particularly during summer months. The required gas supplies to meet this demand are being stretched. To free up gas supply, alternative injectants to hydrocarbon gas are being reviewed to support reservoir pressure and maximize oil and gas recovery in oil rim reservoirs. In this study, a multi layered heterogeneous gas reservoir with an oil rim was selected to identify the most optimized development plan for maximum oil and gas recovery. The integrated reservoir characterization model and the pertinent transformed reservoir simulation history matched model were quality assured and quality checked. The development scheme is identified, in which the pattern and completion of the wells are optimized to best adapt to the heterogeneity of the reservoir. Lateral and maximum block contact holes will be investigated. The non-hydrocarbon gases considered for this study are hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, utilized to investigate miscible and immiscible EOR processes. In November 2010, re-vaporization study, was completed successfully, the first in the UAE, with an ultimate objective is to examine the gas and condensate production in gas reservoir using non hydrocarbon gases. Field development options and proces schemes as well as reservoir management and long term business plans including phases of implementation will be identified and assured. The development option that maximizes the ultimate recovery factor will be evaluated and selected. The study achieved satisfactory results in integrating gas and oil

  5. A strategy for low cost development of incremental oil in legacy reservoirs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attanasi, E.D.

    2016-01-01

    The precipitous decline in oil prices during 2015 has forced operators to search for ways to develop low-cost and low-risk oil reserves. This study examines strategies to low cost development of legacy reservoirs, particularly those which have already implemented a carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2 EOR) program. Initially the study examines the occurrence and nature of the distribution of the oil resources that are targets for miscible and near-miscible CO2 EOR programs. The analysis then examines determinants of technical recovery through the analysis of representative clastic and carbonate reservoirs. The economic analysis focusses on delineating the dominant components of investment and operational costs. The concluding sections describe options to maximize the value of assets that the operator of such a legacy reservoir may have that include incremental expansion within the same producing zone and to producing zones that are laterally or stratigraphically near main producing zones. The analysis identified the CO2 recycle plant as the dominant investment cost item and purchased CO2 and liquids management as a dominant operational cost items. Strategies to utilize recycle plants for processing CO2 from multiple producing zones and multiple reservoir units can significantly reduce costs. Industrial sources for CO2 should be investigated as a possibly less costly way of meeting EOR requirements. Implementation of tapered water alternating gas injection schemes can partially mitigate increases in fluid lifting costs.

  6. The potential applications in heavy oil EOR with the nanoparticle and surfactant stabilized solvent-based emulsion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qiu, F. [Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

    2010-07-01

    The main challenges in developing the heavy oil reservoirs in the Alaska North Slope (ANS) include technical challenges regarding thermal recovery; sand control and disposal; high asphaltene content; and low in-situ permeability. A chemical enhanced oil recovery method may be possible for these reservoirs. Solvent based emulsion flooding provides mobility control; oil viscosity reduction; and in-situ emulsification of heavy oil. This study evaluated the potential application of nano-particle-stabilized solvent based emulsion injection to enhance heavy oil recovery in the ANS. The optimized micro-emulsion composition was determined using laboratory tests such as phase behaviour scanning, rheology studies and interfacial tension measurements. The optimized nano-emulsions were used in core flooding experiments to verify the recovery efficiency. The study revealed that the potential use of this kind of emulsion flooding is a promising enhanced oil recovery process for some heavy oil reservoirs in Alaska, Canada and Venezuela. 4 refs., 2 tabs., 10 figs.

  7. Surfactant adsorption study in sandstone for enhanced oil recovery; Estudo da adsorcao de tensoativos em arenitos para recuperacao avancada de petroleo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Curbelo, Fabiola D.S.; Santanna, Vanessa C.; Barros Neto, Eduardo L. de; Dutra Junior, Tarcilio V.; Dantas Neto, Afonso A. [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Quimica; Garnica, Alfredo I.C. [Universidade Federal da Paraiba (UFPB), Joao Pessoa, PB (Brazil). Dept. de Tecnologia Quimica e de Alimentos; Lucena Neto, Marciano [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Natal, RN (Brazil); Dantas, Tereza N.C. [Faculdade Natalense para o Desenvolvimento do RN (FARN), Natal, RN (Brazil)

    2004-07-01

    Adsorption of surfactants from aqueous solutions in porous media is very important in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) of oil reservoirs because surfactant loss due to adsorption on the reservoir rocks weakens the effectiveness of the injected chemical slug in reducing oil-water tension (IFT) and makes the process uneconomical. In this paper, two nonionic surfactants, such as alkyl phenol polyoxyethylene, with different ethoxylation degrees were studied, ENP95 and ENP150. The results of flow experiments of surfactant solutions in porous media showed that adsorption was higher for ENP95 because it has smaller ethoxylation degree than ENP150. This occurs what with increasing length of the head group, the molecules become more hydrophilic and, in associated structures, the steric hindrance between the head groups increases. Generally speaking, adsorption appears to be a cooperative process involving lateral interaction between surfactant and weak interaction with the solid surface. (author)

  8. Case Studies of the ROZ CO2 Flood and the Combined ROZ/MPZ CO2 Flood at the Goldsmith Landreth Unit, Ector County, Texas. Using ''Next Generation'' CO2 EOR Technologies to Optimize the Residual Oil Zone CO2 Flood

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trentham, Robert C. [Univ. of Texas, Midland, TX (United States); Melzer, L. Stephen [Univ. of Texas, Midland, TX (United States); Kuuskraa, Vello [Advanced Resources International, Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); Koperna, George [Advanced Resources International, Inc., Arlington, VA (United States)

    2015-06-30

    The technology for CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (CO2 EOR) has significantly advanced since the earliest floods were implemented in the 1970s. At least for the Permian Basin region of the U.S., the oil recovery has been now been extended into residual oil zones (ROZs) where the mobile fluid phase is water and immobile phase is oil. But the nature of the formation and fluids within the ROZs has brought some challenges that were not present when flooding the MPZs. The Goldsmith-Landreth project in the Permian Basin was intended to first identify the most pressing issues of the ROZs floods and, secondly, begin to address them with new techniques designed to optimize a flood that commingled the MPZ and the ROZ. The early phase of the research conducted considerable reservoir and fluid characterization work and identified both technical and commercial challenges of producing the enormous quantities of water when flooding the ROZs. It also noted the differing water compositions in the ROZ as compared to the overlying MPZs. A new CO2 gas lift system using a capillary string was successfully applied during the project which conveyed the CO2 to the deeper and differing ROZ reservoir conditions at Goldsmith and added a second capillary string that facilitated applying scale inhibitors to mitigate the scaling tendencies of the mixing ROZ and MPZ formation waters. The project also undertook a reservoir modeling effort, using the acquired reservoir characterization data, to history match both the primary and water flood phases of the MPZ and to establish the initial conditions for a modeling effort to forecast response of the ROZ to CO2 EOR. With the advantage of many profile logs acquired from the operator, some concentration on the original pattern area for the ROZ pilot was accomplished to attempt to perfect the history match for that area. Several optional scenarios for producing the ROZ were simulated seeking to find the

  9. Numerical investigation of complex flooding schemes for surfactant polymer based enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutta, Sourav; Daripa, Prabir

    2015-11-01

    Surfactant-polymer flooding is a widely used method of chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in which an array of complex fluids containing suitable and varying amounts of surfactant or polymer or both mixed with water is injected into the reservoir. This is an example of multiphase, multicomponent and multiphysics porous media flow which is characterized by the spontaneous formation of complex viscous fingering patterns and is modeled by a system of strongly coupled nonlinear partial differential equations with appropriate initial and boundary conditions. Here we propose and discuss a modern, hybrid method based on a combination of a discontinuous, multiscale finite element formulation and the method of characteristics to accurately solve the system. Several types of flooding schemes and rheological properties of the injected fluids are used to numerically study the effectiveness of various injection policies in minimizing the viscous fingering and maximizing oil recovery. Numerical simulations are also performed to investigate the effect of various other physical and model parameters such as heterogeneity, relative permeability and residual saturation on the quantities of interest like cumulative oil recovery, sweep efficiency, fingering intensity to name a few. Supported by the grant NPRP 08-777-1-141 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation).

  10. ECOLOGY SAFETY TECHNOLOGIES OF UNCONVENTIONAL OIL RESERVES RECOVERY FOR SUSTAINABLE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viacheslav Zyrin

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The problem of effective technology for heavy oil recovery nowadays has a great importance, because of worsening geological conditions of the developed deposits, decreasing recovery factor, increasing the part of heavy oil. For the future sustainable development of oil producing industry the involved technologies must require energy effectiveness and ecological safety. The paper proves the enhanced oil recovery methods necessity for heavy oil deposits, highlighted thermal technologies as the most effective. But traditional thermal treatment technologies is a source of air pollutant emission, such as CO, NO etc. The calculation of emissions for traditional steam generator is provided. Besides, the paper shows the effectiveness of electrical enhanced oil recovery methods. The advantages of associated gas as a fuel for cogeneration plants is shown. The main approaches to implementation of carbon dioxide sequestration technologies in the oil and gas industry of Russia are defined. Conceptual view of СО2-EOR technologies potential within the context of sustainable development of oil and gas industry are presented. On the basis of the conducted research a number of scientific research and practical areas of the CCS technology development are revealed.

  11. Monitoring of magnetic nano-particles in EOR by using the CSEM modeling and inversion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heo, J. Y.; KIM, S.; Jeong, G.; Hwang, J.; Min, D. J.

    2016-12-01

    EOR, which injects water, CO2, or other chemical components into reservoirs to increase the production rate of oil and gas, has widely been used. To promote efficiency of EOR, it is important to monitor distribution of injected materials in reservoirs. Using nano-particles in EOR has advantages that the size of particles is smaller than the pore and particles can be characterized by various physical properties. Specifically, if we use magnetic nano-particles, we can effectively monitor nano-particles by using the electromagnetic survey. CSEM, which can control the frequency range of source, is good to monitor magnetic nano-particles under various reservoir circumstances. In this study, we first perform numerical simulation of 3D CSEM for reservoir under production. In general, two wells are used for EOR: one is for injection, and the other is for extraction. We assume that sources are applied inside the injection well, and receivers are deployed inside the extraction well. To simulate the CSEM survey, we decompose the total fields into primary and secondary fields in Maxwell's equations. For the primary fields, we calculate the analytic solutions of the layered earth. With the calculated primary fields, we compute the secondary fields due to anomalies using the edge-based finite-element method. Finally, we perform electromagnetic inversion for both conductivity and permeability to trace the distribution of magnetic nano-particles. Since these two parameters react differently according to the frequency range of sources, we can effectively describe the distribution of magnetic nano-particles by considering two parameters at the same time. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning(KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy(MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20168510030830), and by the International Cooperation (No. 2012-8510030010) of KETEP, and by the Dual Use Technology Program, granted

  12. Area 2. Use Of Engineered Nanoparticle-Stabilized CO2 Foams To Improve Volumetric Sweep Of CO2 EOR Processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DiCarlo, David [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Huh, Chun [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Johnston, Keith P. [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

    2015-01-31

    The goal of this project was to develop a new CO2 injection enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) process using engineered nanoparticles with optimized surface coatings that has better volumetric sweep efficiency and a wider application range than conventional CO2-EOR processes. The main objectives of this project were to (1) identify the characteristics of the optimal nanoparticles that generate extremely stable CO2 foams in situ in reservoir regions without oil; (2) develop a novel method of mobility control using “self-guiding” foams with smart nanoparticles; and (3) extend the applicability of the new method to reservoirs having a wide range of salinity, temperatures, and heterogeneity. Concurrent with our experimental effort to understand the foam generation and transport processes and foam-induced mobility reduction, we also developed mathematical models to explain the underlying processes and mechanisms that govern the fate of nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foams in porous media and applied these models to (1) simulate the results of foam generation and transport experiments conducted in beadpack and sandstone core systems, (2) analyze CO2 injection data received from a field operator, and (3) aid with the design of a foam injection pilot test. Our simulator is applicable to near-injection well field-scale foam injection problems and accounts for the effects due to layered heterogeneity in permeability field, foam stabilizing agents effects, oil presence, and shear-thinning on the generation and transport of nanoparticle-stabilized C/W foams. This report presents the details of our experimental and numerical modeling work and outlines the highlights of our findings.

  13. Investigation of certain physical–chemical features of oil recovery by an optimized alkali–surfactant–foam (ASF) system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hosseini Nasab, S.M.; Zitha, P.L.J.

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study is to discover a synergistic effect between foam stability in bulk and micro-emulsion phase behaviour to design a high-performance chemical system for an optimized alkaline–surfactant–foam (ASF) flooding for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The focus is on the interaction

  14. Supporting technology for enhanced oil recovery: EOR thermal processes. Seventh Amendment and Extension to Annex 4, Enhanced oil recovery thermal processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reid, T B [USDOE Bartlesville Project Office, OK (United States); Colonomos, P [INTEVEP, Filial de Petroleos de Venezuela, SA, Caracas (Venezuela)

    1993-02-01

    This report contains the results of efforts under the six tasks of the Seventh Amendment and Extension of Annex IV, Enhanced Oil Recovery Thermal Processes of the Venezuela/USA Agreement. The report is presented in sections (for each of the 6 tasks) and each section contains one or more reports prepared by various individuals or groups describing the results of efforts under each of the tasks. A statement of each task, taken from the agreement, is presented on the first page of each section. The tasks are numbered 50 through 55. The first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh reports on Annex IV, Venezuela MEM/USA-DOE Fossil Energy Report IV-1, IV-2, IV-3, IV-4, IV-5 and IV-6 (DOE/BETC/SP-83/15, DOE/BC-84/6/SP, DOE/BC-86/2/SP, DOE/BC-87/2/SP, DOE/BC-89/l/SP, DOE/BC-90/l/SP, and DOE/BC-92/l/SP) contain the results for the first 49 tasks. Those reports are dated April 1983, August 1984, March 1986, July 1987, November 1988, December 1989, and October 1991, respectively. Each task report has been processed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

  15. Monitoring of EOR operations by electrical prospecting. 2; Denki tansaho ni yoru sekiyu kyosei kaishuho no monitoring. 2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ushijima, K; Mizunaga, H; Tanaka, T; Masuda, K [Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering; Tamagawa, T [Japex Jeoscience Institute, Tokyo (Japan)

    1996-10-01

    Fluid flow tomography (FFT) was applied to monitor the behavior of underground fluid in steam enhanced oil recovery (EOR) for oil sand reservoirs. FFT uses electrode arrangement of a mise-a-la-masse method, and continuously measures time variation in charged and spontaneous potential at various surface points to obtain realtime the images of underground seepage flow. It continuously measures ground surface potentials of 120 channels at intervals of 2s by applying alternative DC between a casing pipe and distant current electrode. It separates charged and spontaneous potential components, and converts them into time series data. It estimates the time and spacial distributions of seepage flow from time variation in spontaneous potential. It determines the change rate distribution of time-sliced apparent resistivity from charged potential to estimate the scale and area of seepage flow. As the experimental result, positive and negative electrodes in the change rate distribution were observed, and the direction connecting each electrode agreed with that of resistivity anomaly. FFT could observe realtime time variation in apparent resistivity due to steam injection. 9 refs., 7 figs.

  16. Geologic CO2 Sequestration: Predicting and Confirming Performance in Oil Reservoirs and Saline Aquifers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, J. W.; Nitao, J. J.; Newmark, R. L.; Kirkendall, B. A.; Nimz, G. J.; Knauss, K. G.; Ziagos, J. P.

    2002-05-01

    Reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions ranks high among the grand scientific challenges of this century. In the near-term, significant reductions can only be achieved through innovative sequestration strategies that prevent atmospheric release of large-scale CO2 waste streams. Among such strategies, injection into confined geologic formations represents arguably the most promising alternative; and among potential geologic storage sites, oil reservoirs and saline aquifers represent the most attractive targets. Oil reservoirs offer a unique "win-win" approach because CO2 flooding is an effective technique of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), while saline aquifers offer immense storage capacity and widespread distribution. Although CO2-flood EOR has been widely used in the Permian Basin and elsewhere since the 1980s, the oil industry has just recently become concerned with the significant fraction of injected CO2 that eludes recycling and is therefore sequestered. This "lost" CO2 now has potential economic value in the growing emissions credit market; hence, the industry's emerging interest in recasting CO2 floods as co-optimized EOR/sequestration projects. The world's first saline aquifer storage project was also catalyzed in part by economics: Norway's newly imposed atmospheric emissions tax, which spurred development of Statoil's unique North Sea Sleipner facility in 1996. Successful implementation of geologic sequestration projects hinges on development of advanced predictive models and a diverse set of remote sensing, in situ sampling, and experimental techniques. The models are needed to design and forecast long-term sequestration performance; the monitoring techniques are required to confirm and refine model predictions and to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. We have developed a unique reactive transport modeling capability for predicting sequestration performance in saline aquifers, and used it to simulate CO2 injection at Sleipner; we are now

  17. Estimation of Oil Production Rates in Reservoirs Exposed to Focused Vibrational Energy

    KAUST Repository

    Jeong, Chanseok

    2014-01-01

    Elastic wave-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is being investigated as a possible EOR method, since strong wave motions within an oil reservoir - induced by earthquakes or artificially generated vibrations - have been reported to improve the production rate of remaining oil from existing oil fields. To date, there are few theoretical studies on estimating how much bypassed oil within an oil reservoir could be mobilized by such vibrational stimulation. To fill this gap, this paper presents a numerical method to estimate the extent to which the bypassed oil is mobilized from low to high permeability reservoir areas, within a heterogeneous reservoir, via wave-induced cross-flow oscillation at the interface between the two reservoir permeability areas. This work uses the finite element method to numerically obtain the pore fluid wave motion within a one-dimensional fluid-saturated porous permeable elastic solid medium embedded in a non-permeable elastic semi-infinite solid. To estimate the net volume of mobilized oil from the low to the high permeability area, a fluid flow hysteresis hypothesis is adopted to describe the behavior at the interface between the two areas. Accordingly, the fluid that is moving from the low to the high permeability areas is assumed to transport a larger volume of oil than the fluid moving in the opposite direction. The numerical experiments were conducted by using a prototype heterogeneous oil reservoir model, subjected to ground surface dynamic loading operating at low frequencies (1 to 50 Hz). The numerical results show that a sizeable amount of oil could be mobilized via the elastic wave stimulation. It is observed that certain wave frequencies are more effective than others in mobilizing the remaining oil. We remark that these amplification frequencies depend on the formation’s elastic properties. This numerical work shows that the wave-based mobilization of the bypassed oil in a heterogeneous oil reservoir is feasible, especially

  18. Recovery Act: Develop a Modular Curriculum for Training University Students in Industry Standard CO{sub 2} Sequestration and Enhanced Oil Recovery Methodologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trentham, R. C.; Stoudt, E. L.

    2013-05-31

    CO{sub 2} Enhanced Oil Recovery, Sequestration, & Monitoring Measuring & Verification are topics that are not typically covered in Geoscience, Land Management, and Petroleum Engineering curriculum. Students are not typically exposed to the level of training that would prepare them for CO{sub 2} reservoir and aquifer sequestration related projects when they begin assignments in industry. As a result, industry training, schools & conferences are essential training venues for new & experienced personnel working on CO{sub 2} projects for the first time. This project collected and/or generated industry level CO{sub 2} training to create modules which faculties can utilize as presentations, projects, field trips and site visits for undergrad and grad students and prepare them to "hit the ground running" & be contributing participants in CO{sub 2} projects with minimal additional training. In order to create the modules, UTPB/CEED utilized a variety of sources. Data & presentations from industry CO{sub 2} Flooding Schools & Conferences, Carbon Management Workshops, UTPB Classes, and other venues was tailored to provide introductory reservoir & aquifer training, state-of-the-art methodologies, field seminars and road logs, site visits, and case studies for students. After discussions with faculty at UTPB, Sul Ross, Midland College, other universities, and petroleum industry professionals, it was decided to base the module sets on a series of road logs from Midland to, and through, a number of Permian Basin CO{sub 2} Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects, CO{sub 2} Carbon Capture and Storage (CCUS) projects and outcrop equivalents of the formations where CO{sub 2} is being utilized or will be utilized, in EOR projects in the Permian Basin. Although road logs to and through these projects exist, none of them included CO{sub 2} specific information. Over 1400 miles of road logs were created, or revised specifically to highlight CO{sub 2} EOR projects. After testing a number of

  19. Socio-economic analysis of CCS/EOR in Denmark; Samfundsoekonomisk analyse af CCS/EOR i Danmark

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-12-15

    The Danish Energy Agency has initiated an analysis of the socio-economic sustainability of a CCS / EOR system based on CO{sub 2} capture from Danish sources and injected into selected Danish North Sea oil fields. The analysis shall assess the socioeconomic consequences of such a project as well as highlight the budgetary economic effects for the parties involved. Taking into account a realistic time frame for conversion of the cogeneration power plants and for the extent of the possible capture of CO{sub 2} in each of these plants, it has been chosen only to presuppose the establishment of CCS in three plants, namely Studstrupvaerket, Fynsvaerket and Nordjyllandsvaerket. Only the oil fields Dan, Halfdan and Gorm were selected for the analysis. The analysis shows that in the selected oil fields it is possible to increase the oil production by approx. 151 million. barrels of oil to the year 2049, which corresponds to approx. 40% of the estimated potential in these fields. The increased oil production requires that approx. 95 million. tonnes of CO{sub 2} is captured in the three power plants, which are subsequently transported and injected in the oil fields in the North Sea. The transport of CO{sub 2} from the CHP plants to the North Sea are assumed to be done by ship, since this solution is economically favorable and also offers logistical advantages and increased flexibility. The analysis shows that both the budget economic and the socio-economic analysis as a whole provide a positive economic net present value over a 30-year period. The socio-economic benefit is expected to be about. 3.5 billion DKK higher. This difference is due to especially the following conditions: a) CO{sub 2} emissions of CO{sub 2} transport are only included in the socio-economic analysis, since shipping is outside the quota system. In the socio-economic analysis, the estimated value of damage impact on the environment is included; b) The value of the oil produced after 2049 is included in

  20. Microflow Mechanism of Oil Displacement by Viscoelastic Hydrophobically Associating Water-Soluble Polymers in Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huiying Zhong

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Polymer flooding plays an important role in enhanced oil recovery (EOR, particularly in China, where partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM and hydrophobically associating water-soluble polymers (HAWP are used in onshore and offshore reservoirs, respectively. Many researchers have highlighted the elasticity of HPAM, which can be used to improve the sweep efficiency, i.e., the ratio of the area swept by an injected fluid to the oil area. On the other hand, fewer studies exist on the elasticity of HAWP. In this study, we investigate the flow of HAWP and Xanthan solutions with identical viscosities in core experiments in terms of elasticity; results reveal that the HAWP can produce shear thickening in the core. The constitutive equation for the HAWP can be obtained using the simulation results matched with the experimental data. On the basis of these experiments, we established a two-phase flow model of a polymer and oil, including the continuity, momentum, constitutive, and phase equations. The volume-of-fluid (VOF method was used to track the interface between the two phases. A complex pore model was established based on the glass-etched model used in the experiment. We used the OpenFOAM platform to solve the mathematical model. The saturation, pressure, and stress tensor distributions were obtained. The results show that the displacement efficiency increased as the elasticity of the polymer increased; accordingly, the elasticity can enlarge the sweep area and decrease the residual oil saturation. As the elasticity increases, the stresses (the first normal stress, second normal stress, and shear stress increase. Finally, the results obtained in this study can be used as a guideline in polymer design, screening, and optimization in the polymer flooding oilfields.

  1. Evaluation and Optimization Study on a Hybrid EOR Technique Named as Chemical-Alternating-Foam Floods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Xingguang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This work presents a novel Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR method called Chemical-Alternating-Foam (CAF floods in order to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional foam flooding such as insufficient amount of in-situ foams, severe foam collapse and surfactant retention. The first part of this research focused on the comparison of conventional foam floods and CAF floods both of which had the same amount of gas and chemicals. It showed that: (1 CAF floods possessed the much greater Residual Resistance Factor (RRF at elevated temperature; (2 the accumulative oil recovery of the CAF floods was 10%-15% higher than that of the conventional foam flooding. After 1.8 Pore Volume (PV injection, the oil recovery reached the plateau for both methods; (3 CAF floods yielded the most amount of incremental oil at the 98% water cut (water content in the effluent, while the continuous foam floods achieved the best performance at 60% water cut. The second part of this work determined the optimal foam quality (gas/liquid ratio or the volume percent gas within foam, chemical/foam slug size ratio, cycle number and injection sequence for the CAF floods. It was found that the CAF was endowed with the peak performance if the foam quality, chemical/foam slug size ratio, cycle number was fixed at 80%, 1:1 and 3 respectively with the chemical slug being introduced ahead of the foam slug. Through systematic and thorough research, the proposed hybrid process has been approved to be a viable and effective method significantly strengthening the conventional foam flooding.

  2. Biochemically enhanced oil recovery and oil treatment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premuzic, Eugene T.; Lin, Mow

    1994-01-01

    This invention relates to the preparation of new, modified organisms, through challenge growth processes, that are viable in the extreme temperature, pressure and pH conditions and salt concentrations of an oil reservoir and that are suitable for use in microbial enhanced oil recovery. The modified microorganisms of the present invention are used to enhance oil recovery and remove sulfur compounds and metals from the crude oil.

  3. Enhanced oil recovery by nitrogen and carbon dioxide injection followed by low salinity water flooding for tight carbonate reservoir: experimental approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georges Lwisa, Essa; Abdulkhalek, Ashrakat R.

    2018-03-01

    Enhanced Oil Recovery techniques are one of the top priorities of technology development in petroleum industries nowadays due to the increase in demand for oil and gas which cannot be equalized by the primary production or secondary production methods. The main function of EOR process is to displace oil to the production wells by the injection of different fluids to supplement the natural energy present in the reservoir. Moreover, these injecting fluids can also help in the alterations of the properties of the reservoir like lowering the IFTs, wettability alteration, a change in pH value, emulsion formation, clay migration and oil viscosity reduction. The objective of this experiment is to investigate the residual oil recovery by combining the effects of gas injection followed by low salinity water injection for low permeability reservoirs. This is done by a series of flooding tests on selected tight carbonate core samples taken from Zakuum oil field in Abu Dhabi by using firstly low salinity water as the base case and nitrogen & CO2injection followed by low salinity water flooding at reservoir conditions of pressure and temperature. The experimental results revealed that a significant improvement of the oil recovery is achieved by the nitrogen injection followed by the low salinity water flooding with a recovery factor of approximately 24% of the residual oil.

  4. Eos modeling and reservoir simulation study of bakken gas injection improved oil recovery in the elm coulee field, Montana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pu, Wanli

    simulations also indicate that original rock properties are the dominant factor for the ultimate oil recovery for both primary recovery and gas injection EOR. Because reservoir simulations provide critical inputs for project planning and management, more effort needs to be invested into reservoir modeling and simulation, including building enhanced geologic models, fracture characterization and modeling, and history matching with field data. Gas injection EOR projects are integrated projects, and the viability of a project also depends on different economic conditions.

  5. Application of an expert system to optimize reservoir performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gharbi, Ridha

    2005-01-01

    The main challenge of oil displacement by an injected fluid, such as in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes, is to reduce the cost and improve reservoir performance. An optimization methodology, combined with an economic model, is implemented into an expert system to optimize the net present value of full field development with an EOR process. The approach is automated and combines an economic package and existing numerical reservoir simulators to optimize the design of a selected EOR process using sensitivity analysis. The EOR expert system includes three stages of consultations: (1) select an appropriate EOR process on the basis of the reservoir characteristics, (2) prepare appropriate input data sets to design the selected EOR process using existing numerical simulators, and (3) apply the discounted-cash-flow methods to the optimization of the selected EOR process to find out under what conditions at current oil prices this EOR process might be profitable. The project profitability measures were used as the decision-making variables in an iterative approach to optimize the design of the EOR process. The economic analysis is based on the estimated recovery, residual oil in-place, oil price, and operating costs. Two case studies are presented for two reservoirs that have already been produced to their economic limits and are potential candidates for surfactant/polymer flooding, and carbon-dioxide flooding, respectively, or otherwise subject to abandonment. The effect of several design parameters on the project profitability of these EOR processes was investigated

  6. A splitting technique for analytical modelling of two-phase multicomponent flow in porous media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pires, A.P.; Bedrikovetsky, P.G.; Shapiro, Alexander

    2006-01-01

    In this paper we discuss one-dimensional models for two-phase Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) floods (oil displacement by gases, polymers, carbonized water, hot water, etc.). The main result presented here is the splitting of the EOR mathematical model into thermodynamical and hydrodynamical parts...... formation water for chemical flooding can be calculated from the reduced auxiliary system. Reduction of the number of equations allows the generation of new analytical models for EOR. The analytical model for displacement of oil by a polymer slug with water drive is presented....

  7. Expansion of Michigan EOR Operations Using Advanced Amine Technology at a 600 MW Project Wolverine Carbon Capture and Storage Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    H Hoffman; Y kishinevsky; S. Wu; R. Pardini; E. Tripp; D. Barnes

    2010-06-16

    Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc, a member owned cooperative utility based in Cadillac Michigan, proposes to demonstrate the capture, beneficial utilization and storage of CO{sub 2} in the expansion of existing Enhanced Oil Recovery operations. This project is being proposed in response to the US Department of Energy Solicitation DE-FOA-0000015 Section III D, 'Large Scale Industrial CCS projects from Industrial Sources' Technology Area 1. The project will remove 1,000 metric tons per day of CO{sub 2} from the Wolverine Clean Energy Venture 600 MW CFB power plant owned and operated by WPC. CO{sub 2} from the flue gas will be captured using Hitachi's CO{sub 2} capture system and advanced amine technology. The capture system with the advanced amine-based solvent supplied by Hitachi is expected to significantly reduce the cost and energy requirements of CO{sub 2} capture compared to current technologies. The captured CO{sub 2} will be compressed and transported for Enhanced Oil Recovery and CO{sub 2} storage purposes. Enhanced Oil Recovery is a proven concept, widely used to recover otherwise inaccessible petroleum reserves. While post-combustion CO{sub 2} capture technologies have been tested at the pilot scale on coal power plant flue gas, they have not yet been demonstrated at a commercial scale and integrated with EOR and storage operations. Amine-based CO{sub 2} capture is the leading technology expected to be available commercially within this decade to enable CCS for utility and industrial facilities firing coal and waste fuels such as petroleum coke. However, traditional CO{sub 2} capture process utilizing commercial amine solvents is very energy intensive for regeneration and is also susceptible to solvent degradation by oxygen as well as SOx and NO{sub 2} in the flue gas, resulting in large operating costs. The large volume of combustion flue gas with its low CO{sub 2} concentration requires large equipment sizes, which together with the

  8. Opportunities to improve oil productivity in unstructured deltaic reservoirs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-01-01

    This report contains presentations presented at a technical symposium on oil production. Chapter 1 contains summaries of the presentations given at the Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored symposium and key points of the discussions that followed. Chapter 2 characterizes the light oil resource from fluvial-dominated deltaic reservoirs in the Tertiary Oil Recovery Information System (TORIS). An analysis of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and advanced secondary recovery (ASR) potential for fluvial-dominated deltaic reservoirs based on recovery performance and economic modeling as well as the potential resource loss due to well abandonments is presented. Chapter 3 provides a summary of the general reservoir characteristics and properties within deltaic deposits. It is not exhaustive treatise, rather it is intended to provide some basic information about geologic, reservoir, and production characteristics of deltaic reservoirs, and the resulting recovery problems.

  9. Effect of stratification on segregation in carbon dioxide miscible flooding in a water-flooded oil reservoir

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhatti, A.A.; Mahmood, S.M.; Amjad, B.

    2013-01-01

    Oil reservoirs are subjected to tertiary recovery by deploying any enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique for the recovery of left over oil. Amongst many EOR methods one of the widely applied worldwide is CO/sub 2/ flooding through miscible, near miscible or immiscible displacement processes. CO/sub 2/ flooding process responds to a number of reservoir and fluid characteristics. These characteristics have strong effect on overall efficiency of the displacement process. Better understanding of the effect of different characteristics on displacement process is important to plan an efficient displacement process. In this work, the effect of stratification resulting in gravity segregation of the injected fluid is studied in an oil reservoir which is water-flooded during secondary phase of recovery. Sensitivity analysis is performed through successive simulation on Eclipse 300 (compositional) reservoir simulator. Process involves the continuous CO/sub 2/ injection in an oil reservoir with more than 1/3rd of original oil in place left after water flooding. Reservoir model with four different permeability layers is studied. Four patterns by changing the arrangement of the permeabilities of the layers are analysed. The effect of different arrangement or stratification on segregation of CO/sub 2/ and ultimately on the incremental oil recovery, is investigated. It has been observed that out of four arrangements, upward fining pattern relatively overcame the issue of the segregation of CO/sub 2/ and consequently 33% more oil with half injection volume is recovered when compared with the downward fining pattern. (author)

  10. How Specific Microbial Communities Benefit the Oil Industry: Case Study - Proof of Concept that Oil Entrained in Marginal Reservoirs Can Be Bioconverted to Methane Gas as a Green Energy Recovery Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gieg, Lisa

    Conventional oil recovery techniques such as water flooding typically remove only up to 40% of the oil present in reservoirs. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques are considered tertiary strategies that may be applied to recover a greater volume of oil. In particular, the use of microorganisms to aid in oil production (microbial-enhanced oil recovery or MEOR) is considered a green energy recovery strategy since microbial processes do not require large amounts of energy input and can potentially produce large amounts of useful byproducts from inexpensive and renewable resources (Youssef et al., 2008). These byproducts can include the generation of biosurfactants, emulsifiers, acids, alcohols, and/or gases that can serve as agents for oil recovery. Recent reviews have summarised MEOR efforts undertaken since the 1950's with varying degrees of success (e.g. Jack, 1993; Belyaev et al., 2004; McInerney et al., 2005; Youssef et al., 2008). In MEOR schemes, petroleum reservoirs may be either stimulated with nutrients or inoculated with microorganisms with known activity to achieve desired effects (Youssef et al., 2008).

  11. Development of alkaline/surfactant/polymer (ASP flooding technology for recovery of Karazhanbas oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Birzhan Zhappasbaev

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The tertiary oil recovery methods like alkaline, surfactant and polymer (ASP flooding are very perspective in order to achieve the synergetic effect out of the different impacts which are caused by these chemicals, which affect oil and water filtration in the reservoir and increase oil recovery. In this communication, we consider the applicability of hydrophobically modified polyampholyte – poly(hexadecylaminocrotonatebetaine (PHDACB as ASP flooding agent for recovery of oil from Karazhanbas oilfield. As “polysoap”, the aqueous solution of PHDACB dissolved in aqueous KOH was used. This system combines the advantages of alkaline, surfactant and polymer and exhibits the synergistic effect. The laboratory results showed that the ASP flooding considerably increases the oil recovery in addition to water flooding. In perspective, the ASP flooding may substitute the steam injection and other thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR technologies.

  12. Penn West Energy Trust CO{sub 2} EOR storage monitoring project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chalaturnyk, R. [Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada)

    2007-07-01

    This presentation described Penn West Energy Trust's carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) storage monitoring project. The project formed part of a royalty credit program that offered a royalty reduction to energy companies as part of a plan to encourage the development of a CO{sub 2} storage industry in Alberta. The multi-agency project is expected to provide a better understanding of the fate of CO{sub 2} injected into petroleum reservoirs and the role that CO{sub 2} storage will play in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project is located in a reservoir that had previously been waterflooded. High purity CO{sub 2} is injected through 2 directional wells. Data acquired from the field is used to provide information on baseline geology and hydrogeology, as well as to provide details of baseline leakages. Rock properties are investigated in order identify issues affecting rock strength. Geophysical monitoring is conducted to interpret baseline seismic profile datasets as well as to integrate active and passive survey analyses with geochemical characterization studies and reservoir models. The project is currently in the stage of developing a simulation model based on a comprehensive understanding of CO{sub 2} injection mechanisms. The model will be used to predict CO{sub 2} storage capacity and movement. refs., tabs., figs.

  13. Modeling of CO2 migration injected in Weyburn oil reservoir

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Wei; Stenhouse, M.J.; Arthur, R.

    2008-01-01

    Injecting CO 2 into oil and gas field is a way to enhance oil recovery (EOR) as well as mitigate global warming effect by permanently storing the greenhouse gas into underground. This paper details the models and results of simulating the long-term migration of CO 2 injected into the Weyburn field for both Enhanced Oil Recovery operations and CO 2 sequestration. A System Model was established to define the spatial and temporal extents of the analysis. The Base Scenario was developed to identify key processes, features, and events (FEPs) for the expected evolution of the storage system. A compositional reservoir simulator with equations-of-states (EOS) was used as the modeling tool in order to simulate multiphase, multi-component flow and transport coupled with CO 2 mass partitioning into oil, gas, and water phases. We apply a deterministic treatment to CO 2 migration in the geosphere (natural pathways), whereas the variability of abandoned wells (man-made pathways) necessitates a stochastic treatment. The simulation result was then used to carry out consequence analysis to the local environment. (authors)

  14. Investigation of Chemical-Foam Design as a Novel Approach toward Immiscible Foam Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseini-Nasab, S M; Zitha, P L J

    2017-10-19

    Strong foam can be generated in porous media containing oil, resulting in incremental oil recovery; however, oil recovery factor is restricted. A large fraction of oil recovered by foam flooding forms an oil-in-water emulsion, so that costly methods may need to be used to separate the oil. Moreover, strong foam could create a large pressure gradient, which may cause fractures in the reservoir. This study presents a novel chemical-foam flooding process for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) from water-flooded reservoirs. The presented method involved the use of chemically designed foam to mobilize the remaining oil after water flooding and then to displace the mobilized oil to the production well. A blend of two anionic surfactant formulations was formulated for this method: (a) IOS, for achieving ultralow interfacial tension (IFT), and (b) AOS, for generating a strong foam. Experiments were performed using Bentheimer sandstone cores, where X-ray CT images were taken during foam generation to find the stability of the advancing front of foam propagation and to map the gas saturation for both the transient and the steady-state flow regimes. Then the proposed chemical-foam strategy for incremental oil recovery was tested through the coinjection of immiscible nitrogen gas and surfactant solutions with three different formulation properties in terms of IFT reduction and foaming strength capability. The discovered optimal formulation contains a foaming agent surfactant, a low IFT surfactant, and a cosolvent, which has a high foam stability and a considerably low IFT (1.6 × 10 -2 mN/m). Coinjection resulted in higher oil recovery and much less MRF than the same process with only using a foaming agent. The oil displacement experiment revealed that coinjection of gas with a blend of surfactants, containing a cosolvent, can recover a significant amount of oil (33% OIIP) over water flooding with a larger amount of clean oil and less emulsion.

  15. Assessment of potential increased oil production by polymer-waterflood in northern and southern mid-continent oil fields. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pease, R.W.; Durham, E.N.; Watson, J.A.

    1979-09-01

    A conventional waterflood in the North Stanley Field, Osage County, Oklahoma, nearing the economic limit, was modified by substituting an aqueous solution of polyacrylamides for brine as the intected fluid. Remedial operations on existing facilities were performed before polymer injection began. Positive oil production response was achieved from this 1000-acre project, a maximum EOR production rate of about 200 barrels per day being achieved within 1-1/2 years after the start of polymer injection. Based on performance to January 1979, ultimate EOR recovery is estimated at 500,000 barrels.

  16. Venezuela-MEM/USA-DOE Fossil Energy Report IV-11: Supporting technology for enhanced oil recovery - EOR thermal processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Venezuela

    2000-04-06

    This report contains the results of efforts under the six tasks of the Tenth Amendment anti Extension of Annex IV, Enhanced Oil Recovery Thermal Processes of the Venezuela/USA Energy Agreement. This report is presented in sections (for each of the six Tasks) and each section contains one or more reports that were prepared to describe the results of the effort under each of the Tasks. A statement of each Task, taken from the Agreement Between Project Managers, is presented on the first page of each section. The Tasks are numbered 68 through 73. The first through tenth report on research performed under Annex IV Venezuela MEM/USA-DOE Fossil Energy Report Number IV-1, IV-2, IV-3, IV-4, IV-5, IV-6, IV-7, IV-8, IV-9, IV-10 contain the results of the first 67 Tasks. These reports are dated April 1983, August 1984, March 1986, July 1987, November 1988, December 1989, October 1991, February 1993, March 1995, and December 1997, respectively.

  17. The future of oil and bioethanol in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreira, Jose R.; Pacca, Sergio A.; Parente, Virginia

    2014-01-01

    This work compares the return on investments (ROI) of oil versus biofuels in Brazil. Although several renewable energy sources might displace oil, the country's forte is sugarcane biofuels. In our analysis we carry out simplified benefit–cost analyses of producing oil fields, pre-salt oil fields (without and with enhanced oil recovery), a business as the usual ethanol scenario, and a high ethanol scenario. Excluding the ROI from existing oil fields, which is the highest, when the discount rate is 4% or more, the ROI of the high ethanol scenario is greater than that of the ROI of pre-salt oil. Considering a US$40/t CO 2 tax, the high ethanol scenario's ROI is greater than the pre-salt oil's ROI if a discount rate of 2% or more is adopted. Moreover, the high ethanol scenario throughput up to 2070 compares to 97% of the pre-salt oil reserve without EOR, and demands 78% of its investment. Pre-salt oil production declines beyond 2042 when the country might become a net oil importer. In contrast, ethanol production reaches 2.1 million boe per day, and another 0.9 million boe of fossil demand is displaced through bioelectricity, yielding a total of 3 million boe (62% of the country's oil demand). - Highlights: • Cost-benefit analyses of pre-salt and biofuels in Brazil. • Hubbert model applied to pre-salt oil reserves. • Sustainable energy scenarios. • Carbon mitigation accounting based on biofuel scenarios. • Enhanced oil recovery effect on pre-salt oil reserves

  18. Oil recovery enhancement from fractured, low permeability reservoirs. Part 2, Annual report, October 1, 1990--September 31, 1991

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poston, S.W.

    1991-12-31

    The results of the investigative efforts for this jointly funded DOE-State of Texas research project achieved during the 1990--1991 year may be summarized as follows: Geological Characterization -- Detailed maps of the development and hierarchical nature the fracture system exhibited by Austin Chalk outcrops were prepared. These results of these efforts were directly applied to the development of production decline type curves applicable to a dual fracture-matrix flow system. Analysis of production records obtained from Austin Chalk operators illustrated the utility of these type curves to determine relative fracture/matrix contributions and extent. Well-log response in Austin Chalk wells has been shown to be a reliable indicator of organic maturity. (VSP) Vertical-Seismic Profile data was used to use shear-wave splitting concepts to estimate fracture orientations. Several programs were to be written to facilitate analysis of the data. The results of these efforts indicated fractures could be detected with VSP seismic methods. Development of the (EOR) Enhanced Oil Recovery Imbibition Process -- Laboratory displacement as well as MRI and CT imaging studies have shown the carbonated water-imbibition displacement process significantly accelerates and increases recovery of an oil saturated, low permeability core material, when compared to that of a normal brine imbibition displacement process. A study of oil recovery by the application of a cyclic carbonated water imbibition process, followed by reducing the pressure below the bubble point of the CO{sub 2}-water solution, indicated the possibility of alternate and new enhanced recovery method. The installation of an artificial solution gas drive significantly increased oil recovery. The extent and arrangement of micro-fractures in Austin Chalk horizontal cores was mapped with CT scanning techniques. The degree of interconnection of the micro-fractures was easily visualized.

  19. USING PHASE DIAGRAMS TO PREDICT THE PERFORMANCE OF COSOLVENT FLOODS FOR NAPL REMEDIATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosolvent flooding using water miscible solvents such as alcohols has been proposed as an in-situ NAPL remediation technique. This process is conceptually similar to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) using alcohols and some surfactant formulations. As a result of interest in the EOR ...

  20. Transient enhanced diffusion in preamorphized silicon: the role of the surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowern, N. E. B.; Alquier, D.; Omri, M.; Claverie, A.; Nejim, A.

    1999-01-01

    Experiments on the depth dependence of transient enhanced diffusion (TED) of boron during rapid thermal annealing of Ge-preamorphized layers reveal a linear decrease in the diffusion enhancement between the end-of-range (EOR) defect band and the surface. This behavior, which indicates a quasi-steady-state distribution of excess interstitials, emitted from the EOR band and absorbed at the surface, is observed for annealing times as short as 1 s at 900°C. Using an etching procedure we vary the distance xEOR from the EOR band to the surface in the range 80-175 nm, and observe how this influences the interstitial supersaturation, s( x). The supersaturations at the EOR band and the surface remain unchanged, while the gradient d s/d x, and thus the flux to the surface, varies inversely with xEOR. This confirms the validity of earlier modelling of EOR defect evolution in terms of Ostwald ripening, and provides conclusive evidence that the surface is the dominant sink for interstitials during TED.

  1. Integrated Framework for Assessing Impacts of CO₂ Leakage on Groundwater Quality and Monitoring-Network Efficiency: Case Study at a CO₂ Enhanced Oil Recovery Site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Changbing; Hovorka, Susan D; Treviño, Ramón H; Delgado-Alonso, Jesus

    2015-07-21

    This study presents a combined use of site characterization, laboratory experiments, single-well push-pull tests (PPTs), and reactive transport modeling to assess potential impacts of CO2 leakage on groundwater quality and leakage-detection ability of a groundwater monitoring network (GMN) in a potable aquifer at a CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2 EOR) site. Site characterization indicates that failures of plugged and abandoned wells are possible CO2 leakage pathways. Groundwater chemistry in the shallow aquifer is dominated mainly by silicate mineral weathering, and no CO2 leakage signals have been detected in the shallow aquifer. Results of the laboratory experiments and the field test show no obvious damage to groundwater chemistry should CO2 leakage occur and further were confirmed with a regional-scale reactive transport model (RSRTM) that was built upon the batch experiments and validated with the single-well PPT. Results of the RSRTM indicate that dissolved CO2 as an indicator for CO2 leakage detection works better than dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, and alkalinity at the CO2 EOR site. The detection ability of a GMN was assessed with monitoring efficiency, depending on various factors, including the natural hydraulic gradient, the leakage rate, the number of monitoring wells, the aquifer heterogeneity, and the time for a CO2 plume traveling to the monitoring well.

  2. Current Status of the LOFAR EoR Key Science Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koopmans, L. V. E.; LOFAR EoR KSP Team

    2018-05-01

    A short status update on the LOFAR Epoch of Reionization (EoR) Key Science Project (KSP) is given, regarding data acquisition, data processing and analysis, and current power-spectrum limits on the redshifted 21-cm signal of neutral hydrogen at redshifts z = 8 - 10. With caution, we present a preliminary astrophysical analysis of ~60 hr of processed LOFAR data and their resulting power spectrum, showing that potentially already interesting limits on X-ray heating during the Cosmic Dawn can already be gained. This is by no means the final analysis of this sub-set of data, but illustrates the future potential when all nearly 3000 hr of data in hand on two EoR windows will have been processed.

  3. Synthesis and Evaluation of a Water-Soluble Hyperbranched Polymer as Enhanced Oil Recovery Chemical

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nanjun Lai

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A novel hyperbranched polymer was synthesized using acrylamide (AM, acrylic acid (AA, N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP, and dendrite functional monomer as raw materials by redox initiation system in an aqueous medium. The hyperbranched polymer was characterized by infrared (IR spectroscopy, 1H NMR spectroscopy, 13C NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and scanning electron microscope (SEM. The viscosity retention rate of the hyperbranched polymer was 22.89% higher than that of the AM/AA copolymer (HPAM at 95°C, and the viscosity retention rate was 8.17%, 12.49%, and 13.68% higher than that of HPAM in 18000 mg/L NaCl, 1800 mg/L CaCl2, and 1800 mg/L MgCl2·6H2O brine, respectively. The hyperbranched polymer exhibited higher apparent viscosity (25.2 mPa·s versus 8.1 mPa·s under 500 s−1 shear rate at 80°C. Furthermore, the enhanced oil recovery (EOR of 1500 mg/L hyperbranched polymer solutions was up to 23.51% by the core flooding test at 80°C.

  4. Biotechnology in petroleum recovery. The microbial EOR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sen, Ramkrishna [Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India)

    2008-12-15

    Biotechnology has played a significant role in enhancing crude oil recovery from the depleted oil reservoirs to solve stagnant petroleum production, after a three-stage recovery process employing mechanical, physical and chemical methods. Biotechnologically enhanced oil recovery processes, known as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), involve stimulating indigenous reservoir microbes or injecting specially selected consortia of natural bacteria into the reservoir to produce specific metabolic events that lead to improved oil recovery. This also involves flooding with oil recovery agents produced ex situ by industrial or pilot scale fermentation. This paper essentially reviews the operating mechanisms and the progress made in enhanced oil recovery through the use of microbes and their metabolic products. Improvement in oil recovery by injecting solvents and gases or by energizing the reservoir microflora to produce them in situ for carbonate rock dissolution and reservoir re-pressurization has been enunciated. The role of biosurfactants in oil mobilization through emulsification and that of biopolymers for selective plugging of oil-depleted zones and for biofilm formation have been delineated. The spoil sport played by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in MEOR has also been briefly reviewed. The importance of mathematical models used in predicting the applicability of an MEOR strategy and the microbial growth and transport has been qualitatively discussed. The results of some laboratory studies and worldwide field trials applying ex situ and in situ MEOR technologies were compiled and interpreted. However, the potential of the MEOR technologies has not been fully realized due to poor yield of the useful microbial metabolic products, growth inhibition by accumulated toxic metabolites and longer time of incubation. A complete evaluation and assessment of MEOR from an engineering standpoint based on economics, applicability and performance is required to further

  5. Characteristics of enriched cultures for bio-huff-`n`-puff tests at Jilin oil field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiu-Yuan Wang; Gang Dai; Yan-Fen Xue; Shu-Hua Xie [Institute of Microbiology, Beijing (China)] [and others

    1995-12-31

    Three enriched cultures (48, 15a, and 26a), selected from more than 80 soil and water samples, could grow anaerobically in the presence of crude oil at 30{degrees}C and could ferment molasses to gases and organic acids. Oil recovery by culture 48 in the laboratory model experiment was enhanced by 25.2% over the original reserves and by 53.7% over the residual reserves. Enriched culture 48 was composed of at least 4 species belonging to the genera Eubacterium, Fusobacterium, and Bacteroides. This enriched culture was used as inoculum for MEOR field trials at Jilin oil field with satisfactory results. The importance of the role of these isolates in EOR was confirmed by their presence and behavior in the fluids produced from the microbiologically treated reservoir.

  6. Application of Time-Lapse Seismic Monitoring for the Control and Optimization of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brian Toelle

    2008-11-30

    This project, 'Application of Time-Lapse Seismic Monitoring for the Control and Optimization of CO{sub 2} Enhanced Oil Recovery Operations', investigated the potential for monitoring CO{sub 2} floods in carbonate reservoirs through the use of standard p-wave seismic data. This primarily involved the use of 4D seismic (time lapse seismic) in an attempt to observe and map the movement of the injected CO{sub 2} through a carbonate reservoir. The differences between certain seismic attributes, such as amplitude, were used for this purpose. This technique has recently been shown to be effective in CO{sub 2} monitoring in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects, such as Weyborne. This study was conducted in the Charlton 30/31 field in the northern Michigan Basin, which is a Silurian pinnacle reef that completed its primary production in 1997 and was scheduled for enhanced oil recovery using injected CO{sub 2}. Prior to injection an initial 'Base' 3D survey was obtained over the field and was then processed and interpreted. CO{sub 2} injection within the main portion of the reef was conducted intermittently during 13 months starting in August 2005. During this time, 29,000 tons of CO{sub 2} was injected into the Guelph formation, historically known as the Niagaran Brown formation. By September 2006, the reservoir pressure within the reef had risen to approximately 2000 lbs and oil and water production from the one producing well within the field had increased significantly. The determination of the reservoir's porosity distribution, a critical aspect of reservoir characterization and simulation, proved to be a significant portion of this project. In order to relate the differences observed between the seismic attributes seen on the multiple 3D seismic surveys and the actual location of the CO{sub 2}, a predictive reservoir simulation model was developed based on seismic attributes obtained from the base 3D seismic survey and available well data. This

  7. CO{sub 2} flooding performance prediction for Alberta oil pools

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaw, J.C. [Adams Pearson Associates Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada); Bachu, S. [Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2002-06-01

    An advanced technical screening program was used to successfully screen and rank a very large number of Alberta oil pools for enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) flooding. This paper is a continuation paper describing the results of using the Microsoft Excel program with VBA to estimate production forecasts for several candidate pools in Alberta. A total of 6 ranking parameters were used, including API gravity of oil, residual oil saturation, ratio between reservoir pressure and minimum miscibility pressure, reservoir temperature, net pay thickness and porosity. The screening program provides a technical ranking of approximately 8,000 Alberta pools. After compilation of the Alberta oil pools, it was determined that most of the deep carbonate oil pools are excellent candidates for CO{sub 2} miscible flooding. Other Devonian carbonate pools are also ranked as having high potential for the process. An environmental benefit of CO{sub 2} miscible flooding process is that carbon sequestration has the potential to reduce anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions from reaching the atmosphere. Ongoing studies are currently addressing CO{sub 2} capture and transportation, making EOR technology viable for maintaining light oil production in western Canada. 11 refs., 2 tabs., 2 figs.

  8. Synthesis and Performance of an Acrylamide Copolymer Containing Nano-SiO2 as Enhanced Oil Recovery Chemical

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhongbin Ye

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A novel copolymer containing nano-SiO2 was synthesized by free radical polymerization using acrylamide (AM, acrylic acid (AA, and nano-SiO2 functional monomer (NSFM as raw materials under mild conditions. The AM/AA/NSFM copolymer was characterized by infrared (IR spectroscopy, 1H NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and scanning electron microscope (SEM. It was found that the AM/AA/NSFM copolymer exhibited higher viscosity than the AM/AA copolymer at 500 s−1 shear rate (18.6 mPa·s versus 8.7 mPa·s. It was also found that AM/AA/NSFM could achieve up to 43.7% viscosity retention rate at 95°C. Mobility control results indicated that AM/AA/NSFM could establish much higher resistance factor (RF and residual resistance factor (RRF than AM/AA under the same conditions (RF: 16.52 versus 12.17, RRF: 3.63 versus 2.59. At last, the enhanced oil recovery (EOR of AM/AA/NSFM was up to 20.10% by core flooding experiments at 65°C.

  9. Screening and ranking Alberta oil pools for CO{sub 2} flooding and sequestration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaw, J.C. [Adams Pearson Associates Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada); Bachu, S. [Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2001-06-01

    This paper presented the results of a technical screening program using Excel VBA to successfully screen and rank a very large number of oil pools for enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) flooding. A total of 6 ranking parameters were used, including API gravity of oil, residual oil saturation, ratio between reservoir pressure and minimum miscibility pressure, reservoir temperature, net pay thickness and porosity. The screening program provided a technical ranking of approximately 8,800 Alberta pools in less than 2 minutes. After compilation of the Alberta oil pools, it was determined that most of the deep carbonate oil pools are excellent candidates for CO{sub 2} miscible flooding. Other Devonian carbonate pools were also ranked as having high potential for the process. An environmental benefit of CO{sub 2} miscible flooding process is that carbon sequestration has the potential to reduce anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions from reaching the atmosphere. Ongoing studies are currently addressing CO{sub 2} capture and transportation, making EOR technology viable for maintaining light oil production in western Canada. 11 refs., 7 tabs., 1 fig.

  10. Method for enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comberiati, Joseph R.; Locke, Charles D.; Kamath, Krishna I.

    1980-01-01

    The present invention is directed to an improved method for enhanced recovery of oil from relatively "cold" reservoirs by carbon dioxide flooding. In oil reservoirs at a temperature less than the critical temperature of 87.7.degree. F. and at a pore pressure greater than the saturation pressure of carbon dioxide at the temperature of the reservoir, the carbon dioxide remains in the liquid state which does not satisfactorily mix with the oil. However, applicants have found that carbon dioxide can be vaporized in situ in the reservoir by selectively reducing the pore pressure in the reservoir to a value less than the particular saturated vapor pressure so as to greatly enhance the mixing of the carbon dioxide with the oil.

  11. Effect of capillary number on the oil recovery using oil-water emulsion injection in core flooding experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guillen Nunez, Victor Raul; Carvalho, Marcio da Silveira [Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), RJ (Brazil). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering], E-mail: msn@puc-rio.br; Basante, Vladimir Alvarado [University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States). Dept. of Chemical/Petroleum Engineering], E-mail: valvard@uwyo.edu

    2010-07-01

    The Water injection flooding is a common method to improve reservoir sweep and pressure maintenance. The heavy-oil-recovery efficiency is in part limited by the high water-to-oil mobility ratio. Several enhanced oil recovery methods are being developed as more efficient alternatives to water flooding. Dispersion injection, in particular oil-water emulsion injection, has been tried with relative success as an enhanced oil recovery method, but the technique is not fully developed or understood. If emulsion injection proves to be an effective EOR method, its use would bring the added benefit of disposing produced water with small oil content that could be modified to serve as the injected oil-water emulsion. The use of such methods requires a detailed analysis of the different flow regimes of emulsions through the porous space of a reservoir rock. If the drop size of the disperse phase is of the same order of magnitude as the pore size, the drops may agglomerate and partially block water flow through pores. This flow regime may be used to control the mobility of the injected liquid, leading to higher recovery factor. We have shown in recent experiments of oil displacement in a sandstone core that, the oil recovery factor could be raised from approximately 40 %, obtained with water injection only, up to approximately 75 % by alternating water and emulsion injection. Although these results clearly show the improvement in the recovery factor, the mechanisms responsible for the phenomenon have not been clearly elucidated. In this work, two sandstone cores were used to demonstrate the effect of flow rate (capillary number) on the mobility control by emulsion injection. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the experiment set-up. The experiments show that raising the flow rate by a factor of 10 (0.03 ml/min to 0.3 ml/min), the oil recovered factor decreases considerably. (author)

  12. General introduction and recovery factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Mahendra K.

    2017-07-17

    IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) compared methods for estimating an incremental recovery factor (RF) for the carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) process involving the injection of CO2 into oil reservoirs. This chapter first provides some basic information on the RF, including its dependence on various reservoir and operational parameters, and then discusses the three development phases of oil recovery—primary, second­ary, and tertiary (EOR). It ends with a brief discussion of the three approaches for estimating recovery factors, which are detailed in subsequent chapters.

  13. Venezuela-MEM/USA-DOE Fossil Energy Report XIII-1, Supporting Technology for Enhanced Oil Recovery, Microbial EOR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ziritt, Jose Luis

    1999-11-03

    The results from Annex XIII of the Cooperative Agreement between the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ministry of Energy and Mines of the Republic of Venezuela (MEMV) have been documented and published with many researchers involved. Integrate comprehensive research programs in the area of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) ranged from feasibility laboratory studies to full-scale multi-well field pilots. The objective, to cooperate in a technical exchange of ideas and information was fully met throughout the life of the Annex. Information has been exchanged between the two countries through published reports and technical meetings between experts in both country's research communities. The meetings occurred every two years in locations coincident with the International MEOR conferences & workshops sponsored by DOE (June 1990, University of Oklahoma, September 1992, Brookhaven, September 1995, National Institute of Petroleum and Energy Research). Reports and publications produced during these years are listed in Appendix B. Several Annex managers have guided the exchange through the years. They included Luis Vierma, Jose Luis Zirritt, representing MEMV and E. B. Nuckols, Edith Allison, and Rhonda Lindsey, representing the U.S. DOE. Funding for this area of research remained steady for a few years but decreased in recent years. Because both countries have reduced research programs in this area, future exchanges on this topic will occur through ANNEX XV. Informal networks established between researchers through the years should continue to function between individuals in the two countries.

  14. Joint IEA-OPEC workshop on CO2-enhanced oil recovery with CCS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-01

    The IEA and OPEC jointly organised a workshop to discuss CO2-EOR and its role in supporting the early demonstration of CCS. The workshop was hosted by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, and held in Kuwait City on 7-8 February 2012. It brought together OPEC Member country experts and international CO2-EOR experts to discuss commercial, economic, technical, regulatory and policy aspects associated with the technology. Issues discussed include factors that can promote CO2-EOR ahead of ''pure'' CCS, barriers preventing uptake of the technology,and the range of policy interventions that could be employed to promote its use in OPEC Member countriesand other parts of the world. This report presents a synthesis of the discussions that took place, and lays the foundation for future analysis.

  15. Novel approaches to microbial enhancement of oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kryachko, Yuriy

    2018-01-20

    Microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) was shown to be feasible in a number of laboratory experiments and field trials. However, it has not been widely used in the oil industry because necessary conditions cannot always be easily established in an oil reservoir. Novel approaches to MEOR, which are based on newly discovered biosurfactant-mediated MEOR-mechanisms, are discussed in this review. Particularly, the possibility of combining MEOR with chemical enhancement of oil recovery in heterogeneous oil reservoirs, which involves rock surface wettability shifts and emulsion inversions, is discussed. In wider (centimeter/millimeter-scale) rock pores, the activity of (bio)surfactants and microbial cells attached to oil may allow releasing trapped oil blobs through oil-in-water emulsification. After no more oil can be emulsified, the addition of alkali or surfactants, which turn rock surface oil-wet, may help release oil droplets trapped in narrow (micrometer-scale) pores through coalescence of the droplets and water-in-oil emulsification. Experiments demonstrating the possibility of (bio)surfactant-mediated enhancement of immiscible gas-driven oil recovery are also reviewed. Interestingly, very low (bio)surfactant concentrations were shown to be needed for enhancement of immiscible gas-driven oil recovery. Some possible side effects of MEOR, such as unintended bioplugging and microbially influenced corrosion (MIC), are discussed as well. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Subtask – CO2 storage and enhanced bakken recovery research program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sorensen, James [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Hawthorne, Steven [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Smith, Steven [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Braunberger, Jason [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Liu, Guoxiang [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Klenner, Robert [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Botnen, Lisa [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Steadman, Edward [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Harju, John [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States); Doll, Thomas [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)

    2014-05-31

    Small improvements in productivity could increase technically recoverable oil in the Bakken Petroleum System by billions of barrels. The use of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in tight oil reservoirs is a relatively new concept. The large-scale injection of CO2 into the Bakken would also result in the geological storage of significant amounts of CO2. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has conducted laboratory and modeling activities to examine the potential for CO2 storage and EOR in the Bakken. Specific activities included the characterization and subsequent modeling of North Dakota study areas as well as dynamic predictive simulations of possible CO2 injection schemes to predict the potential CO2 storage and EOR in those areas. Laboratory studies to evaluate the ability of CO2 to remove hydrocarbons from Bakken rocks and determine minimum miscibility pressures for Bakken oil samples were conducted. Data from a CO2 injection test conducted in the Elm Coulee area of Montana in 2009 were evaluated with an eye toward the possible application of knowledge gained to future injection tests in other areas. A first-order estimation of potential CO2 storage capacity in the Bakken Formation in North Dakota was also conducted. Key findings of the program are as follows. The results of the research activities suggest that CO2 may be effective in enhancing the productivity of oil from the Bakken and that the Bakken may hold the ability to geologically store between 120 Mt and 3.2 Gt of CO2. However, there are no clear-cut answers regarding the most effective approach for using CO2 to improve oil productivity or the storage capacity of the Bakken. The results underscore the notion that an unconventional resource will likely require unconventional methods of both assessment and implementation when it comes to the injection of CO

  17. Integrated Reservoir Modeling of CO2-EOR Performance and Storage Potential in the Farnsworth Field Unit, Texas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ampomah, W.; Balch, R. S.; Cather, M.; Dai, Z.

    2017-12-01

    We present a performance assessment methodology and storage potential for CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in partially depleted reservoirs. A three dimensional heterogeneous reservoir model was developed based on geological, geophysics and engineering data from Farnsworth field Unit (FWU). The model aided in improved characterization of prominent rock properties within the Pennsylvanian aged Morrow sandstone reservoir. Seismic attributes illuminated previously unknown faults and structural elements within the field. A laboratory fluid analysis was tuned to an equation of state and subsequently used to predict the thermodynamic minimum miscible pressure (MMP). Datasets including net-to-gross ratio, volume of shale, permeability, and burial history were used to model initial fault transmissibility based on Sperivick model. An improved history match of primary and secondary recovery was performed to set the basis for a CO2 flood study. The performance of the current CO2 miscible flood patterns was subsequently calibrated to historical production and injection data. Several prediction models were constructed to study the effect of recycling, addition of wells and /or new patterns, water alternating gas (WAG) cycles and optimum amount of CO2 purchase on incremental oil production and CO2 storage in the FWU. The history matching study successfully validated the presence of the previously undetected faults within FWU that were seen in the seismic survey. The analysis of the various prediction scenarios showed that recycling a high percentage of produced gas, addition of new wells and a gradual reduction in CO2 purchase after several years of operation would be the best approach to ensure a high percentage of recoverable incremental oil and sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 within the Morrow reservoir. Larger percentage of stored CO2 were dissolved in residual oil and less amount existed as supercritical free CO2. The geomechanical analysis on the caprock proved to an

  18. 21SSD: a new public 21-cm EoR database

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eames, Evan; Semelin, Benoît

    2018-05-01

    With current efforts inching closer to detecting the 21-cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), proper preparation will require publicly available simulated models of the various forms the signal could take. In this work we present a database of such models, available at 21ssd.obspm.fr. The models are created with a fully-coupled radiative hydrodynamic simulation (LICORICE), and are created at high resolution (10243). We also begin to analyse and explore the possible 21-cm EoR signals (with Power Spectra and Pixel Distribution Functions), and study the effects of thermal noise on our ability to recover the signal out to high redshifts. Finally, we begin to explore the concepts of `distance' between different models, which represents a crucial step towards optimising parameter space sampling, training neural networks, and finally extracting parameter values from observations.

  19. Observation of silicon self-diffusion enhanced by the strain originated from end-of-range defects using isotope multilayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Isoda, Taiga; Uematsu, Masashi; Itoh, Kohei M., E-mail: kitoh@appi.keio.ac.jp [School of Fundamental Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama 223-8522 (Japan)

    2015-09-21

    Si self-diffusion in the presence of end-of-range (EOR) defects is investigated using {sup nat}Si/{sup 28}Si isotope multilayers. The isotope multilayers were amorphized by Ge ion implantation, and then annealed at 800–950 °C. The behavior of Si self-interstitials is investigated through the {sup 30}Si self-diffusion. The experimental {sup 30}Si profiles show further enhancement of Si self-diffusion at the EOR defect region, in addition to the transient enhanced diffusion via excess Si self-interstitials by EOR defects. To explain this additional enhanced diffusion, we propose a model which takes into account enhanced diffusion by tensile strain originated from EOR defects. The calculation results based on this model have well reproduced the experimental {sup 30}Si profiles.

  20. Carbon Capture and Sequestration (via Enhanced Oil Recovery) from a Hydrogen Production Facility in an Oil Refinery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stewart Mehlman

    2010-06-16

    The project proposed a commercial demonstration of advanced technologies that would capture and sequester CO2 emissions from an existing hydrogen production facility in an oil refinery into underground formations in combination with Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). The project is led by Praxair, Inc., with other project participants: BP Products North America Inc., Denbury Onshore, LLC (Denbury), and Gulf Coast Carbon Center (GCCC) at the Bureau of Economic Geology of The University of Texas at Austin. The project is located at the BP Refinery at Texas City, Texas. Praxair owns and operates a large hydrogen production facility within the refinery. As part of the project, Praxair would construct a CO2 capture and compression facility. The project aimed at demonstrating a novel vacuum pressure swing adsorption (VPSA) based technology to remove CO2 from the Steam Methane Reformers (SMR) process gas. The captured CO2 would be purified using refrigerated partial condensation separation (i.e., cold box). Denbury would purchase the CO2 from the project and inject the CO2 as part of its independent commercial EOR projects. The Gulf Coast Carbon Center at the Bureau of Economic Geology, a unit of University of Texas at Austin, would manage the research monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) project for the sequestered CO2, in conjunction with Denbury. The sequestration and associated MVA activities would be carried out in the Hastings field at Brazoria County, TX. The project would exceed DOE’s target of capturing one million tons of CO2 per year (MTPY) by 2015. Phase 1 of the project (Project Definition) is being completed. The key objective of Phase 1 is to define the project in sufficient detail to enable an economic decision with regard to proceeding with Phase 2. This topical report summarizes the administrative, programmatic and technical accomplishments completed in Phase 1 of the project. It describes the work relative to project technical and design activities

  1. Evaluation of the numerical solution of polymer flooding; Avaliacao da solucao numerica da injecao de polimeros em reservatorios de petroleo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Teixeira, Vinicius Ligiero; Pires, Adolfo Puime; Bedrikovetsky, Pavel G. [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (UENF), Macae, RJ (Brazil). Lab. de Engenharia e Exploracao do Petroleo (LENEP)

    2004-07-01

    Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods include injection of different fluids into reservoirs to improve oil displacement. The EOR methods may be classified into the following kinds: injection of chemical solutions, injection of solvents and thermal methods. The chemical fluids most commonly injected are polymers, surfactants, micellar solutions, etc. Displacement of oil by any of these fluids involves complex physico-chemical processes of interphase mass transfer, phase transitions and transport properties changes. These processes can be divided into two main categories: thermodynamical and hydrodynamical ones. They occur simultaneously during the displacement, and are coupled in the modern mathematical models of EOR. The model for one-dimensional displacement of oil by polymer solutions is analyzed in this paper. The Courant number is fixed, and we compare the results of different runs of a numerical simulator with the analytical solution of this problem. Each run corresponds to a different spatial discretization. (author)

  2. Microseismic Monitoring of CO2 Injection at the Penn West Enhanced Oil Recovery Pilot Project, Canada: Implications for Detection of Wellbore Leakage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalo Zambrano-Narváez

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available A passive seismic monitoring campaign was carried out in the frame of a CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR pilot project in Alberta, Canada. Our analysis focuses on a two-week period during which prominent downhole pressure fluctuations in the reservoir were accompanied by a leakage of CO2 and CH4 along the monitoring well equipped with an array of short-period borehole geophones. We applied state of the art seismological processing schemes to the continuous seismic waveform recordings. During the analyzed time period we did not find evidence of induced micro-seismicity associated with CO2 injection. Instead, we identified signals related to the leakage of CO2 and CH4, in that seven out of the eight geophones show a clearly elevated noise level framing the onset time of leakage along the monitoring well. Our results confirm that micro-seismic monitoring of reservoir treatment can contribute towards improved reservoir monitoring and leakage detection.

  3. Microseismic monitoring of CO2 injection at the Penn West Enhanced Oil Recovery pilot project, Canada: implications for detection of wellbore leakage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Garzón, Patricia; Bohnhoff, Marco; Kwiatek, Grzegorz; Zambrano-Narváez, Gonzalo; Chalaturnyk, Rick

    2013-09-02

    A passive seismic monitoring campaign was carried out in the frame of a CO2-Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) pilot project in Alberta, Canada. Our analysis focuses on a two-week period during which prominent downhole pressure fluctuations in the reservoir were accompanied by a leakage of CO2 and CH4 along the monitoring well equipped with an array of short-period borehole geophones. We applied state of the art seismological processing schemes to the continuous seismic waveform recordings. During the analyzed time period we did not find evidence of induced micro-seismicity associated with CO2 injection. Instead, we identified signals related to the leakage of CO2 and CH4, in that seven out of the eight geophones show a clearly elevated noise level framing the onset time of leakage along the monitoring well. Our results confirm that micro-seismic monitoring of reservoir treatment can contribute towards improved reservoir monitoring and leakage detection.

  4. Environmental assessment of the use of radionuclides as tracers in the enhanced recovery of oil and gas. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ng, Y.C.; Cederwall, R.T.; Anspaugh, L.R.

    1983-01-01

    An environmental assessment of the use of radioisotopes as interwell tracers in field flooding for the enhanced recovery of oil and natural gas was performed. A typical operation using radioisotopes for interwell tracing was analyzed from the standpoint of three stages of operation: aboveground, subsurface, and recovery and disposal. Doses to workers who handle radioactive tracers and to members of the public were estimated for normal and accidental exposure scenarios. On the basis of estimates of the total quantity of tracer radionuclides injected in a year, the annual number of projects, the average number of injections per project, and assumed values of accident frequency, the collective dose equivalent is estimated to be 1.1 man-rem/y to workers and 15 man-rem/y to members of the public. The national radiological impact of the use of radioisotopes as interwell tracers in EOR projects is estimated to be a total collective dose equivalent of <16 man-rem/y. Accidential exposures are estimated to contribute relatively little to the total. 47 references, 8 figures, 43 tables

  5. CO₂-EOR Stakeholder Perceptions and Policy Responses

    OpenAIRE

    Mabon, Leslie; Littlecott, Chris

    2015-01-01

    Across the investigations undertaken in WP1 and WP10, analysis has been made of eight different stakeholder constituencies and their perceptions of CO2-EOR. The stakeholder groups investigated include both members of the public and professional groups with direct interest in energy and / or climate change issues. WP1 started this analysis with an investigation of the perceptions and concerns of Scottish environmental NGOs during 2012-13. WP10 sought to test these findings via qualitative f...

  6. Subtask1.10 – CO2 storage and enhanced bakken recovery research program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sorensen, James [Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)

    2014-05-31

    Small improvements in productivity could increase technically recoverable oil in the Bakken Petroleum System by billions of barrels. The use of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in tight oil reservoirs is a relatively new concept. The large-scale injection of CO2 into the Bakken would also result in the geological storage of significant amounts of CO2. The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has conducted laboratory and modeling activities to examine the potential for CO2 storage and EOR in the Bakken. Specific activities included the characterization and subsequent modeling of North Dakota study areas as well as dynamic predictive simulations of possible CO2 injection schemes to predict the potential CO2 storage and EOR in those areas. Laboratory studies to evaluate the ability of CO2 to remove hydrocarbons from Bakken rocks and determine minimum miscibility pressures for Bakken oil samples were conducted. Data from a CO2 injection test conducted in the Elm Coulee area of Montana in 2009 were evaluated with an eye toward the possible application of knowledge gained to future injection tests in other areas. A first-order estimation of potential CO2 storage capacity in the Bakken Formation in North Dakota was also conducted. Key findings of the program are as follows. The results of the research activities suggest that CO2 may be effective in enhancing the productivity of oil from the Bakken and that the Bakken may hold the ability to geologically store between 120 Mt and 3.2 Gt of CO2. However, there are no clear-cut answers regarding the most effective approach for using CO2 to improve oil productivity or the storage capacity of the Bakken. The results underscore the notion that an unconventional resource will likely require unconventional methods of both assessment and implementation when it comes to the injection of CO

  7. Global sensitivity analysis of Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer enhanced oil recovery processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carrero, Enrique; Queipo, Nestor V.; Pintos, Salvador; Zerpa, Luis E. [Applied Computing Institute, Faculty of Engineering, University of Zulia, Zulia (Venezuela)

    2007-08-15

    After conventional waterflooding processes the residual oil in the reservoir remains as a discontinuous phase in the form of oil drops trapped by capillary forces and is likely to be around 70% of the original oil in place (OOIP). The EOR method so-called Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding has been proved to be effective in reducing the oil residual saturation in laboratory experiments and field projects through reduction of interfacial tension and mobility ratio between oil and water phases. A critical step for the optimal design and control of ASP recovery processes is to find the relative contributions of design variables such as, slug size and chemical concentrations, in the variability of given performance measures (e.g., net present value, cumulative oil recovery), considering a heterogeneous and multiphase petroleum reservoir (sensitivity analysis). Previously reported works using reservoir numerical simulation have been limited to local sensitivity analyses because a global sensitivity analysis may require hundreds or even thousands of computationally expensive evaluations (field scale numerical simulations). To overcome this issue, a surrogate-based approach is suggested. Surrogate-based analysis/optimization makes reference to the idea of constructing an alternative fast model (surrogate) from numerical simulation data and using it for analysis/optimization purposes. This paper presents an efficient global sensitivity approach based on Sobol's method and multiple surrogates (i.e., Polynomial Regression, Kriging, Radial Base Functions and a Weighed Adaptive Model), with the multiple surrogates used to address the uncertainty in the analysis derived from plausible alternative surrogate-modeling schemes. The proposed approach was evaluated in the context of the global sensitivity analysis of a field scale Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer flooding process. The design variables and the performance measure in the ASP process were selected as slug size

  8. Feasibility of using electrical downhole heaters in Faja heavy oil reservoirs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodriguez, R.; Bashbush, J.L.; Rincon, A. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX (United States)]|[Schlumberger, Sugar Land, TX (United States)

    2008-10-15

    Numerical models were used to examine the effect of downhole heaters in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes in Venezuela's Orinoco reservoir. The downhole heaters were equipped with mineral-insulated cables that allowed alternating currents to flow between 2 conductors packed in a resistive core composed of polymers and graphite. The heaters were used in conjunction with steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) processes and also used in horizontal wells for limited amounts of time in order to accelerate production and pressure declines. The models incorporated the petrophysical and fluid characteristics of the Ayacucho area in the Faja del Orinoco. A compositional-thermal simulator was used to describe heat and fluid flow within the reservoir. A total of 8 scenarios were used to examine the electrical heaters with horizontal and vertical wells with heaters of various capacities. Results of the study were then used in an economic analysis of capitalized and operating costs. Results of the study showed that downhole heaters are an economically feasible EOR option for both vertical and horizontal wells. Use of the heaters prior to SAGD processes accelerated production and achieved higher operational efficiencies. 5 refs., 9 tabs., 15 figs.

  9. Skin Penetration Enhancement by Natural Oils for Dihydroquercetin Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Čižinauskas, Vytis; Elie, Nicolas; Brunelle, Alain; Briedis, Vitalis

    2017-09-12

    Natural oils are commonly used in topical pharmaceutical formulations as emulsifiers, stabilizers or solubility enhancers. They are presented as safe and inert components, mainly used for formulation purposes. It is confirmed that natural oils can affect the skin penetration of various substances. Fatty acids are mainly responsible for this effect. Current understanding lacks reliable scientific data on penetration of natural oils into the skin and their skin penetration enhancement potential. In the current study, fatty acid content analysis was used to determine the principal fatty acids in soybean, olive, avocado, sea-buckthorn pulp, raspberry seed and coconut oils. Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry bioimaging was used to determine the distribution of these fatty acids in human skin ex vivo after application of the oils. Skin penetration enhancement ratios were determined for a perspective antioxidant compound dihydroquercetin. The results demonstrated skin penetration of fatty acids from all oils tested. Only soybean and olive oils significantly increased the skin distribution of dihydroquercetin and can be used as skin penetration enhancers. However, no correlation can be determined between the fatty acids' composition and skin penetration enhancement using currently available methodological approaches. This indicates that potential chemical penetration enhancement should be evaluated during formulation of topically applied products containing natural oils.

  10. electrical resistivity measurements of downscaled homogenous

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ES Obe

    interest for validating the predictive value of network models based on micro-CT imaging of rock fragments with ... oil fields and proper planning of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) ... phase transport properties obtained from few core samples may ...

  11. Venezuela-MEM/USA-DOE Fossil Energy Report XIII-1, Supporting Technology for Enhanced Oil Recovery, Microbial EOR; FINAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ziritt, Jose Luis

    1999-01-01

    The results from Annex XIII of the Cooperative Agreement between the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ministry of Energy and Mines of the Republic of Venezuela (MEMV) have been documented and published with many researchers involved. Integrate comprehensive research programs in the area of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) ranged from feasibility laboratory studies to full-scale multi-well field pilots. The objective, to cooperate in a technical exchange of ideas and information was fully met throughout the life of the Annex. Information has been exchanged between the two countries through published reports and technical meetings between experts in both country's research communities. The meetings occurred every two years in locations coincident with the International MEOR conferences and workshops sponsored by DOE (June 1990, University of Oklahoma, September 1992, Brookhaven, September 1995, National Institute of Petroleum and Energy Research). Reports and publications produced during these years are listed in Appendix B. Several Annex managers have guided the exchange through the years. They included Luis Vierma, Jose Luis Zirritt, representing MEMV and E. B. Nuckols, Edith Allison, and Rhonda Lindsey, representing the U.S. DOE. Funding for this area of research remained steady for a few years but decreased in recent years. Because both countries have reduced research programs in this area, future exchanges on this topic will occur through ANNEX XV. Informal networks established between researchers through the years should continue to function between individuals in the two countries

  12. Prediction of Optimal Salinities for Surfactant Formulations Using a Quantitative Structure-Property Relationships Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muller, C.; Maldonado, A.G.; Varnek, A.; Creton, B.

    2015-01-01

    Each oil reservoir could be characterized by a set of parameters such as temperature, pressure, oil composition, and brine salinity, etc. In the context of the chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR), the selection of high performance surfactants is a challenging and time-consuming task since this

  13. EoR imaging with the SKA: the challenge of foreground removal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonaldi, Anna

    2018-05-01

    21-cm observations of the Cosmic dawn (CD) and Epoch of Reionization (EoR) are one of the high priority science objectives for SKA Low. One of the most difficult aspects of the 21-cm measurement is the presence of foreground emission, due to our Galaxy and extragalactic sources, which is about four orders of magnitude brighter than the cosmological signal. While end-to-end simulations are being produced to investigate in details the foreground subtraction strategy, it is useful to complement this thorough but time-consuming approach with simpler, quicker ways to evaluate performance and identify possible critical steps. In this work, I present a forecast method, based on Bonaldi et al. (2015), Bonaldi & Ricciardi (2011), to understand the level of residual contamination after a component separation step, and its impact on our ability to investigate CD and EoR.

  14. Optimum oil production planning using infeasibility driven evolutionary algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Hemant Kumar; Ray, Tapabrata; Sarker, Ruhul

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we discuss a practical oil production planning optimization problem. For oil wells with insufficient reservoir pressure, gas is usually injected to artificially lift oil, a practice commonly referred to as enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The total gas that can be used for oil extraction is constrained by daily availability limits. The oil extracted from each well is known to be a nonlinear function of the gas injected into the well and varies between wells. The problem is to identify the optimal amount of gas that needs to be injected into each well to maximize the amount of oil extracted subject to the constraint on the total daily gas availability. The problem has long been of practical interest to all major oil exploration companies as it has the potential to derive large financial benefit. In this paper, an infeasibility driven evolutionary algorithm is used to solve a 56 well reservoir problem which demonstrates its efficiency in solving constrained optimization problems. Furthermore, a multi-objective formulation of the problem is posed and solved using a number of algorithms, which eliminates the need for solving the (single objective) problem on a regular basis. Lastly, a modified single objective formulation of the problem is also proposed, which aims to maximize the profit instead of the quantity of oil. It is shown that even with a lesser amount of oil extracted, more economic benefits can be achieved through the modified formulation.

  15. Stability analysis of uniform equilibrium foam states for EOR processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ashoori, E.; Marchesin, D.; Rossen, W.R.

    2011-01-01

    The use of foam for mobility control is a promising mean to improve sweep efficiency in EOR. Experimental studies discovered that foam exhibits three different states (weak foam, intermediate foam, and strong foam). The intermediate-foam state is found to be unstable in the lab whereas the weak- and

  16. CO{sub 2} storage in the geological ground: Integrity of drilling acceptable for CSEGR (Carbon Sequestration with Enhanced Gas Recovery); CO{sub 2} Lagerung im Geogrund: Bohrungsintegritaet akzeptabel fuer CSEGR (Carbon Sequestration with Enhanced Gas Recovery)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reinicke, K.M.; Franz, O. [Technische Univ. Clausthal (Germany). Inst. fuer Erdoel- und Erdgastechnik

    2008-10-23

    With respect to the handling of carbon dioxide, there exist long-standing experiences in the industry (a) for the injection of carbon dioxide in petroleum deposits in the context of EOR measures (EOR = Enhanced Oil Recovery); (b) for the production of high pressure sour gas from petroleum deposits and (c) for the injection of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide from the production of sour gas. Extensive information about arising failure processes and consequences was compiled and used for the development of the sour gas technology. With employment of this technology, no fundamental problems are to be expected in order to guarantee a safe injection and production during the operation phase. The authors of the contribution under consideration report on the state of the art so far it is relevant for the guarantee of the drilling integrity under influence of carbon dioxide. Recommendations for the guarantee and the proof are given to the mechanical integrity for new drillings, old drillings, filled drillings and monitoring.

  17. Simulation study of the VAPEX process in fractured heavy oil system at reservoir conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Azin, Reza; Ghotbi, Cyrus [Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif Univ. Tech., Tehran (Iran); Kharrat, Riyaz; Rostami, Behzad [Petroleum University of Technology Research Center, Tehran (Iran); Vossoughi, Shapour [4132C Learned Hall, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Kansas University, Lawrence, KS (United States)

    2008-01-15

    The Vapor Extraction (VAPEX) process, a newly developed Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) process to recover heavy oil and bitumen, has been studied theoretically and experimentally and is found a promising EOR method for certain heavy oil reservoirs. In this work, a simulation study of the VAPEX process was made on a fractured model, which consists of a matrix surrounded by horizontal and vertical fractures. The results show a very interesting difference in the pattern of solvent flow in fractured model compared with the conventional model. Also, in the fractured system, due to differences in matrix and fracture permeabilities, the solvent first spreads through the fractures and then starts diffusing into matrix from all parts of the matrix. Thus, the solvent surrounds the oil bank, and an oil rather than the solvent chamber forms and shrinks as the process proceeds. In addition, the recovery factor is higher at lower solvent injection rates for a constant pore volume of the solvent injected into the model. Also, the diffusion process becomes important and higher recoveries are obtained at low injection rates, provided sufficient time is given to the process. The effect of inter-connectivity of the surrounding fractures was studied by making the side vertical fractures shorter than the side length of the model. It was observed that inter-connectivity of the fractures affects the pattern of solvent distribution. Even for the case of side fractures being far apart from the bottom fracture, the solvent distribution in the matrix was significantly different than that in the model without fractures. Combination of diffusion phenomenon and gravity segregation was observed to be controlling factors in all VAPEX processes simulated in fractured systems. The early breakthrough of the solvent for the case of matrix surrounded by the fracture partially inhibited diffusion of the solvent into the oil and consequently the VAPEX process became the least effective. It is concluded

  18. A technique for evaluating the oil/heavy-oil viscosity changes under ultrasound in a simulated porous medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamidi, Hossein; Mohammadian, Erfan; Junin, Radzuan; Rafati, Roozbeh; Manan, Mohammad; Azdarpour, Amin; Junid, Mundzir

    2014-02-01

    Theoretically, Ultrasound method is an economical and environmentally friendly or "green" technology, which has been of interest for more than six decades for the purpose of enhancement of oil/heavy-oil production. However, in spite of many studies, questions about the effective mechanisms causing increase in oil recovery still existed. In addition, the majority of the mechanisms mentioned in the previous studies are theoretical or speculative. One of the changes that could be recognized in the fluid properties is viscosity reduction due to radiation of ultrasound waves. In this study, a technique was developed to investigate directly the effect of ultrasonic waves (different frequencies of 25, 40, 68 kHz and powers of 100, 250, 500 W) on viscosity changes of three types of oil (Paraffin oil, Synthetic oil, and Kerosene) and a Brine sample. The viscosity calculations in the smooth capillary tube were based on the mathematical models developed from the Poiseuille's equation. The experiments were carried out for uncontrolled and controlled temperature conditions. It was observed that the viscosity of all the liquids was decreased under ultrasound in all the experiments. This reduction was more significant for uncontrolled temperature condition cases. However, the reduction in viscosity under ultrasound was higher for lighter liquids compare to heavier ones. Pressure difference was diminished by decreasing in the fluid viscosity in all the cases which increases fluid flow ability, which in turn aids to higher oil recovery in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. Higher ultrasound power showed higher liquid viscosity reduction in all the cases. Higher ultrasound frequency revealed higher and lower viscosity reduction for uncontrolled and controlled temperature condition experiments, respectively. In other words, the reduction in viscosity was inversely proportional to increasing the frequency in temperature controlled experiments. It was concluded that cavitation

  19. Documentation of the Oil and Gas Supply Module (OGSM)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this report is to define the objectives of the Oil and Gas Supply Model (OGSM), to describe the model`s basic approach, and to provide detail on how the model works. This report is intended as a reference document for model analysts, users, and the public. Projected production estimates of US crude oil and natural gas are based on supply functions generated endogenously within National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) by the OGSM. OGSM encompasses domestic crude oil and natural gas supply by both conventional and nonconventional recovery techniques. Nonconventional recovery includes enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and unconventional gas recovery (UGR) from tight gas formations, Devonian/Antrim shale and coalbeds. Crude oil and natural gas projections are further disaggregated by geographic region. OGSM projects US domestic oil and gas supply for six Lower 48 onshore regions, three offshore regions, and Alaska. The general methodology relies on forecasted profitability to determine exploratory and developmental drilling levels for each region and fuel type. These projected drilling levels translate into reserve additions, as well as a modification of the production capacity for each region. OGSM also represents foreign trade in natural gas, imports and exports by entry region. Foreign gas trade may occur via either pipeline (Canada or Mexico), or via transport ships as liquefied natural gas (LNG). These import supply functions are critical elements of any market modeling effort.

  20. Microbial enhanced oil recovery: Entering the log phase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bryant, R.S.

    1995-12-31

    Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technology has advanced internationally since 1980 from a laboratory-based evaluation of microbial processes to field applications. In order to adequately support the decline in oil production in certain areas, research on cost-effective technologies such as microbial enhanced oil recovery processes must focus on both near-term and long-term applications. Many marginal wells are desperately in need of an inexpensive improved oil recovery technology today that can assist producers in order to prevent their abandonment. Microbial enhanced waterflooding technology has also been shown to be an economically feasible technology in the United States. Complementary environmental research and development will also be required to address any potential environmental impacts of microbial processes. In 1995 at this conference, the goal is to further document and promote microbial processes for improved oil recovery and related technology for solving environmental problems.

  1. Enhanced crude oil biodegradation in soil via biostimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Saleh, Esmaeil; Hassan, Ali

    2016-08-02

    Research on feasible methods for the enhancement of bioremediation in soil contaminated by crude oil is vital in oil-exporting countries such as Kuwait, where crude oil is a major pollutant and the environment is hostile to biodegradation. This study investigated the possibility of enhancing crude oil bioremediation by supplementing soil with cost-effective organic materials derived from two widespread locally grown trees, Conocarpus and Tamarix. Amendments in soils increased the counts of soil microbiota by up to 98% and enhanced their activity by up to 95.5%. The increase in the biodegradation of crude oil (75%) and high levels of alkB expression substantiated the efficiency of the proposed amendment technology for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. The identification of crude-oil-degrading bacteria revealed the dominance of the genus Microbacterium (39.6%), Sphingopyxis soli (19.3%), and Bordetella petrii (19.6%) in unamended, Conocarpus-amended, and Tamarix-amended contaminated soils, respectively. Although soil amendments favored the growth of Gram-negative bacteria and reduced bacterial diversity, the structures of bacterial communities were not significantly altered.

  2. Measurement of molecular diffusion coefficients of carbon dioxide and methane in heavy oil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gu, Y.; Tharanivasan, A.K.; Yang, C. [Regina Univ., SK (Canada)

    2004-07-01

    Vapour extraction (VAPEX) is a solvent-based thermal recovery process which is considered to be a viable process for recovering heavy oil. In order to develop a solvent-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operation, it is necessary to know the rate and extent of oil mobilization by the solvent. The molecular diffusion coefficient of solvent gas in heavy oil must be known. In this study, the pressure decay method was used to measure the molecular diffusivity of a gas solvent in heavy oil by monitoring the decaying pressure. The pressure decay method is a non-intrusive method in which physical contact is made between the gas solvent and the heavy oil. The pressure versus time data are measured until the heavy oil reaches complete saturation. The diffusion coefficient can be determined from the measured data and a mathematical model. In this study, the molecular diffusion coefficients of carbon dioxide-heavy oil and methane-heavy oil systems were measured and compared. The experiments were performed in closed high-pressure cells at constant reservoir temperature. An analytical solution was also obtained to predict the pressure in the gas phase and for the boundary conditions at the solvent-heavy oil interface for each solvent. Solvent diffusivity was determined by finding the best match of the numerically predicted and experimentally measured pressures.

  3. Enhanced oil recovery by CO{sub 2} injection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moctezuma Berthier, Andres E. [Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

    2008-07-15

    Firstly are presented some basic concepts on the enhanced oil recovery; then a description is made of where the oil deposits in Mexico are located; comments are made over what has been done in Mexico in terms of enhanced oil recovery, the projects of the Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo that have dealt with the subject of enhanced oil recovery, and finally an approach is presented towards the problem of oil recovery using CO{sub 2}. [Spanish] Primeramente se presentan unos conceptos basicos sobre la recuperacion mejorada de petroleo; luego se hace una descripcion de donde se encuentran los yacimientos de petroleo en Mexico; se comenta sobre que se ha hecho en Mexico en terminos de recuperacion mejorada de petroleo; se mencionan los proyectos del Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo que han abordado el tema de la recuperacion mejorada del petroleo y por ultimo se presenta un enfoque hacia el problema de la recuperacion del petroleo usando CO{sub 2}.

  4. 26 CFR 1.43-4 - Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs. 1.43-4... TAXES Credits Against Tax § 1.43-4 Qualified enhanced oil recovery costs. (a) Qualifying costs—(1) In... “qualified enhanced oil recovery costs” if the amounts are paid or incurred with respect to an asset which is...

  5. 75 FR 42740 - Ryckman Creek Resources, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-22

    ..., Ryckman Creek proposes to initiate enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations of the petroleum reserves... of the planned project under these general headings: Geology and soils; Land use; Water resources...

  6. Hydrophobically associating polymers for oil field applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taylor, K.C. [Taylor Industrial Research Inc., Victoria, BC (Canada); Nasr-El-Din, H.A. [Saudi Aramco, Dharhan (Saudi Arabia). R and D Center

    2007-07-01

    This paper discussed developments in water soluble hydrophobically associating polymers and their use in oilfield applications. The polymers are now being investigated for the potential application in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) as well as in completion fluids and profile modifications. The polymers are also purported to selectively reduce water permeability in sandstones. This study showed that the adsorption behaviour of the associating polymers is of greater significance than the rheology, particularly in non-damaging completion fluids and in profile modification. Issues related to acid diversion and conformance control applications were discussed, and drag reducing agents were reviewed. The study also discussed drilling and completion fluids; adsorption behaviour; rheology; and synthesis and characterization. It was concluded that gels are now being developed for conformance control and continued use for modification of water relative permeability. 35 refs., 5 figs.

  7. An overview of field specific designs of microbial EOR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robertson, E.P.; Bala, G.A.; Fox, S.L.; Jackson, J.D.; Thomas, C.P.

    1995-12-01

    The selection and design of a microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) process for application in a specific field involves geological, reservoir, and biological characterization. Microbially mediated oil recovery mechanisms (biogenic gas, biopolymers, and biosurfactants) are defined by the types of microorganisms used. The engineering and biological character of a given reservoir must be understood to correctly select a microbial system to enhance oil recovery. The objective of this paper is to discuss the methods used to evaluate three fields with distinct characteristics and production problems for the applicability of MEOR technology. Reservoir characteristics and laboratory results indicated that MEOR would not be applicable in two of the three fields considered. The development of a microbial oil recovery process for the third field appeared promising. Development of a bacterial consortium capable of producing the desired metabolites was initiated and field isolates were characterized.

  8. 75 FR 78986 - East Cheyenne Gas Storage, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-17

    ..., East Cheyenne planned to do enhanced oil recovery (EOR) of petroleum reserves remaining in the storage... proposed project amendment under these general headings: Geology and soils; Land use; Water resources...

  9. Enhanced oil recovery with surfactant flooding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buelow Sandersen, S.

    2012-05-15

    Understanding the underlying mechanisms of systems that exhibit liquid-liquid equilibrium (e.g. oil-brine systems) at reservoir conditions is an area of increasing interest within EOR. This is true both for complex surfactant systems as well as for oil and brine systems. It is widely accepted that an increase in oil recovery can be obtained through flooding, whether it is simple waterflooding, waterflooding where the salinity has been modified by the addition or removal of specific ions (socalled ''smart'' waterflooding) or surfactant flooding. High pressure experiments have been carried out in this work on a surfactant system (surfactant/ oil/ brine) and on oil/ seawater systems (oil/ brine). The high pressure experiments were carried out on a DBR JEFRI PVT cell, where a glass window allows observation of the phase behavior of the different systems at various temperatures and pressures inside the high pressure cell. Phase volumes can also be measured visually through the glass window using precision equipment. The surfactant system for which an experimental study was carried out consisted of the mixture heptane, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/ 1-butanol/ NaCl/ water. This system has previously been examined at ambient pressures and temperatures but this has been extended here to pressures up to 400 bar and to slightly higher temperatures (40 deg. C, 45 deg. C and 50 deg. C). Experiments were performed at constant salinity (6.56 %), constant surfactant-alcohol ratio (SAR) but with varying water-oil ratios (WOR). At all temperatures it was very clear that the effect of pressure was significant. The system changed from the two phase region, Winsor II, to the three phase region, Winsor III, as pressure increased. Increasing pressures also caused a shift from the three phase region (Winsor III), to a different two phase region, (Winsor I). These changes in equilibrium phase behavior were also dependent on the composition of the system. A number of

  10. Potential application of oxygen containing gases to enhance gravity drainage in heavy oil bearing reservoirs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lakatos, I. [Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Miscolc (Hungary). Lab. for Mining Chemistry; Bauer, K. [Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Miscolc (Hungary). Lab. for Mining Chemistry; Lakatos-Szabo, J. [Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Miscolc (Hungary). Lab. for Mining Chemistry

    1997-06-01

    In the frame of laboratory studies the effect of air/natural CO{sub 2} mixtures on chemical composition of crude oil and gas phase, the rheological and interfacial properties, the flow mechanism and the safety measures were analyzed. The tests were performed at reservoir conditions (200 bar and 109 C) using natural rock, oil and gas samples. The oxygen content of the gas phase and the gas/oil ratio varied within wide limits. Both crude and asphaltene-free oil were used to determine the consequences of the low temperature oxidation. On the basis of the experimental results it was found that the oxygen content of the cap gas had been completely consumed by the chemical reactions (oxidation, condensation and water formation) before the asphaltene content set in equilibrium. Nearly 9% excess asphaltene formation was observed in both the crude and the asphaltene-free oils. The substantial increase in asphaltene content and the presence of colloidal water results in a measurable change in rheological and interfacial properties. Despite these factors the flow and displacement mechanism is only slightly influenced if the reservoir is of fractured character. On the other hand the in-situ oxidation of this heavy crude oil improves the efficiency of bitumen production and the quality of product used mostly for road construction. As a final statement, it was concluded that replacing the CO{sub 2} with oxygen containing inert gas, the chemical reactions can be in-situ regulated without jeopardizing the recovery efficiency. Application of the artificial gas cap concept opens new perspectives in EOR technology of karstic and fractured reservoirs containing medium and heavy crude oils in those cases where CO{sub 2} or CH gas is not available. (orig./MSK)

  11. The Performance of Surfactant-Polymer Flooding in Horizontal Wells Consisting of Multilayers in a Reservoir System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Si Le Van

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Surfactant-polymer (SP flooding has been demonstrated to be an effective method to recover oil in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR stage when water flooding is no longer relevant. Theoretically, adding surfactant causes the reduction of the interfacial tension between oil and water in pores, therefore reducing the residual oil saturation, whereas the sweep efficiency will be significantly improved by the polymer injection as a result of proper mobility control. With regard to the well patterns, water flooding has demonstrated a high productivity in horizontal wells. Recently, other EOR processes have been increasingly applied to the horizontal wells in various well patterns. In this study, the efficiency of SP flooding applied to horizontal wells in various well configurations is investigated in order to select the best EOR performance in terms of either a technical or economical point of view. Furthermore, the reservoir is assumed to be anisotropic with four different layers that have same porosity but different permeability between each layer. The study figures out that, the utilization of a horizontal injector and producer always gives a higher oil production in comparison with the reference case of a conventional vertical injector and producer; however, the best EOR performances that demonstrate the higher oil recovery and lower fluid injected volume than those of the reference case are achieved when the production well is located in bottom layers and parallel with the injection well at a distance. While the location of producer decides oil productivity, the location of injector yet affects the uniformity of fluids propagation in the reservoir. A predefined feasibility factor is also taken into consideration in order to reject the infeasible cases that might give a high oil production but require a higher injected volume than the reference case. This factor is used as an economic parameter to evaluate the success of the EOR performance. The

  12. A New Model for Describing the Rheological Behavior of Heavy and Extra Heavy Crude Oils in the Presence of Nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esteban A. Taborda

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The present work proposes for the first time a mathematical model for describing the rheological behavior of heavy and extra-heavy crude oils in the presence of nanoparticles. This model results from the combination of two existing mathematical models. The first one applies to the rheology of pseudoplastic substances, i.e., the Herschel-Bulkley model. The second one was previously developed by our research group to model the rheology of suspensions, namely the modified Pal and Rhodes model. The proposed model is applied to heavy and extra heavy crude oils in the presence of nanoparticles, considering the effects of nanoparticles concentration and surface chemical nature, temperature, and crude oil type. All the experimental data evaluated exhibited compelling goodness of fitting, and the physical parameters in the model follow correlate well with variations in viscosity. The new model is dependent of share rate and opens new possibilities for phenomenologically understanding viscosity reduction in heavy crude by adding solid nanoparticles and favoring the scale-up in enhanced oil recovery (EOR and/or improved oil recovery (IOR process.

  13. Well blowout rates and consequences in California Oil and Gas District 4 from 1991 to 2005: Implications for geological storage of carbon dioxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jordan, Preston; Jordan, Preston D.; Benson, Sally M.

    2008-05-15

    Well blowout rates in oil fields undergoing thermally enhanced recovery (via steam injection) in California Oil and Gas District 4 from 1991 to 2005 were on the order of 1 per 1,000 well construction operations, 1 per 10,000 active wells per year, and 1 per 100,000 shut-in/idle and plugged/abandoned wells per year. This allows some initial inferences about leakage of CO2 via wells, which is considered perhaps the greatest leakage risk for geological storage of CO2. During the study period, 9% of the oil produced in the United States was from District 4, and 59% of this production was via thermally enhanced recovery. There was only one possible blowout from an unknown or poorly located well, despite over a century of well drilling and production activities in the district. The blowout rate declined dramatically during the study period, most likely as a result of increasing experience, improved technology, and/or changes in safety culture. If so, this decline indicates the blowout rate in CO2-storage fields can be significantly minimized both initially and with increasing experience over time. Comparable studies should be conducted in other areas. These studies would be particularly valuable in regions with CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and natural gas storage.

  14. A simulation method for the rapid screening of potential depleted oil reservoirs for CO2 sequestration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bossie-Codreanu, D.; Le Gallo, Y.

    2004-01-01

    The reduction of greenhouse gases emission is a growing concern of many industries. The oil and gas industry has a long commercial practice of gas injection, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and gas storage. Using a depleted oil or gas reservoir for CO 2 storage has several interesting advantages. The long-term risk analysis of the CO 2 behavior and its impact on the environment is a major concern. That is why the selection of an appropriate reservoir is crucial to the success of a sequestration operation. Our modeling study, based on a synthetic reservoir, quantifies uncertainties due to reservoir parameters in order to establish a set of guidelines to select the most appropriate depleted reservoirs. Several production and sequestration scenarios are investigated in order to quantify key parameter for CO 2 storage. The influence of parameters such as API gravity, heterogeneity (Dykstra-Parson coefficient), pressure support (water injection) and cap rock integrity are analyzed. Estimation of sequestration capacity is proposed through a sequestration factor (SF) estimated for different reservoir production drives. Multiple regression relationships were developed, allowing SF estimation. CO 2 sequestration optimization highlights the best clean oil recovery strategy (CO 2 injection and/or oil production)

  15. Rock Physics of Reservoir Rocks with Varying Pore Water Saturation and Pore Water Salinity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Katika, Konstantina

    experiments, the rock is subjected to high external stresses that resemble the reservoir stresses; 2) the fluid distribution within the pore space changes during the flow through experiments and wettability alterations may occur; 3) different ions, present in the salt water injected in the core, interact......Advanced waterflooding (injection of water with selective ions in reservoirs) is a method of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) that has attracted the interest of oil and gas companies that exploit the Danish oil and gas reservoirs. This method has been applied successfully in oil reservoirs...... and in the Smart Water project performed in a laboratory scale in order to evaluate the EOR processes in selected core plugs. A major step towards this evaluation is to identify the composition of the injected water that leads to increased oil recovery in reservoirs and to define changes in the petrophysical...

  16. CONSTRAINING POLARIZED FOREGROUNDS FOR EoR EXPERIMENTS. I. 2D POWER SPECTRA FROM THE PAPER-32 IMAGING ARRAY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kohn, S. A.; Aguirre, J. E.; Moore, D. F. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Nunhokee, C. D.; Bernardi, G. [Department of Physics and Electronics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown (South Africa); Pober, J. C. [Department of Physics, Brown University, Providence, RI (United States); Ali, Z. S.; DeBoer, D. R.; Parsons, A. R. [Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Bradley, R. F. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States); Carilli, C. L. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM (United States); Gugliucci, N. E. [Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH (United States); Jacobs, D. C. [School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (United States); Klima, P. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA (United States); MacMahon, D. H. E. [Radio Astronomy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Manley, J. R.; Walbrugh, W. P. [SKA South Africa, Pinelands (South Africa); Stefan, I. I., E-mail: saulkohn@sas.upenn.edu [Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge (United Kingdom)

    2016-06-01

    Current generation low-frequency interferometers constructed with the objective of detecting the high-redshift 21 cm background aim to generate power spectra of the brightness temperature contrast of neutral hydrogen in primordial intergalactic medium. Two-dimensional (2D) power spectra (power in Fourier modes parallel and perpendicular to the line of sight) that formed from interferometric visibilities have been shown to delineate a boundary between spectrally smooth foregrounds (known as the wedge ) and spectrally structured 21 cm background emission (the EoR window ). However, polarized foregrounds are known to possess spectral structure due to Faraday rotation, which can leak into the EoR window. In this work we create and analyze 2D power spectra from the PAPER-32 imaging array in Stokes I, Q, U, and V. These allow us to observe and diagnose systematic effects in our calibration at high signal-to-noise within the Fourier space most relevant to EoR experiments. We observe well-defined windows in the Stokes visibilities, with Stokes Q, U, and V power spectra sharing a similar wedge shape to that seen in Stokes I. With modest polarization calibration, we see no evidence that polarization calibration errors move power outside the wedge in any Stokes visibility to the noise levels attained. Deeper integrations will be required to confirm that this behavior persists to the depth required for EoR detection.

  17. Microbial enhanced oil recovery and compositions therefor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Rebecca S.

    1990-01-01

    A method is provided for microbial enhanced oil recovery, wherein a combination of microorganisms is empirically formulated based on survivability under reservoir conditions and oil recovery efficiency, such that injection of the microbial combination may be made, in the presence of essentially only nutrient solution, directly into an injection well of an oil bearing reservoir having oil present at waterflood residual oil saturation concentration. The microbial combination is capable of displacing residual oil from reservoir rock, which oil may be recovered by waterflooding without causing plugging of the reservoir rock. Further, the microorganisms are capable of being transported through the pores of the reservoir rock between said injection well and associated production wells, during waterflooding, which results in a larger area of the reservoir being covered by the oil-mobilizing microorganisms.

  18. The PTRC : a world leader in enhanced heavy oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kristoff, B.; Knudsen, R.; Asghari, K. [Petroleum Technology Research Centre, Regina, SK (Canada); Pappas, E.S. [Saskatchewan Research Council, Saskatoon, SK (Canada)

    2006-07-01

    The Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) fosters knowledge and progressive technologies to enhance the recovery of petroleum. This paper discussed the PTRC's leadership in enhanced heavy oil recovery, with particular reference to core research program such as heavy oil (post) cold flow; enhanced waterflooding; miscible/immiscible solvent injection; and near-wellbore conformance control. Other projects that were presented included a joint implementation of vapour extraction project (JIVE); and the IEA greenhouse gas (GHG) Weyburn-Midale carbon dioxide monitoring and storage project. The JIVE project will develop, demonstrate and evaluate solvent vapour extraction processes for enhanced oil recovery in heavy oil reservoirs. The GHG Weyburn-Midale project, launched in 2000, studies carbon dioxide injection and storage in partially depleted oil reservoirs. It was concluded that the PTRC continues to develop technologies to meet the world's energy requirements while mitigating both immediate and long-term environmental impacts. 4 figs.

  19. Computer Modeling of the Displacement Behavior of Carbon Dioxide in Undersaturated Oil Reservoirs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ju Binshan

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The injection of CO2 into oil reservoirs is performed not only to improve oil recovery but also to store CO2 captured from fuel combustion. The objective of this work is to develop a numerical simulator to predict quantitatively supercritical CO2 flooding behaviors for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR. A non-isothermal compositional flow mathematical model is developed. The phase transition diagram is designed according to the Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP and CO2 maximum solubility in oil phase. The convection and diffusion of CO2 mixtures in multiphase fluids in reservoirs, mass transfer between CO2 and crude and phase partitioning are considered. The governing equations are discretized by applying a fully implicit finite difference technique. Newton-Raphson iterative technique was used to solve the nonlinear equation systems and a simulator was developed. The performances of CO2 immiscible and miscible flooding in oil reservoirs are predicted by the new simulator. The distribution of pressure and temperature, phase saturations, mole fraction of each component in each phase, formation damage caused by asphaltene precipitation and the improved oil recovery are predicted by the simulator. Experimental data validate the developed simulator by comparison with simulation results. The applications of the simulator in prediction of CO2 flooding in oil reservoirs indicate that the simulator is robust for predicting CO2 flooding performance.

  20. Experimental and simulated displacement of oil in sand berea cores using aqueous solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramirez, A.; Gonzalez, J.L.; Hernandez, F.; Hernandez, H.

    2009-01-01

    The development of a mathematical algorithm to simulate the displacement of a resident fluid using a displacing one in a saturated anisotropic porous media is shown in this work. The algorithm was included in the simulator developed by the present authors in previous works to represent the anisotropic distribution of the porous media properties and the fluid injection [Ramirez A et al. Mathematical simulation of oil reservoir properties. Chaos, solitons and Fractals 2008;38:778-88, Ramirez A et al. Simulation of uncompressible fluid flow through a porous media. Chaos, Solitons and Fractals 2009;39:1753-63] in a nested loop to analyze the participant nodes in the transport process and calculate the volumes of the resident and new fluids. The new routine developed takes in count the mobility of both fluids. Additionally experimental fluid displacement tests were done using heavy oil from Mexican reservoirs as a resident fluid in sand berea cores. The injection of new fluids in natural oil reservoirs is a part of the Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods used to improve the oil displacement and increase production after the primary stage of the oil recovery has been finished. Water is an available and economical resource to be used as a displacing fluid due to many of the producers (off-shores) of the oil industries are placed in the sea near the coast.

  1. Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage : Canadian market development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hendriks, A.

    2006-01-01

    Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is used to extend the life of light oil reservoirs in Canada. An additional 13 per cent of original oil in place is typically recovered using CO 2 flooding processes. However, a carbon capture and storage (CCS) market is needed in order to commercialize CO 2 flooding technologies. CO 2 can be obtained from naturally-occurring accumulations in underground reservoirs, electrical and coal-fired generation plants, petrochemical facilities, and upstream oil and gas processing facilities. CO 2 is sequestered in EOR processes, in sour gas disposal processes, solvent recovery processes, and in coalbed methane (CBM) extraction. It is also disposed in depleted fields and aquifers. While CCS technologies are mature, project economics remain marginal. However, CCS in EOR is commercially feasible at current high oil prices. No transportation infrastructure is in place to transport sources of CO 2 in the high volumes needed to establish a market. While governments have created a favourable public policy environment for CCS, governments will need to address issues related to infrastructure, public perception of CCS, and stakeholder engagement with CCS projects. It was concluded that CCS and CO 2 flooding techniques have the capacity to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while helping to sustain light oil production. tabs., figs

  2. Electro-magnetic heating in viscous oil reservoir

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Das, S. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX (United States)]|[Marathon Oil Corp., Houston, TX (United States)

    2008-10-15

    This paper discussed electromagnetic (EM) heating techniques for primary and secondary enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Ohmic, induction, and formation resistive heating techniques were discussed. Issues related to energy equivalence and hardware requirements were reviewed. Challenges related to heat losses in vertical wellbores, well integrity, and galvanic corrosion were also outlined. A pair of 1500 foot horizontal wells in a heavy oil reservoir were then modelled in order to optimize EM recovery processes. DC current was used in a base case water flood run. Electrical conductivities were measured. The model was converted to a homogenous model in order to study injector and producer electrodes. The study showed that reservoir resistance was low, and most of the heating took place near the electrode area where electric lines diverged or converged. Results of the study suggested that EM heating in formations is not as efficient as steam-based processes. Accurate simulations of EM heating processes within reservoirs are difficult to obtain, as the amounts of estimated heat input are sensitive to grid refinement. It was concluded that hot spots in the EM electrodes have also caused failures in other field applications and studies. 11 refs., 12 figs.

  3. Shale Oil Value Enhancement Research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    James W. Bunger

    2006-11-30

    Raw kerogen oil is rich in heteroatom-containing compounds. Heteroatoms, N, S & O, are undesirable as components of a refinery feedstock, but are the basis for product value in agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, surfactants, solvents, polymers, and a host of industrial materials. An economically viable, technologically feasible process scheme was developed in this research that promises to enhance the economics of oil shale development, both in the US and elsewhere in the world, in particular Estonia. Products will compete in existing markets for products now manufactured by costly synthesis routes. A premium petroleum refinery feedstock is also produced. The technology is now ready for pilot plant engineering studies and is likely to play an important role in developing a US oil shale industry.

  4. On the evaluation of steam assisted gravity drainage in naturally fractured oil reservoirs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Morteza Tohidi Hosseini

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD as a successful enhanced oil recovery (EOR process has been applied to extract heavy and extra heavy oils. Huge amount of global heavy oil resources exists in carbonate reservoirs which are mostly naturally fractured reservoirs. Unlike clastic reservoirs, few studies were carried out to determine the performance of SAGD in carbonate reservoirs. Even though SAGD is a highly promising technique, several uncertainties and unanswered questions still exist and they should be clarified for expansion of SAGD methods to world wide applications especially in naturally fractured reservoirs. In this communication, the effects of some operational and reservoir parameters on SAGD processes were investigated in a naturally fractured reservoir with oil wet rock using CMG-STARS thermal simulator. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of fracture properties including fracture orientation, fracture spacing and fracture permeability on the SAGD performance in naturally fractured reservoirs. Moreover, one operational parameter was also studied; one new well configuration, staggered well pair was evaluated. Results indicated that fracture orientation influences steam expansion and oil production from the horizontal well pairs. It was also found that horizontal fractures have unfavorable effects on oil production, while vertical fractures increase the production rate for the horizontal well. Moreover, an increase in fracture spacing results in more oil production, because in higher fracture spacing model, steam will have more time to diffuse into matrices and heat up the entire reservoir. Furthermore, an increase in fracture permeability results in process enhancement and ultimate recovery improvement. Besides, diagonal change in the location of injection wells (staggered model increases the recovery efficiency in long-term production plan.

  5. Enhancing blood donor skin disinfection using natural oils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alabdullatif, Meshari; Boujezza, Imen; Mekni, Mohamed; Taha, Mariam; Kumaran, Dilini; Yi, Qi-Long; Landoulsi, Ahmed; Ramirez-Arcos, Sandra

    2017-12-01

    Effective donor skin disinfection is essential in preventing bacterial contamination of blood components with skin flora bacteria like Staphylococcus epidermidis. Cell aggregates of S. epidermidis (biofilms) are found on the skin and are resistant to the commonly used donor skin disinfectants chlorhexidine-gluconate and isopropyl alcohol. It has been demonstrated that essential oils synergistically enhance the antibacterial activity of chlorhexidine-gluconate. The objective of this study was to test plant-extracted essential oils in combination with chlorhexidine-gluconate or chlorhexidine-gluconate plus isopropyl alcohol for their ability to eliminate S. epidermidis biofilms. The composition of oils extracted from Artemisia herba-alba, Lavandula multifida, Origanum marjoram, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Thymus capitatus was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A rabbit model was used to assess skin irritation caused by the oils. In addition, the anti-biofilm activity of the oils used alone or in combination with chlorhexidine-gluconate or chlorhexidine-gluconate plus isopropyl alcohol was tested against S. epidermidis biofilms. Essential oil concentrations 10%, 20%, and 30% were chosen for anti-biofilm assays, because skin irritation was observed at concentrations greater than 30%. All oils except for O. marjoram had anti-biofilm activity at these three concentrations. L. multifida synergistically enhanced the anti-biofilm activity of chlorhexidine-gluconate and resulted in the highest anti-biofilm activity observed when combined with chlorhexidine-gluconate plus isopropyl alcohol. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that the main component contributing to the activity of L. multifida oil was a natural terpene alcohol called linalool. The anti-biofilm activity of chlorhexidine-gluconate plus isopropyl alcohol can be greatly enhanced by L. multifida oil or linalool. Therefore, these components could potentially be used to improve blood

  6. Role of interfacial rheological properties in oil field chemistry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lakatos-Szabo, J.; Lakatos, I.; Kosztin, B.

    1996-12-31

    Interfacial rheological properties of different Hungarian crude oil/water systems were determined in wide temperature and shear rate range and in presence of inorganic electrolytes, tensides, alkaline materials and polymers. The detailed laboratory study definitely proved that the interfacial rheological properties are extremely sensitive parameters towards the chemical composition of inmiscible formation liquids. Comparison and interpretation of the interfacial rheological properties may contribute significantly to extension of the weaponry of the reservoir characterization, better understanding of the displacement mechanism, development of the more profitable EOR/IOR methods, intensification of the surface technologies, optimization of the pipeline transportation and improvement of the refinery operations. It was evidenced that the interfacial rheology is an efficient and powerful detection technique, which may enhance the knowledge on formation, structure, properties and behaviour of interfacial layers. 17 refs., 18 figs., 2 tabs.

  7. Enhanced Oil Recovery with Application of Enzymes

    OpenAIRE

    Khusainova, Alsu; Shapiro, Alexander; Woodley, John

    2016-01-01

    Enzymer er for nylig blevet rapporteret, som effektive stoffer for forbedret olieindvinding(EOR). Både laboratorie undersøgelser og felttest viste en markant stigning af olieproduktion. Op til ekstra 16 % af olien blev produceret i laboratorie eksperimenter og op til ekstra 269 tønder olie per dag blev fremstillet under feltforsøg. Det var foreslået, at følgende mekanismer har medvirket tiløget olieproduktionen på grund af enzymer: forbedringer af bjergartsoverfladens befugtningsevne;dannelse...

  8. Reactivity of dolomite in water-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide: Significance for carbon capture and storage and for enhanced oil and gas recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiuyu; Alvarado, Vladimir; Swoboda-Colberg, Norbert; Kaszuba, John P.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Dolomite reactivity with wet and dry supercritical CO 2 were evaluated. ► Dolomite does not react with dry CO 2 . ► H 2 O-saturated supercritical CO 2 dissolves dolomite and precipitates carbonate mineral. ► Temperature/reaction time control morphology and extent of carbonate mineralization. ► Reaction with wet CO 2 may impact trapping, caprock integrity, and CCS/EOR injectivity. - Abstract: Carbon dioxide injection in porous reservoirs is the basis for carbon capture and storage, enhanced oil and gas recovery. Injected carbon dioxide is stored at multiple scales in porous media, from the pore-level as a residual phase to large scales as macroscopic accumulations by the injection site, under the caprock and at reservoir internal capillary pressure barriers. These carbon dioxide saturation zones create regions across which the full spectrum of mutual CO 2 –H 2 O solubility may occur. Most studies assume that geochemical reaction is restricted to rocks and carbon dioxide-saturated formation waters, but this paradigm ignores injection of anhydrous carbon dioxide against brine and water-alternating-gas flooding for enhanced oil recovery. A series of laboratory experiments was performed to evaluate the reactivity of the common reservoir mineral dolomite with water-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide. Experiments were conducted at reservoir conditions (55 and 110 °C, 25 MPa) and elevated temperature (220 °C, 25 MPa) for approximately 96 and 164 h (4 and 7 days). Dolomite dissolves and new carbonate mineral precipitates by reaction with water-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide. Dolomite does not react with anhydrous supercritical carbon dioxide. Temperature and reaction time control the composition, morphology, and extent of formation of new carbonate minerals. Mineral dissolution and re-precipitation due to reaction with water-saturated carbon dioxide may affect the contact line between phases, the carbon dioxide contact angle, and the

  9. Tax incentives and enhanced oil recovery techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stathis, J.S.

    1991-05-01

    Tax expenditures-reductions in income tax liability resulting from a special tax provision-are often used to achieve economic and social objectives. The arguments for petroleum production tax incentives usually encompass some combination of enhancing energy security, rewarding risk, or generating additional investment in new technologies. Generally, however, some portion of any tax expenditure is spend on activities that would have occurred anyway. This paper is a review of tax incentives for petroleum production found two to be of questionable merit. Others, including tax preferences for enhanced oil recovery methods, which offered the potential for better returns on the tax dollar. Increased use of enhanced oil recovery techniques could lead to additional environmental costs, however, and these need to be factored into any cost-benefit calculation

  10. 26 CFR 1.43-1 - The enhanced oil recovery credit-general rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true The enhanced oil recovery credit-general rules. 1... INCOME TAXES Credits Against Tax § 1.43-1 The enhanced oil recovery credit—general rules. (a) Claiming the credit—(1) In general. The enhanced oil recovery credit (the “credit”) is a component of the...

  11. Chemical Flooding in Heavy-Oil Reservoirs: From Technical Investigation to Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Si Le Van

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Heavy-oil resources represent a large percentage of global oil and gas reserves, however, owing to the high viscosity, enhanced oil recovery (EOR techniques are critical issues for extracting this type of crude oil from the reservoir. According to the survey data in Oil & Gas Journal, thermal methods are the most widely utilized in EOR projects in heavy oil fields in the US and Canada, and there are not many successful chemical flooding projects for heavy oil reported elsewhere in the world. However, thermal methods such as steam injection might be restricted in cases of thin formations, overlying permafrost, or reservoir depths over 4500 ft, for which chemical flooding becomes a better option for recovering crude oil. Moreover, owing to the considerable fluctuations in the oil price, chemical injection plans should be employed consistently in terms of either technical or economic viewpoints. The numerical studies in this work aim to clarify the predominant chemical injection schemes among the various combinations of chemical agents involving alkali (A, surfactant (S and polymer (P for specific heavy-oil reservoir conditions. The feasibilities of all potential injection sequences are evaluated in the pre-evaluation stage in order to select the most efficient injection scheme according to the variation in the oil price which is based on practical market values. Finally, optimization procedures in the post-evaluation stage are carried out for the most economic injection plan by an effective mathematic tool with the purpose of gaining highest Net Present Value (NPV of the project. In technical terms, the numerical studies confirm the predominant performances of sequences in which alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP solution is injected after the first preflushing water whereby the recovery factor can be higher than 47%. In particular, the oil production performances are improved by injecting a buffering viscous fluid right after the first chemical slug

  12. Biosurfactant and enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    McInerney, Michael J.; Jenneman, Gary E.; Knapp, Roy M.; Menzie, Donald E.

    1985-06-11

    A pure culture of Bacillus licheniformis strain JF-2 (ATCC No. 39307) and a process for using said culture and the surfactant lichenysin produced thereby for the enhancement of oil recovery from subterranean formations. Lichenysin is an effective surfactant over a wide range of temperatures, pH's, salt and calcium concentrations.

  13. Evaluation of miscible and immiscible CO2 injection in one of the Iranian oil fields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aref Hashemi Fath

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Carbon dioxide (CO2 flooding is one of the most important methods for enhanced oil recovery (EOR because it not only increases oil recovery efficiency but also causes a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It is a very complex system, involving phase behavior that could increase the recovery of oil by means of swelling, evaporation and decreasing viscosity of the oil. In this study, a reservoir modeling approach was used to evaluate immiscible and miscible CO2 flooding in a fractured oil field. To reduce simulation time, we grouped fluid components into 10 pseudo-components. The 3-parameter, Peng–Robinson Equation of State (EOS was used to match PVT experimental data by using the PVTi software. A one-dimensional slim-tube model was defined using ECLIPSE 300 software to determine the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP for injection of CO2. We used FloGrid software for making a reservoir static model and the reservoir model was calibrated using manual and assisted history matching methods. Then various scenarios of natural depletion, immiscible and miscible CO2 injection have been simulated by ECLIPSE 300 software and then the simulation results of scenarios have been compared. Investigation of simulation results shows that the oil recovery factor in miscible CO2 injection scenario is more than other methods.

  14. Eor in Western Europe : Status and Outlook La récupération assistée du pétrole en Europe : situation et perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Combe J.

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available More than sixty EOR projects implemented on the onshore oil fields of Western European countries have been taken into consideration. They cover most of the EOR processes, except the CO2 miscible drive, and several of them have been technically and economically successful. The full list of these projects is given, together with a brief description of six of the most significant among them. The conclusions which can be drawn from the publications on this Western Europe EOR experience are that steam injection remains the most efficient process for very viscous oils. The area of its applicability is the same as that found in other countries of the world, plus a successful extension to heterogeneous fissured reservoirs. Polymer injection in moderately viscous oils is confirmed to be very efficient, provided that improvements in stability of the viscous solution can be obtained. These two processes are the most promising ones on a relatively short term in Western Europe onshore. Considering horizontal drilling as an improved oil recovery technique, some experiences have been gained recently in this method. Since 1980, thirteen horizontal wells have been drilled in Western European oil fields, without taking into account the North Sea area. The first results are quite encouraging, mainly thanks to remarkable improvements in drilling performances. An investigation of the oil potential for EOR shows that 40 to 170 Mm3 of additional oil could be recovered from the currently producing onshore fields in Europe by polymer flooding and up to 75 Mm3 by steam drive, given a favorable oil price assumption. Injection of various gases, under miscible or immiscible conditions, has a theoretical potential that could reach the same magnitude as thermal and polymer processes. However the availability of gas required at cheap conditions makes the development of these reserves improbable. Orientations for research coming from this investigation are in favor of an

  15. Bacterial community diversity in a low-permeability oil reservoir and its potential for enhancing oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Meng; Zhang, Zhong-Zhi; Wang, Jing-Xiu; Zhang, Guang-Qing; Luo, Yi-Jing; Song, Zhao-Zheng; Zhang, Ji-Yuan

    2013-11-01

    The diversity of indigenous bacterial community and the functional species in the water samples from three production wells of a low permeability oil reservoir was investigated by high-throughput sequencing technology. The potential of application of indigenous bacteria for enhancing oil recovery was evaluated by examination of the effect of bacterial stimulation on the formation water-oil-rock surface interactions and micromodel test. The results showed that production well 88-122 had the most diverse bacterial community and functional species. The broth of indigenous bacteria stimulated by an organic nutrient activator at aerobic condition changed the wettability of the rock surface from oil-wet to water-wet. Micromodel test results showed that flooding using stimulated indigenous bacteria following water flooding improved oil recovery by 6.9% and 7.7% in fractured and unfractured micromodels, respectively. Therefore, the zone of low permeability reservoir has a great potential for indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. On the feasibility of inducing oil mobilization in existing reservoirs via wellbore harmonic fluid action

    KAUST Repository

    Jeong, Chanseok

    2011-03-01

    Although vibration-based mobilization of oil remaining in mature reservoirs is a promising low-cost method of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), research on its applicability at the reservoir scale is still at an early stage. In this paper, we use simplified models to study the potential for oil mobilization in homogeneous and fractured reservoirs, when harmonically oscillating fluids are injected/produced within a well. To this end, we investigate first whether waves, induced by fluid pressure oscillations at the well site, and propagating radially and away from the source in a homogeneous reservoir, could lead to oil droplet mobilization in the reservoir pore-space. We discuss both the fluid pore-pressure wave and the matrix elastic wave cases, as potential agents for increasing oil mobility. We then discuss the more realistic case of a fractured reservoir, where we study the fluid pore-pressure wave motion, while taking into account the leakage effect on the fracture wall. Numerical results show that, in homogeneous reservoirs, the rock-stress wave is a better energy-delivery agent than the fluid pore-pressure wave. However, neither the rock-stress wave nor the pore-pressure wave is likely to result in any significant residual oil mobilization at the reservoir scale. On the other hand, enhanced oil production from the fractured reservoir\\'s matrix zone, induced by cross-flow vibrations, appears to be feasible. In the fractured reservoir, the fluid pore-pressure wave is only weakly attenuated through the fractures, and thus could induce fluid exchange between the rock formation and the fracture space. The vibration-induced cross-flow is likely to improve the imbibition of water into the matrix zone and the expulsion of oil from it. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

  17. Summary of the analyses for recovery factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Mahendra K.

    2017-07-17

    IntroductionIn order to determine the hydrocarbon potential of oil reservoirs within the U.S. sedimentary basins for which the carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) process has been considered suitable, the CO2 Prophet model was chosen by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to be the primary source for estimating recovery-factor values for individual reservoirs. The choice was made because of the model’s reliability and the ease with which it can be used to assess a large number of reservoirs. The other two approaches—the empirical decline curve analysis (DCA) method and a review of published literature on CO2-EOR projects—were deployed to verify the results of the CO2 Prophet model. This chapter discusses the results from CO2 Prophet (chapter B, by Emil D. Attanasi, this report) and compares them with results from decline curve analysis (chapter C, by Hossein Jahediesfanjani) and those reported in the literature for selected reservoirs with adequate data for analyses (chapter D, by Ricardo A. Olea).To estimate the technically recoverable hydrocarbon potential for oil reservoirs where CO2-EOR has been applied, two of the three approaches—CO2 Prophet modeling and DCA—do not include analysis of economic factors, while the third approach—review of published literature—implicitly includes economics. For selected reservoirs, DCA has provided estimates of the technically recoverable hydrocarbon volumes, which, in combination with calculated amounts of original oil in place (OOIP), helped establish incremental CO2-EOR recovery factors for individual reservoirs.The review of published technical papers and reports has provided substantial information on recovery factors for 70 CO2-EOR projects that are either commercially profitable or classified as pilot tests. When comparing the results, it is important to bear in mind the differences and limitations of these three approaches.

  18. Multiple isotopes (O, C, Li, Sr) as tracers of CO2 and brine leakage from CO2-enhanced oil recovery activities in Permian Basin, Texas, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phan, T. T.; Sharma, S.; Gardiner, J. B.; Thomas, R. B.; Stuckman, M.; Spaulding, R.; Lopano, C. L.; Hakala, A.

    2017-12-01

    Potential CO2 and brine migration or leakage into shallow groundwater is a critical issue associated with CO2 injection at both enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and carbon sequestration sites. The effectiveness of multiple isotope systems (δ18OH2O, δ13C, δ7Li, 87Sr/86Sr) in monitoring CO2 and brine leakage at a CO2-EOR site located within the Permian basin (Seminole, Texas, USA) was studied. Water samples collected from an oil producing formation (San Andres), a deep groundwater formation (Santa Rosa), and a shallow groundwater aquifer (Ogallala) over a four-year period were analyzed for elemental and isotopic compositions. The absence of any change in δ18OH2O or δ13CDIC values of water in the overlying Ogallala aquifer after CO2 injection indicates that injected CO2 did not leak into this aquifer. The range of Ogallala water δ7Li (13-17‰) overlaps the San Andres water δ7Li (13-15‰) whereas 87Sr/86Sr of Ogallala (0.70792±0.00005) significantly differs from San Andres water (0.70865±0.00003). This observation demonstrates that Sr isotopes are much more sensitive than Li isotopes in tracking brine leakage into shallow groundwater at the studied site. In contrast, deep groundwater δ7Li (21-25‰) is isotopically distinct from San Andres produced water; thus, monitoring this intermitted formation water can provide an early indication of CO2 injection-induced brine migration from the underlying oil producing formation. During water alternating with gas (WAG) operations, a significant shift towards more positive δ13CDIC values was observed in the produced water from several of the San Andres formation wells. The carbon isotope trend suggests that the 13C enriched injected CO2 and formation carbonates became the primary sources of dissolved inorganic carbon in the area surrounding the injection wells. Moreover, one-way ANOVA statistical analysis shows that the differences in δ7Li (F(1,16) = 2.09, p = 0.17) and 87Sr/86Sr (F(1,18) = 4.47, p = 0.05) values of

  19. Formulation of best-fit hydrophile/lipophile balance-dielectric permittivity demulsifiers for treatment of crude oil emulsions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.M. Ojinnaka

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The commerce of crude oil depends heavily on its water and salt contents usually referred to as Basic Sediments and Water (BS&W, which is co-produced with the crude oil in the form of emulsion. The lower the BS&W, the higher the market value of the crude. The presence of water in crude oil causes corrosion, lowers capacity utilization of production and processing plant parts and pipelines, reduces oil recovery and increases the oil content of the effluent water. The stabilizing factors of crude oil emulsions vary from one oil field to the other and with time in the same well as co-produced water increases, or after a well treatment and Enhanced Oil Recovery Operations (EOR. Periodical assessment and possible change of demulsifiers employed is therefore necessary at certain stages of crude oil productions, but this is not encouraged due to lack of general formulation procedures and the rigorous nature of bottle test method that is currently being used for assessment and selection. In this paper, the factors that affect the stability of crude oil emulsions are presented. Efforts of researchers in formulating demulsifiers based on these factors and their screening methods were reviewed. The context sets the stage for further exploration of possible relationship(s between the physical parameters of the crude oil and the demulsifiers, and exploiting same in the formulation of new demulsifiers capable of resolving crude oil emulsions using chemicals with improved surface activity and crude extracts of indigenous plants.

  20. Solar Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery, (STEOR) Volume 1: Executive summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elzinga, E.; Arnold, C.; Allen, D.; Garman, R.; Joy, P.; Mitchell, P.; Shaw, H.

    1980-11-01

    Thermal enhanced oil recovery is widely used in California to aid in the production of heavy oils. Steam injection either to stimulate individual wells or to drive oil to the producing wells, is by far the major thermal process today and has been in use for over 20 years. Since steam generation at the necessary pressures (generally below 4000 kPa (580 psia)) is within the capabilities of present day solar technology, it is logical to consider the possibilities of solar thermal enhanced oil recovery (STEOR). The present project consisted of an evaluation of STEOR. Program objectives, system selection, trade-off studies, preliminary design, cost estimate, development plan, and market and economic analysis are summarized.

  1. Experimental Study of Enhancing Oil Recovery with Weak Base Alkaline/Surfactant/Polymer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dandan Yin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Na2CO3 was used together with surfactant and polymer to form the Alkaline/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP flooding system. Interfacial tension (IFT and emulsification of Dagang oil and chemical solutions were studied in the paper. The experiment results show that the ASP system can form super-low interfacial tension with crude oil and emulsified phase. The stability of the emulsion is enhanced by the Na2CO3, surfactant, and the soap generated at oil/water contact. Six core flooding experiments are conducted in order to investigate the influence of Na2CO3 concentration on oil recovery. The results show the maximum oil recovery can be obtained with 0.3 wt% surfactant, 0.6 wt% Na2CO3, and 2000 mg/L polymer. In a heterogeneous reservoir, the ASP flooding could not enhance the oil recovery by reducing IFT until it reaches the critical viscosity, which indicates expanding the sweep volume is the premise for reducing IFT to enhance oil recovery. Reducing or removing the alkali from ASP system to achieve high viscosity will reduce oil recovery because of the declination of oil displacement efficiency. Weak base ASP alkali can ensure that the whole system with sufficient viscosity can start the medium and low permeability layers and enhance oil recovery even if the IFT only reaches 10−2 mN/m.

  2. Wettability of quartz surface as observed by NMR transverse relaxation time (T2)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alam, Mohammad Monzurul; Katika, Konstantina; Fabricius, Ida Lykke

    Injection of optimized water composition (smart water) is an advanced water flooding method for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Low saline waterflooding has been proved successful in sandstone reservoir. However, there is still controversy on the mechanism of smart water flooding. We studied...

  3. Steam injection and enhanced bioremediation of heavy fuel oil contamination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dablow, J.; Hicks, R.; Cacciatore, D.

    1995-01-01

    Steam injection has been shown to be successful in remediating sites impacted by heavy fuel oils. Field demonstrations at both pilot and full scale have removed No. 2 diesel fuel and Navy Special Fuel Oil (No. 5 fuel oil) from impacted soils. Removal mechanisms include enhanced volatilization of vapor- and adsorbed-phase contaminants and enhanced mobility due to decreased viscosity and associated residual saturation of separate- and adsorbed-phase contaminants. Laboratory studies have shown that indigenous biologic populations are significantly reduced, but are not eliminated by steam injection operations. Populations were readily reestablished by augmentation with nutrients. This suggests that biodegradation enhanced by warm, moist, oxygenated environments can be expected to further reduce concentrations of contaminants following cessation of steam injection operations

  4. Proper Use of Capillary Number in Chemical Flooding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hu Guo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Capillary number theory is very important for chemical flooding enhanced oil recovery. The difference between microscopic capillary number and the microscopic one is easy to confuse. After decades of development, great progress has been made in capillary number theory and it has important but sometimes incorrect application in EOR. The capillary number theory was based on capillary tube bundles and Darcy’s law hypothesis, and this should always be kept in mind when used in chemical flooding EOR. The flow in low permeability porous media often shows obvious non-Darcy effects, which is beyond Darcy’s law. Experiments data from ASP flooding and SP flooding showed that remaining oil saturation was not always decreasing as capillary number kept on increasing. Relative permeability was proved function of capillary number; its rate dependence was affected by capillary end effects. The mobility control should be given priority rather than lowering IFT. The displacement efficiency was not increased as displacement velocity increased as expected in heavy oil chemical flooding. Largest capillary number does not always make highest recovery in chemical flooding in heterogeneous reservoir. Misuse of CDC in EOR included the ignorance of mobility ratio, Darcy linear flow hypothesis, difference between microscopic capillary number and the microscopic one, and heterogeneity caused flow regime alteration. Displacement of continuous oil or remobilization of discontinuous oil was quite different.

  5. Assessment of Polyacrylamide Based Co-Polymers Enhanced by Functional Group Modifications with Regards to Salinity and Hardness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeed Akbari

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to test four new polymers for their stability under high salinity/high hardness conditions for their possible use in polymer flooding to improve oil recovery from hydrocarbon reservoirs. The four sulfonated based polyacrylamide co-polymers were FLOCOMB C7035; SUPERPUSHER SAV55; THERMOASSOCIATIF; and AN132 VHM which are basically sulfonated polyacrylamide copolymers of AM (acrylamide with AMPS (2-Acrylamido-2-Methylpropane Sulfonate. AN132 VHM has a molecular weight of 9–11 million Daltons with 32 mol % degree of sulfonation. SUPERPUSHER SAV55 mainly has about 35 mol % sulfonation degree and a molecular weight of 9–11 million Daltons. FLOCOMB C7035, in addition, has undergone post-hydrolysis step to increase polydispersity and molecular weight above 18 million Daltons but it has a sulfonation degree much lower than 32 mol %. THERMOASSOCIATIF has a molecular weight lower than 12 million Daltons and a medium sulfonation degree of around 32 mol %, and also contains LCST (lower critical solution temperature type block, which is responsible for its thermoassociative characteristics. This paper discusses the rheological behavior of these polymers in aqueous solutions (100–4500 ppm with NaCl (0.1–10 wt % measured at 25 °C. The effect of hardness was investigated by preparing a CaCl2-NaCl solution of same ionic strength as the 5 wt % of NaCl. In summary, it can be concluded that the rheological behavior of the newly modified co-polymers was in general agreement to the existing polymers, except that THERMOASSOCIATIF polymers showed unique behavior, which could possibly make them a better candidate for enhanced oil recovery (EOR application in high salinity conditions. The other three polymers, on the other hand, are better candidates for EOR applications in reservoirs containing high divalent ions. These results are expected to be helpful in selecting and screening the polymers for an EOR application.

  6. Responsive copolymers for enhanced petroleum recovery. Quarterly technical progress report, September 11, 1994--December 22, 1994

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCormick, C.; Hester, R.

    1994-01-01

    Advanced polymer systems that possess microstructural features that are responsive to temperature, electrolyte concentration, and shear conditions are being synthesized which will be superior to polymers presently used for mobility control in enhanced oil recovery. Improved polymer performance is accomplished by controlling hydrophobic or ampholytic interations between individual polymer chains in solution. The advanced polymers will circumbent major problems inherent in conventional EOR polymers in which molecular weight is usually compromised to allow sufficient solution viscosity and uniform reservoir permeation without plugging the porous media. Accomplishments are reported for the following tasks: quaternary ammonium cyclopolymer synthesis; characterization of molecular structure and solution behavior; {sup 23}Na NMR studies of non-binding to anionic polyelectrolytes and solution rheology.

  7. Investigation of Optimum Polymerization Conditions for Synthesis of Cross-Linked Polyacrylamide-Amphoteric Surfmer Nanocomposites for Polymer Flooding in Sandstone Reservoirs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. N. El-hoshoudy

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Currently enhanced oil recovery (EOR technology is getting more attention by many countries since energy crises are getting worse and frightening. Polymer flooding by hydrophobically associated polyacrylamides (HAPAM and its modified silica nanocomposite are a widely implemented technique through enhanced oil recovery (EOR technology. This polymers class can be synthesized by copolymerization of acrylamide (AM, reactive surfmer, functionalized silica nanoparticles, and a hydrophobic cross-linker moiety in the presence of water soluble initiator via heterogeneous emulsion polymerization technique, to form latexes that can be applied during polymer flooding. Chemical structure of the prepared copolymers was proven through different techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR, and nuclear magnetic spectroscopy (1H&13C-NMR, and molecular weight was measured by gel permeation chromatography. Study of the effects of monomer, surfmer, cross-linker, silica, and initiator concentrations as well as reaction temperature was investigated to determine optimum polymerization conditions through single factor and orthogonal experiments. Evaluation of the prepared copolymers for enhancing recovered oil amount was evaluated by carrying out flooding experiments on one-dimensional sandstone model to determine recovery factor.

  8. Oil recovery enhancement from fractured, low permeability reservoirs. [Carbonated Water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poston, S.W.

    1991-01-01

    The results of the investigative efforts for this jointly funded DOE-State of Texas research project achieved during the 1990-1991 year may be summarized as follows: Geological Characterization - Detailed maps of the development and hierarchical nature the fracture system exhibited by Austin Chalk outcrops were prepared. The results of these efforts were directly applied to the development of production decline type curves applicable to a dual-fracture-matrix flow system. Analysis of production records obtained from Austin Chalk operators illustrated the utility of these type curves to determine relative fracture/matrix contributions and extent. Well-log response in Austin Chalk wells has been shown to be a reliable indicator of organic maturity. Shear-wave splitting concepts were used to estimate fracture orientations from Vertical Seismic Profile, VSP data. Several programs were written to facilitate analysis of the data. The results of these efforts indicated fractures could be detected with VSP seismic methods.Development of the EOR Imbibition Process - Laboratory displacement as well as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI and Computed Tomography, CT imaging studies have shown the carbonated water-imbibition displacement process significantly accelerates and increases recovery from oil saturated, low permeability rocks.Field Tests - Two operators amenable to conducting a carbonated water flood test on an Austin Chalk well have been identified. Feasibility studies are presently underway.

  9. Oil Recovery Enhancement from Fractured, Low Permeability Reservoirs. [Carbonated Water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poston, S. W.

    1991-01-01

    The results of the investigative efforts for this jointly funded DOE-State of Texas research project achieved during the 1990-1991 year may be summarized as follows: Geological Characterization - Detailed maps of the development and hierarchical nature the fracture system exhibited by Austin Chalk outcrops were prepared. The results of these efforts were directly applied to the development of production decline type curves applicable to a dual-fracture-matrix flow system. Analysis of production records obtained from Austin Chalk operators illustrated the utility of these type curves to determine relative fracture/matrix contributions and extent. Well-log response in Austin Chalk wells has been shown to be a reliable indicator of organic maturity. Shear-wave splitting concepts were used to estimate fracture orientations from Vertical Seismic Profile, VSP data. Several programs were written to facilitate analysis of the data. The results of these efforts indicated fractures could be detected with VSP seismic methods. Development of the EOR Imbibition Process - Laboratory displacement as well as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI and Computed Tomography, CT imaging studies have shown the carbonated water-imbibition displacement process significantly accelerates and increases recovery from oil saturated, low permeability rocks. Field Tests - Two operators amenable to conducting a carbonated water flood test on an Austin Chalk well have been identified. Feasibility studies are presently underway.

  10. Proceedings of the 8. International Symposium on Microbial Ecology : microbial biosystems : new frontiers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bell, C.R.; Brylinsky, M.; Johnson-Green, P.

    2000-01-01

    A wide range of disciplines were presented at this conference which reflected the importance of microbial ecology and provided an understanding of the factors that determine the growth and activities of microorganisms. The conference attracted 1444 delegates from 54 countries. The research emerging from the rapidly expanding frontier of microbial ecosystems was presented in 62 oral presentation and 817 poster presentations. The two volumes of these proceedings presented a total of 27 areas in microbial ecology, some of which included terrestrial biosystems, aquatic, estuarine, surface and subsurface microbial ecology. Other topics included bioremediation, microbial ecology in industry and microbial ecology of oil fields. Some of the papers highlighted the research that is underway to determine the feasibility of using microorganisms for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Research has shown that microbial EOR can increase production at lower costs than conventional oil recovery. The use of bacteria has also proven to be a feasible treatment method in the biodegradation of hydrocarbons associated with oil spills. refs., tabs., figs

  11. Impact of carbon nanotubes based nanofluid on oil recovery efficiency using core flooding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soleimani, Hassan; Baig, Mirza Khurram; Yahya, Noorhana; Khodapanah, Leila; Sabet, Maziyar; Demiral, Birol M. R.; Burda, Marek

    2018-06-01

    This study aims to investigate the influence of carbon nanotubes based nanofluid on interfacial tension and oil recovery efficiency. Practically multi-walled carbon nanotubes were successfully synthesized using chemical vapour deposition technique and characterized using X-ray diffraction and Field Emission Scanning Electron microscope in order to understand its structure, shape, and morphology. Nanofluids are one of the interesting new agents for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) that can change the reservoir rock-fluid properties in terms of interfacial tension and wettability. In this work, different concentration of carbon nanotubes based fluids were prepared and the effect of each concentration on surface tension was determined using pendant drop method. After specifying the optimum concentration of carbon nanotubes based nanofluid, core flooding experiment was conducted by two pore volume of brine and two pore volume of nanofluid and then oil recovery factor was calculated. The results show that carbon nanotubes can bring in additional recovery factor of 18.57% in the glass bead sample. It has been observed that nanofluid with high surface tension value gives higher recovery. It was found that the optimum value of concentration is 0.3 wt% at which maximum surface tension of 33.46 mN/m and oil recovery factor of 18.57% was observed. This improvement in recovery factor can be recognized due to interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration.

  12. An overview of field-specific designs of microbial EOR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robertson, E.P.; Bala, G.A.; Fox, S.L.; Jackson, J.D.; Thomas, C.P. [Idaho National Engineering Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    1995-12-31

    The selection and design of an MEOR process for application in a specific field involves geological, reservoir, and biological characterization. Microbially mediated oil recovery mechanisms (bigenic gas, biopolymers, and biosurfactants) are defined by the types of microorganisms used. The engineering and biological character of a given reservoir must be understood to correctly select a microbial system to enhance oil recovery. This paper discusses the methods used to evaluate three fields with distinct characteristics and production problems for the applicability of MEOR would not be applicable in two of the three fields considered. The development of a microbial oil recovery process for the third field appeared promising. Development of a bacterial consortium capable of producing the desired metabolites was initiated, and field isolates were characterized.

  13. Bio-Engineering High Performance Microbial Strains for MEOR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiangdong Fang; Qinghong Wang; Patrick Shuler

    2007-12-30

    The main objectives of this three-year research project are: (1) to employ the latest advances in genetics and bioengineering, especially Directed Protein Evolution technology, to improve the effectiveness of the microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) process. (2) to improve the surfactant activity and the thermal stability of bio-surfactant systems for MEOR; and (3) to develop improved laboratory methods and tools that screen quickly candidate bio-systems for EOR. Biosurfactants have been receiving increasing attention as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) agents because of their unique properties (i.e., mild production conditions, lower toxicity, and higher biodegradability) compared to their synthetic chemical counterparts. Rhamnolipid as a potent natural biosurfactant has a wide range of potential applications, including EOR and bioremediation. During the three-year of the project period, we have successfully cloned the genes involved in the rhamnolipid bio-synthesis. And by using the Transposon containing Rhamnosyltransferase gene rhlAB, we engineered the new mutant strains P. aeruginosa PEER02 and E. coli TnERAB so they can produce rhamnolipid biosurfactans. We were able to produce rhamnolipds in both P. aeroginosa PAO1-RhlA- strain and P. fluorescens ATCC15453 strain, with the increase of 55 to 175 fold in rhamnolipid production comparing with wild type bacteria strain. We have also completed the first round direct evolution studies using Error-prone PCR technique and have constructed the library of RhlAB-containing Transposon to express mutant gene in heterologous hosts. Several methods, such as colorimetric agar plate assay, colorimetric spectrophotometer assay, bioactive assay and oil spreading assay have been established to detect and screen rhamnolipid production. Our engineered P. aeruginosa PEER02 strain can produce rhamnolipids with different carbon sources as substrate. Interfacial tension analysis (IFT) showed that different rhamnolipids from different

  14. Microbial consortia in Oman oil fields: a possible use in enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Bahry, Saif N; Elshafie, Abdulkader E; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M; Al-Bemani, Ali S; Joshi, Sanket J; Al-Maaini, Ratiba A; Al-Alawi, Wafa J; Sugai, Yuichi; Al-Mandhari, Mussalam

    2013-01-01

    Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is one of the most economical and efficient methods for extending the life of production wells in a declining reservoir. Microbial consortia from Wafra oil wells and Suwaihat production water, Al-Wusta region, Oman were screened. Microbial consortia in brine samples were identified using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene sequences. The detected microbial consortia of Wafra oil wells were completely different from microbial consortia of Suwaihat formation water. A total of 33 genera and 58 species were identified in Wafra oil wells and Suwaihat production water. All of the identified microbial genera were first reported in Oman, with Caminicella sporogenes for the first time reported from oil fields. Most of the identified microorganisms were found to be anaerobic, thermophilic, and halophilic, and produced biogases, biosolvants, and biosurfactants as by-products, which may be good candidates for MEOR.

  15. Underground storage of carbon dioxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tanaka, Shoichi [Univ. of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku (Japan)

    1993-12-31

    Desk studies on underground storage of CO{sub 2} were carried out from 1990 to 1991 fiscal years by two organizations under contract with New Energy and Indestrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). One group put emphasis on application of CO{sub 2} EOR (enhanced oil recovery), and the other covered various aspects of underground storage system. CO{sub 2} EOR is a popular EOR method in U.S. and some oil countries. At present, CO{sub 2} is supplied from natural CO{sub 2} reservoirs. Possible use of CO{sub 2} derived from fixed sources of industries is a main target of the study in order to increase oil recovery and storage CO{sub 2} under ground. The feasibility study of the total system estimates capacity of storage of CO{sub 2} as around 60 Gton CO{sub 2}, if worldwide application are realized. There exist huge volumes of underground aquifers which are not utilized usually because of high salinity. The deep aquifers can contain large amount of CO{sub 2} in form of compressed state, liquefied state or solution to aquifer. A preliminary technical and economical survey on the system suggests favorable results of 320 Gton CO{sub 2} potential. Technical problems are discussed through these studies, and economical aspects are also evaluated.

  16. Nitrate-Mediated Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (N-MEOR) from model upflow bioreactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gassara, Fatma; Suri, Navreet; Voordouw, Gerrit

    2017-02-15

    Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) can enhance oil production with less energy input and less costs than other technologies. The present study used different aqueous electron donors (acetate, glucose, molasses) and an aqueous electron acceptor (nitrate) to stimulate growth of heterotrophic nitrate reducing bacteria (hNRB) to improve production of oil. Initial flooding of columns containing heavy oil (viscosity of 3400cP at 20°C) with CSBK (Coleville synthetic brine medium) produced 0.5 pore volume (PV) of oil. Bioreactors were then inoculated with hNRB with 5.8g/L of molasses and 0, 10, 20, 40, 60 or 80mM nitrate, as well as with 17mM glucose or 57mM acetate and 80mM nitrate. During incubations no oil was produced in the bioreactors that received 5.8g/L of molasses and 0, 10, 20, 40 or 60mM nitrate. However, the bioreactors injected with 5.8g/L of molasses, 17mM glucose or 57mM acetate and 80mM nitrate produced 13.9, 11.3±3.1 and 17.8±6.6% of residual oil, respectively. The significant production of oil from these bioreactors may be caused by N 2 -CO 2 gas production. Following continued injection with CSBK without nitrate, subsequent elution of significant residual oil (5-30%) was observed. These results also indicate possible involvement of fermentation products (organic acids, alcohols) to enhance heavy oil recovery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Synthesis and evaluation of novel linear and branched polyacrylamides for enhanced oil recovery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wever, Diego-Armando Zacarias

    2013-01-01

    De efficientie van oliewinning ligt gemiddeld lager dan 50% voor alle oliebronnen in de wereld. Verbeterde olie extractie (EOR) heeft als doel om de efficientie te verbeteren. Water oplosbare polymeren worden gebruikt om de verplaatsing efficiëntie te verbeteren van de water fase die geïnjecteerd

  18. Reuse of Produced Water from CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery, Coal-Bed Methane, and Mine Pool Water by Coal-Based Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knutson, Chad [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Dastgheib, Seyed A. [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Yang, Yaning [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Ashraf, Ali [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Duckworth, Cole [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Sinata, Priscilla [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Sugiyono, Ivan [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Shannon, Mark A. [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Werth, Charles J. [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States)

    2012-07-01

    Power generation in the Illinois Basin is expected to increase by as much as 30% by the year 2030, and this would increase the cooling water consumption in the region by approximately 40%. This project investigated the potential use of produced water from CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) operations; coal-bed methane (CBM) recovery; and active and abandoned underground coal mines for power plant cooling in the Illinois Basin. Specific objectives of this project were: (1) to characterize the quantity, quality, and geographic distribution of produced water in the Illinois Basin; (2) to evaluate treatment options so that produced water may be used beneficially at power plants; and (3) to perform a techno-economic analysis of the treatment and transportation of produced water to thermoelectric power plants in the Illinois Basin. Current produced water availability within the basin is not large, but potential flow rates up to 257 million liters per day (68 million gallons per day (MGD)) are possible if CO2-enhanced oil recovery and coal bed methane recovery are implemented on a large scale. Produced water samples taken during the project tend to have dissolved solids concentrations between 10 and 100 g/L, and water from coal beds tends to have lower TDS values than water from oil fields. Current pretreatment and desalination technologies including filtration, adsorption, reverse osmosis (RO), and distillation can be used to treat produced water to a high quality level, with estimated costs ranging from $2.6 to $10.5 per cubic meter ($10 to $40 per 1000 gallons). Because of the distances between produced water sources and power plants, transportation costs tend to be greater than treatment costs. An optimization algorithm was developed to determine the lowest cost pipe network connecting sources and sinks. Total water costs increased with flow rate up to 26 million liters per day (7 MGD), and the range was from $4 to $16 per cubic meter

  19. Establishing MICHCARB, a geological carbon sequestration research and education center for Michigan, implemented through the Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education, part of the Department of Geosciences at Western Michigan University

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barnes, David A. [Western Michigan Univ., Kalamazoo MI (United States); Harrison, William B. [Western Michigan Univ., Kalamazoo MI (United States)

    2014-01-28

    The Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE), part of the Department of Geosciences at Western Michigan University (WMU) at Kalamazoo, Michigan, established MichCarb—a geological carbon sequestration resource center by: • Archiving and maintaining a current reference collection of carbon sequestration published literature • Developing statewide and site-specific digital research databases for Michigan’s deep geological formations relevant to CO2 storage, containment and potential for enhanced oil recovery • Producing maps and tables of physical properties as components of these databases • Compiling all information into a digital atlas • Conducting geologic and fluid flow modeling to address specific predictive uses of CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery, including compiling data for geological and fluid flow models, formulating models, integrating data, and running the models; applying models to specific predictive uses of CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery • Conducting technical research on CO2 sequestration and enhanced oil recovery through basic and applied research of characterizing Michigan oil and gas and saline reservoirs for CO2 storage potential volume, injectivity and containment. Based on our research, we have concluded that the Michigan Basin has excellent saline aquifer (residual entrapment) and CO2/Enhanced oil recovery related (CO2/EOR; buoyant entrapment) geological carbon sequestration potential with substantial, associated incremental oil production potential. These storage reservoirs possess at least satisfactory injectivity and reliable, permanent containment resulting from associated, thick, low permeability confining layers. Saline aquifer storage resource estimates in the two major residual entrapment, reservoir target zones (Lower Paleozoic Sandstone and Middle Paleozoic carbonate and sandstone reservoirs) are in excess of 70-80 Gmt (at an overall 10% storage efficiency factor; an approximately

  20. Enhanced Oil Recovery: Aqueous Flow Tracer Measurement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joseph Rovani; John Schabron

    2009-02-01

    A low detection limit analytical method was developed to measure a suite of benzoic acid and fluorinated benzoic acid compounds intended for use as tracers for enhanced oil recovery operations. Although the new high performance liquid chromatography separation successfully measured the tracers in an aqueous matrix at low part per billion levels, the low detection limits could not be achieved in oil field water due to interference problems with the hydrocarbon-saturated water using the system's UV detector. Commercial instrument vendors were contacted in an effort to determine if mass spectrometry could be used as an alternate detection technique. The results of their work demonstrate that low part per billion analysis of the tracer compounds in oil field water could be achieved using ultra performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

  1. Microbial Activation of Bacillus subtilis-Immobilized Microgel Particles for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Han Am; Choi, Sang Koo; Jeong, Eun Sook; Kim, Bohyun; Kim, Hyun Tae; Sung, Won Mo; Kim, Jin Woong

    2016-09-06

    Microbially enhanced oil recovery involves the use of microorganisms to extract oil remaining in reservoirs. Here, we report fabrication of microgel particles with immobilized Bacillus subtilis for application to microbially enhanced oil recovery. Using B. subtilis isolated from oil-contaminated soils in Myanmar, we evaluated the ability of this microbe to reduce the interfacial tension at the oil-water interface via production of biosurfactant molecules, eventually yielding excellent emulsification across a broad range of the medium pH and ionic strength. To safely deliver B. subtilis into a permeable porous medium, in this study, these bacteria were physically immobilized in a hydrogel mesh of microgel particles. In a core flooding experiment, in which the microgel particles were injected into a column packed with silica beads, we found that these particles significantly increased oil recovery in a concentration-dependent manner. This result shows that a mesh of microgel particles encapsulating biosurfactant-producing microorganisms holds promise for recovery of oil from porous media.

  2. Arm (Advanced Reservoir Management Vs. Eor Gestion avancée de réservoir contre récupération assistée des hydrocarbures (RAH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chierici G. L.

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Advanced Reservoir Management (ARM techniques aimed at a better reservoir coverage by injected fluid(s through the improvement of interwell connectivity and recourse to gravity drainage are shown to have a better chance than EOR techniques in improving oil recovery with satisfactory economic results. Les techniques de gestion avancée de réservoir (ARM, Advanced Reservoir Management visant une meilleure couverture du réservoir par les fluides injectés grâce à l'amélioration des interconnexions entre les puits et au recours au drainage par gravité semblent offrir plus de possibilités que les techniques de RAH, pour améliorer la récupération du pétrole dans de bonnes conditions économiques.

  3. In situ viscosity of oil sands using low field NMR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryan, J.; Moon, D.; Kantzas, A.

    2005-01-01

    In heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs, oil viscosity is a vital piece of information that will have great bearing on the chosen EOR scheme and the recovery expected. Prediction of in situ viscosity with a logging tool would he very beneficial in reservoir characterization and exploitation design. Low field NMR is a technology that has shown great potential as a tool for characterizing hydrocarbon properties in heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs. An oil viscosity correlation has previously been developed that is capable of providing order of magnitude viscosity estimates for a wide range of oils taken from various fields in Alberta. This paper presents tuning procedures to improve the NMR predictions for different viscosity ranges, and extends the NMR viscosity model to in situ heavy oil in unconsolidated sands. The results of this work show that the NMR oil peak can be de-convoluted from the in situ signals of the oil and water, and the bulk viscosity correlation that was developed for bulk oils can he applied to predict the in situ oil viscosity. These results can be translated to an NMR logging tool algorithm, allowing for in situ measurements of oil viscosity at the proper reservoir conditions. (author)

  4. Change of Static and Dynamic Elastic Properties due to CO² Injection in North Sea Chalk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alam, Mohammad Monzurul; Hjuler, M.L.; Christensen, H.F.

    2012-01-01

    important in enhanced oil recovery by CO2 injection (CO2-EOR) in chalk as, chalk reservoirs are vulnerable to compaction under changed stress and pore fluid. From South Arne field, North Sea, we used Ekofisk Formation chalk having approximately 20% non-carbonate and Tor Formation chalk having less than 5...

  5. FOAM3D: A numerical simulator for mechanistic prediciton of foam displacement in multidimensions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kovscek, A.R.; Patzek, T.W. [Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, CA (United States); Radke, C.J. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

    1995-03-01

    Field application of foam is a technically viable enhanced oil recovery process (EOR) as demonstrated by recent steam-foam field studies. Traditional gas-displacement processes, such as steam drive, are improved substantially by controlling gas mobility and thereby improving volumetric displacement efficiency. For instance, Patzek and Koinis showed major oil-recovery response after about two years of foam injection in two different pilot studies at the Kern River field. They report increased production of 5.5 to 14% of the original oil in place over a five year period. Because reservoir-scale simulation is a vital component of the engineering and economic evaluation of any EOR project, efficient application of foam as a displacement fluid requires a predictive numerical model of foam displacement. A mechanistic model would also expedite scale-up of the process from the laboratory to the field scale. No general, mechanistic, field-scale model for foam displacement is currently in use.

  6. Carbon Capture and Storage in the Permian Basin, a Regional Technology Transfer and Training Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rychel, Dwight [Petroleum Tech Transfer Council, Oak Hill, VA (United States)

    2013-09-30

    The Permian Basin Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Training Center was one of seven regional centers formed in 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and managed by the Department of Energy. Based in the Permian Basin, it is focused on the utilization of CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects for the long term storage of CO2 while producing a domestic oil and revenue stream. It delivers training to students, oil and gas professionals, regulators, environmental and academia through a robust web site, newsletter, tech alerts, webinars, self-paced online courses, one day workshops, and two day high level forums. While course material prominently features all aspects of the capture, transportation and EOR utilization of CO2, the audience focus is represented by its high level forums where selected graduate students with an interest in CCUS interact with Industry experts and in-house workshops for the regulatory community.

  7. Microbial processes in the Athabasca Oil Sands and their potential applications in microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harner, N K; Richardson, T L; Thompson, K A; Best, R J; Best, A S; Trevors, J T

    2011-11-01

    The Athabasca Oil Sands are located within the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, which covers over 140,200 km(2) of land in Alberta, Canada. The oil sands provide a unique environment for bacteria as a result of the stressors of low water availability and high hydrocarbon concentrations. Understanding the mechanisms bacteria use to tolerate these stresses may aid in our understanding of how hydrocarbon degradation has occurred over geological time, and how these processes and related tolerance mechanisms may be used in biotechnology applications such as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The majority of research has focused on microbiology processes in oil reservoirs and oilfields; as such there is a paucity of information specific to oil sands. By studying microbial processes in oil sands there is the potential to use microbes in MEOR applications. This article reviews the microbiology of the Athabasca Oil Sands and the mechanisms bacteria use to tolerate low water and high hydrocarbon availability in oil reservoirs and oilfields, and potential applications in MEOR.

  8. Chemometric assessment of enhanced bioremediation of oil contaminated soils

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soleimani, Mohsen; Farhoudi, Majid; Christensen, Jan H.

    2013-01-01

    Bioremediation is a promising technique for reclamation of oil polluted soils. In this study, six methods for enhancing bioremediation were tested on oil contaminated soils from three refinery areas in Iran (Isfahan, Arak, and Tehran). The methods included bacterial enrichment, planting...... relative removal of isoprenoids (e.g. norpristane, pristane and phytane). It is concluded that the CHEMSIC method is a valuable tool for assessing bioremediation efficiency....

  9. Studies on interfacial tension and contact angle of synthesized surfactant and polymeric from castor oil for enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babu, Keshak; Pal, Nilanjan; Bera, Achinta; Saxena, V. K.; Mandal, Ajay

    2015-10-01

    New synthesized polymeric surfactants have immensely attracted the researchers for further development of chemical enhanced oil recovery method particularly in surfactant flooding. Contact angle and interfacial tension measurement tests are the effective ways to identify proper chemicals/surfactants for enhanced oil recovery by chemical/surfactant flooding. In the present study a new polymeric surfactant was synthesized from pre-synthesized sodium methyl ester sulfonate (surfactant) and acrylamide for application in chemical enhanced oil recovery. The synthesized surfactant and polymeric surfactant were used to measure interfacial tension between their aqueous phase and crude oil phase to investigate the efficiency of the surfactants in reduction of interfacial tension. The synthesized polymeric surfactant has also ability to control the mobility because of its viscous nature in aqueous solution. Contact angles of solid-crude oil-surfactant interface were also measured to study the effect of the synthesized surfactant and polymeric surfactant on wettability alteration mechanism. Synergistic effect was studied by using NaCl and synthesized surfactants on interfacial tension. Dynamic interfacial tensions of the surfactant and polymeric surfactant solutions with crude oil were measured at different NaCl concentrations. Interfacial tension was found to be lowered up to 10-2 to 10-3 mN/m which is effective for oil recovery. Measurement of contact angle indicates the wettability change of the quartz surface. Comparative studies on efficiencies of synthesized sodium methyl ester sulfonate surfactant and polymeric surfactant were also carried out with respect to interfacial tension reduction and contact angle change.

  10. BIOTIGER, A NATURAL MICROBIAL PRODUCT FOR ENHANCED HYDROCARBON RECOVERY FROM OIL SANDS.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brigmon, R; Topher Berry, T; Whitney Jones, W; Charles Milliken, C

    2008-05-27

    BioTiger{trademark} is a unique microbial consortia that resulted from over 8 years of extensive microbiology screening and characterization of samples collected from a century-old Polish waste lagoon. BioTiger{trademark} shows rapid and complete degradation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, produces novel surfactants, is tolerant of both chemical and metal toxicity and shows good activity at temperature and pH extremes. Although originally developed and used by the U.S. Department of Energy for bioremediation of oil-contaminated soils, recent efforts have proven that BioTiger{trademark} can also be used to increase hydrocarbon recovery from oil sands. This enhanced ex situ oil recovery process utilizes BioTiger{trademark} to optimize bitumen separation. A floatation test protocol with oil sands from Ft. McMurray, Canada was used for the BioTiger{trademark} evaluation. A comparison of hot water extraction/floatation test of the oil sands performed with BioTiger{trademark} demonstrated a 50% improvement in separation as measured by gravimetric analysis in 4 h and a five-fold increase at 25 hr. Since BioTiger{trademark} performs well at high temperatures and process engineering can enhance and sustain metabolic activity, it can be applied to enhance recovery of hydrocarbons from oil sands or other complex recalcitrant matrices.

  11. Polymer as permeability modifier in porous media for enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsa, Shima; Weitz, David

    2017-11-01

    We use confocal microscopy to directly visualize the changes in morphology and mobilization of trapped oil ganglia within a 3D micromodel of porous media upon polymer flooding. Enhanced oil recovery is achieved in polymer flooding with large molecular weight at concentrations close or higher than a critical concentration of polymer. We also measure the fluctuations of the velocity of the displacing fluid and show that the velocities change upon polymer flooding in the whole medium. The changes in the fluid velocities are heterogeneous and vary in different pores, hence only providing enough pressure gradient across a few of the trapped oil ganglia and mobilize them. Our measurements show that polymer flooding is an effective method for enhancing oil recovery due to retention of polymer on the solid surfaces and changing the resistances of the available paths to water.

  12. Flow behavior of N2 huff and puff process for enhanced oil recovery in tight oil reservoirs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Teng; Li, Zhaomin; Li, Jian; Hou, Dawei; Zhang, Dingyong

    2017-11-16

    In the present work, the potential of N 2 huff and puff process to enhance the recovery of tight oil reservoir was evaluated. N 2 huff and puff experiments were performed in micromodels and cores to investigate the flow behaviors of different cycles. The results showed that, in the first cycle, N 2 was dispersed in the oil, forming the foamy oil flow. In the second cycle, the dispersed gas bubbles gradually coalesced into the continuous gas phase. In the third cycle, N 2 was produced in the form of continuous gas phase. The results from the coreflood tests showed that, the primary recovery was only 5.32%, while the recoveries for the three N 2 huff and puff cycles were 15.1%, 8.53% and 3.22%, respectively.The recovery and the pressure gradient in the first cycle were high. With the increase of huff and puff cycles, and the oil recovery and the pressure gradient rapidly decreased. The oil recovery of N 2 huff and puff has been found to increase as the N 2 injection pressure and the soaking time increased. These results showed that, the properly designed and controlled N 2 huff and puff process can lead to enhanced recovery of tight oil reservoirs.

  13. Lithium niobate ultrasonic transducer design for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhenjun; Xu, Yuanming; Gu, Yuting

    2015-11-01

    Due to the strong piezoelectric effect possessed by lithium niobate, a new idea that uses lithium niobate to design high-power ultrasonic transducer for Enhanced Oil Recovery technology is proposed. The purpose of this paper is to lay the foundation for the further research and development of high-power ultrasonic oil production technique. The main contents of this paper are as follows: firstly, structure design technique and application of a new high-power ultrasonic transducer are introduced; secondly, the experiment for reducing the viscosity of super heavy oil by this transducer is done, the optimum ultrasonic parameters for reducing the viscosity of super heavy oil are given. Experimental results show that heavy large molecules in super heavy oil can be cracked into light hydrocarbon substances under strong cavitation effect caused by high-intensity ultrasonic wave. Experiment proves that it is indeed feasible to design high-power ultrasonic transducer for ultrasonic oil production technology using lithium niobate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Foam rheology in porous media and enhanced oil recovery potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burley, R.

    1985-01-01

    Previous studies using foam as a mobility control agent in partially depleted oil wells have shown that foam has a potential for enhancing oil recovery after primary water flooding. The characteristics of foam as indicated by the results of several studies point to three potential applications of foam in oil recovery processes. These are: Improving the displacement efficiency of gas-drive processes (mobility control). Improving the sweep efficiency of other fluid injection processes (mobility control and flow impediment). Restricting the flow of undesired fluids and plugging of high permeable oil 'thief' zones (partial or total pore blockage). (author)

  15. An Exogenous Surfactant-Producing Bacillus subtilis Facilitates Indigenous Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Peike; Li, Guoqiang; Li, Yanshu; Li, Yan; Tian, Huimei; Wang, Yansen; Zhou, Jiefang; Ma, Ting

    2016-01-01

    This study used an exogenous lipopeptide-producing Bacillus subtilis to strengthen the indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (IMEOR) process in a water-flooded reservoir in the laboratory. The microbial processes and driving mechanisms were investigated in terms of the changes in oil properties and the interplay between the exogenous B. subtilis and indigenous microbial populations. The exogenous B. subtilis is a lipopeptide producer, with a short growth cycle and no oil-degrading ability. The B. subtilis facilitates the IMEOR process through improving oil emulsification and accelerating microbial growth with oil as the carbon source. Microbial community studies using quantitative PCR and high-throughput sequencing revealed that the exogenous B. subtilis could live together with reservoir microbial populations, and did not exert an observable inhibitory effect on the indigenous microbial populations during nutrient stimulation. Core-flooding tests showed that the combined exogenous and indigenous microbial flooding increased oil displacement efficiency by 16.71%, compared with 7.59% in the control where only nutrients were added, demonstrating the application potential in enhanced oil recovery in water-flooded reservoirs, in particular, for reservoirs where IMEOR treatment cannot effectively improve oil recovery.

  16. Study on Dynamic Characteristics of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yang; Shi, Fang; Qin, Wuying; Yan, Jing

    2018-01-01

    With the rapid development of economy, the demand for oil is increasing day by day. MEOR has the advantages of low cost and no pollution to the environment, attracted widespread attention. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of microbial enhanced oil recovery were studied by laboratory experiments. The result showed that all the microbial flooding recovery rate could reach more than 5%, and the total recovery could reach more than 35% and if the injection period of microbial composite system was advanced, the whole oil displacement process could be shortened and the workload would be reduced.

  17. Evolution of end-of-range damage and transient enhanced diffusion of indium in silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noda, T.

    2002-01-01

    Correlation of evolution of end-of-range (EOR) damage and transient enhanced diffusion (TED) of indium has been studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy. A physically based model of diffusion and defect growth is applied to the indium diffusion system. Indium implantation with 200 keV, 1×1014/cm2 through a 10 nm screen oxide into p-type Czochralski silicon wafer was performed. During postimplantation anneal at 750 °C for times ranging from 2 to 120 min, formation of dislocation loops and indium segregation into loops were observed. Simulation results of evolution of EOR defects show that there is a period that {311} defects dissolve and release free interstitials before the Ostwald ripening step of EOR dislocation loops. Our diffusion model that contains the interaction between indium and loops shows the indium pileup to the loops. Indium segregation to loops occurs at a pure growth step of loops and continues during the Ostwald ripening step. Although dislocation loops and indium segregation in the near-surface region are easily dissolved by high temperature annealing, EOR dislocation loops in the bulk region are rigid and well grown. It is considered that indium trapped by loops with a large radius is energetically stable. It is shown that modeling of the evolution of EOR defects is important for understanding indium TED.

  18. Fate(s) of injected CO2 in a coal-bearing formation, Louisiana, Gulf Coast Basin: Chemical and isotopic tracers of microbial-brine-rock-CO2 interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, Jenna L.

    2013-01-01

    Coal beds are one of the most promising reservoirs for geologic carbon dioxide (CO₂) sequestration, as CO₂ can strongly adsorb onto organic matter and displace methane; however, little is known about the long-term fate of CO₂ sequestered in coal beds. The "2800' sand" of the Olla oil field is a coal-bearing, oil and gas-producing reservoir of the Paleocene–Eocene Wilcox Group in north-central Louisiana. In the 1980s, this field, specifically the 2800' sand, was flooded with CO₂ in an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project, with 9.0×10⁷m³ of CO₂ remaining in the 2800' sand after injection ceased. This study utilized isotopic and geochemical tracers from co-produced natural gas, oil and brine from reservoirs located stratigraphically above, below and within the 2800' sand to determine the fate of the remaining EOR-CO₂, examining the possibilities of CO₂ migration, dissolution, mineral trapping, gas-phase trapping, and sorption to coal beds, while also testing a previous hypothesis that EOR-CO₂ may have been converted by microbes (CO₂-reducing methanogens) into methane, creating a microbial "hotspot". Reservoirs stratigraphically-comparable to the 2800' sand, but located in adjacent oil fields across a 90-km transect were sampled to investigate regional trends in gas composition, brine chemistry and microbial activity. The source field for the EOR-CO₂, the Black Lake Field, was also sampled to establish the δ¹³C-CO₂ value of the injected gas (0.9‰ +/- 0.9‰). Four samples collected from the Olla 2800' sand produced CO₂-rich gas with δ¹³C-CO₂ values (average 9.9‰) much lower than average (pre-injection) conditions (+15.9‰, average of sands located stratigraphically below the 2800' sand in the Olla Field) and at much higher CO₂ concentrations (24.9 mole %) than average (7.6 mole %, average of sands located stratigraphically below the 2800' sand in the Olla Field), suggesting the presence of EOR-CO₂ and gas-phase trapping as

  19. Enhanced Oil Recovery from Oil-wet Carbonate Rock by Spontaneous Imbibition of Aqueous Surfactant Solutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Standnes, Dag Chun

    2001-09-01

    The main theme of this thesis is an experimental investigation of spontaneous imbibition (SI) of aqueous cationic surfactant solution into oil-wet carbonate (chalk- and dolomite cores). The static imbibition process is believed to represent the matrix flow of oil and water in a fractured reservoir. It was known that aqueous solution of C{sub 12}-N(CH{sub 3}){sub 3}Br (C12TAB) was able to imbibe spontaneously into nearly oil-wet chalk material, but the underlying mechanism was not understood. The present work was therefore initiated, with the following objectives: (1) Put forward a hypothesis for the chemical mechanism underlying the SI of C12TAB solutions into oil-wet chalk material based on experimental data and (2) Perform screening tests of low-cost commercially available surfactants for their ability to displace oil by SI of water into oil-wet carbonate rock material. It is essential for optimal use of the surfactant in field application to have detailed knowledge about the mechanism underlying the SI process. The thesis also discusses some preliminary experimental results and suggests mechanisms for enhanced oil recovery from oil-wet carbonate rock induced by supply of thermal energy.

  20. Surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding for light oil recovery. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wasan, D.T.

    1996-05-01

    In this report, we present the results of our experimental and theoretical studies in surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding for light oil recovery. The overall objective of this work is to develop a very cost-effective method for formulating a successful surfactant-enhanced alkaline flood by appropriately choosing mixed alkalis which form inexpensive buffers to obtain the desired pH (between 8.5 and 12. 0) for ultimate spontaneous emulsification and ultralow interfacial tension. In addition, we have (1) developed a theoretical interfacial activity model for determining equilibrium interfacial tension, (2) investigated the mechanisms for spontaneous emulsification, (3) developed a technique to monitor low water content in oil and (4) developed a technique to study water-in-oil emulsion film properties, (5) investigated the effect of surfactant on the equilibrium and transient interfacial tension, (6) investigated the kinetics of oil removal from a silica surface, and (7) developed a theoretical interfacial activity model for determining equilibrium interfacial tension, accounting for added surfactant. The results of the studies conducted during the course of this project are discussed.

  1. Prospects of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery  in Danish chalk rocks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rudyk, Svetlana Nikolayevna; Jørgensen, Leif Wagner; Bah Awasi, Ismail

      Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) uses bacteria, producing gas (CO2), polymers or surfactants to help recover residual oil after the water injection depletes its possibilities. Two strains of Clostridia tyrobutiricum were investigated as possible candidates for MEOR  implementation in Danish...

  2. Hydroprocessing full-range of heavy oils and bitumen using ultradispersed catalysts at low severity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peluso, Enzo

    The progressive exhaustion of light crude oils is forcing the petroleum industry to explore new alternatives for the exploitation of unconventional oils. New approaches are searching for technologies able to produce, transport and refine these feedstocks at lower costs, in which symbiotic processes between the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the conventional upgrading technologies are under investigation. The process explored in this thesis is an interesting alternative for in-situ upgrading of these crude oils in the presence of ultradispersed (UD) catalysts, which are included as a disperse phase able to circulate along with the processed feed. The objectives of this work are: (a) study the performance of UD catalysts in the presence of a full range (non fractioned) heavy oil and bitumen and (b) evaluate the recyclability of the UD catalysts. Four different heavy crude oils were evaluated in the presence with UD catalysts at a total pressure of 2.8 MPa, residence time of 8 hours and reaction temperatures from 360 up to 400ºC. Thermal and catalytic hydro-processing were compared in terms of conversion and product stability. A comparison between the different crude oils was additionally derived in terms of SARA, initial micro-carbon content and virgin oil stability among other properties. Advantages of catalytic hydro-processing over thermal hydro-processing were evidenced, with UD catalysts playing an essential hydrogenating role while retarding coke formation; microcarbon and asphaltenes reduction in the presence of UD catalysts was observed. To evaluate the feasibility of recycling the UD catalysts, a micro-slurry recycled unit was developed as part of this research. These main results showed: (a) a successful design of this unit, (b) that temperature, LHSV and fractional recycling ratio have more impact on VGO conversion, while pressure has almost no effect, and (c) an UD catalysts agglomeration process was detected, however this process is slow and reversible.

  3. Potential of Essential Oils as Penetration Enhancers for Transdermal Administration of Ibuprofen to Treat Dysmenorrhoea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Chen

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare five essential oils (EOs as penetration enhancers (PEs to improve the transdermal drug delivery (TDD of ibuprofen to treat dysmenorrhoea. The EOs were prepared using the steam distillation method and their chemical compositions were identified by GC-MS. The corresponding cytotoxicities were evaluated in epidermal keartinocyte HaCaT cell lines by an MTT assay. Furthermore, the percutaneous permeation studies were carried out to compare the permeation enhancement effect of EOs. Then the therapeutic efficacy of ibuprofen with EOs was evaluated using dysmenorrheal model mice. The data supports a decreasing trend of skin cell viability in which Clove oil >Angelica oil > Chuanxiong oil > Cyperus oil > Cinnamon oil >> Azone. Chuanxiong oil and Angelica oil had been proved to possess a significant permeation enhancement for TDD of ibuprofen. More importantly, the pain inhibitory intensity of ibuprofen hydrogel was demonstrated to be greater with Chuanxiong oil when compared to ibuprofen without EOs (p < 0.05. The contents of calcium ion and nitric oxide (NO were also significantly changed after the addition of Chuanxiong oil (p < 0.05. In summary, we suggest that Chuanxiong oil should be viewed as the best PE for TDD of ibuprofen to treat dysmenorrhea.

  4. Mineral-Surfactant Interactions for Minimum Reagents Precipitation and Adsorption for Improved Oil Recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    P. Somasundaran

    2008-09-20

    Chemical EOR can be an effective method for increasing oil recovery and reducing the amount of produced water; however, reservoir fluids are chemically complex and may react adversely to the polymers and surfactants injected into the reservoir. While a major goal is to alter rock wettability and interfacial tension between oil and water, rock-fluid and fluid-fluid interactions must be understood and controlled to minimize reagent loss, maximize recovery and mitigate costly failures. The overall objective of this project was to elucidate the mechanisms of interactions between polymers/surfactants and the mineral surfaces responsible for determining the chemical loss due to adsorption and precipitation in EOR processes. The role of dissolved inorganic species that are dependent on the mineralogy is investigated with respect to their effects on adsorption. Adsorption, wettability and interfacial tension are studied with the aim to control chemical losses, the ultimate goal being to devise schemes to develop guidelines for surfactant and polymer selection in EOR. The adsorption behavior of mixed polymer/surfactant and surfactant/surfactant systems on typical reservoir minerals (quartz, alumina, calcite, dolomite, kaolinite, gypsum, pyrite, etc.) was correlated to their molecular structures, intermolecular interactions and the solution conditions such as pH and/or salinity. Predictive models as well as general guidelines for the use of polymer/surfactant surfactant/surfactant system in EOR have been developed The following tasks have been completed under the scope of the project: (1) Mineral characterization, in terms of SEM, BET, size, surface charge, and point zero charge. (2) Study of the interactions among typical reservoir minerals (quartz, alumina, calcite, dolomite, kaolinite, gypsum, pyrite, etc.) and surfactants and/or polymers in terms of adsorption properties that include both macroscopic (adsorption density, wettability) and microscopic (orientation

  5. CO2-handling: Incomes and risks. Can it be done with profitability?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lunke, Birger

    2006-01-01

    Focus on profitability in CO 2 handling can make it commercially interesting and stimulate technological innovation in the area. EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) is central to the profitability of carbon capture. Various political and economical aspects are discussed, underlining the need for big investments and a predictable tax regime for the industry to develop

  6. Rheological evaluation of polymers for EOR. Proper procedures for a laboratory approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kouchaki, S.; Hincapie-Reina, R.; Ganzer, L. [Technische Univ. Clausthal, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany). ITE

    2013-08-01

    Some discrepancies exist in the literature concerning polymer EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) evaluation. Laboratory investigations are essentials for every particular flooding project, with proper preliminary lab evaluation techniques in order to study the polymer behavior and rheological properties at different reservoir conditions. Different research has been shown variation in procedures during polymer preparation and filtration; affecting the result in the field. Experience from field observation indicates that even high molecular weight (MW) polymers have filtration ratio (F.R) less than 1,5; in that way polymer solutions that are still in range cannot show a good approximation to the field behavior. To deal with the discrepancies, specific procedures based in rheological polymer characterization were adapted. Two different polymers were used for rheology study using a rotational rheometer analyzing some solutions at different conditions. Additionally rheological measurements was used to characterize the apparent viscosity of polymer as a shear rate function, salinity, temperature and polymer concentration, defining additional useful values for simulation evaluations and additionally Newtonian, non-Newtonian, shear viscosity and MW impact were also investigated. Quality control of the solutions was not limited to the conventional indicator 'filtrations ratio', but it was showed how important it is to consider two qualities check indicators, filterability ratio and filterability plot, simultaneously. Results indicated how stable the N-vinyl Pyrrolidone (NVP) Superpusher SAV301 could be in comparison to the Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide polymer (HPAM) Flopaam 3630S. Despite the high viscosity results from HPAM Flopaam 3630S due to its high MW, the polymer is overly sensitive to factors like temperature, salinity and concentration. Quite the contrary was for polymer solutions with Superpusher SAV301; constant viscosity over a wide shear rate range which is the

  7. Practical Considerations and Challenges Involved in Surfactant Enhanced Bioremediation of Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sagarika Mohanty

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Surfactant enhanced bioremediation (SEB of oil is an approach adopted to overcome the bioavailability constraints encountered in biotransformation of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL pollutants. Fuel oils contain n-alkanes and other aliphatic hydrocarbons, monoaromatics, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs. Although hydrocarbon degrading cultures are abundant in nature, complete biodegradation of oil is rarely achieved even under favorable environmental conditions due to the structural complexity of oil and culture specificities. Moreover, the interaction among cultures in a consortium, substrate interaction effects during the degradation and ability of specific cultures to alter the bioavailability of oil invariably affect the process. Although SEB has the potential to increase the degradation rate of oil and its constituents, there are numerous challenges in the successful application of this technology. Success is dependent on the choice of appropriate surfactant type and dose since the surfactant-hydrocarbon-microorganism interaction may be unique to each scenario. Surfactants not only enhance the uptake of constituents through micellar solubilization and emulsification but can also alter microbial cell surface characteristics. Moreover, hydrocarbons partitioned in micelles may not be readily bioavailable depending on the microorganism-surfactant interactions. Surfactant toxicity and inherent biodegradability of surfactants may pose additional challenges as discussed in this review.

  8. Practical Considerations and Challenges Involved in Surfactant Enhanced Bioremediation of Oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohanty, Sagarika; Jasmine, Jublee

    2013-01-01

    Surfactant enhanced bioremediation (SEB) of oil is an approach adopted to overcome the bioavailability constraints encountered in biotransformation of nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) pollutants. Fuel oils contain n-alkanes and other aliphatic hydrocarbons, monoaromatics, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Although hydrocarbon degrading cultures are abundant in nature, complete biodegradation of oil is rarely achieved even under favorable environmental conditions due to the structural complexity of oil and culture specificities. Moreover, the interaction among cultures in a consortium, substrate interaction effects during the degradation and ability of specific cultures to alter the bioavailability of oil invariably affect the process. Although SEB has the potential to increase the degradation rate of oil and its constituents, there are numerous challenges in the successful application of this technology. Success is dependent on the choice of appropriate surfactant type and dose since the surfactant-hydrocarbon-microorganism interaction may be unique to each scenario. Surfactants not only enhance the uptake of constituents through micellar solubilization and emulsification but can also alter microbial cell surface characteristics. Moreover, hydrocarbons partitioned in micelles may not be readily bioavailable depending on the microorganism-surfactant interactions. Surfactant toxicity and inherent biodegradability of surfactants may pose additional challenges as discussed in this review. PMID:24350261

  9. Biosurfactants production and possible uses in microbial enhanced oil recovery and oil pollution remediation: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banat, I.M.

    1995-01-01

    Surfactants are widely used for various purposes in industry, but for many years were mainly chemically synthesized. It has only been in the past few decades that biological surface-active compounds (biosurfactants) have been described. Biosurfactants are gaining prominence and have already taken over for a number of important industrial uses, due to their advantages of biodegradability, production on renewable resources and functionality under extreme conditions; particularly those pertaining during tertiary crude-oil recovery. Conflicting reports exist concerning their efficacy and the economics of both their production and application. The limited successes and applications for biosurfactants production, recovery, use in oil pollution control, oil storage tank clean-up and enhanced oil-recovery are reviewed from the technical point of view. (author)

  10. Status of Foreground and Instrument Challenges for 21cm EoR experiments - Design Strategies for SKA and HERA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thyagarajan, Nithyanandan

    2018-05-01

    Direct detection of the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) via redshifted 21 cm line of H i will reveal the nature of the first stars and galaxies as well as revolutionize our understanding of a poorly explored evolutionary phase of the Universe. Projects such as the MWA, LOFAR, and PAPER commenced in the last decade with the promise of high significance statistical detection of the EoR, but have so far only weakly constrained models owing to unforeseen challenges from bright foreground sources and instrument systematics. It is essential for next generation instruments like the HERA and SKA to have these challenges addressed. I present an analysis of these challenges - wide-field measurements, antenna beam chromaticity, reflections in the instrument, and antenna position errors - along with performance specifications and design solutions that will be critical to designing successful next-generation instruments in enabling the first detection and also in placing meaningful constraints on reionization models.

  11. Acoustic wave emission for enhanced oil recovery (WAVE.O.R.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reichmann, S.; Amro, M.; Giese, R.; Jaksch, K.; Krauss, F.; Krueger, K.; Jurczyk, A.

    2016-09-01

    In the project WAVE.O.R the potential of acoustic waves to enhance oil recovery was reviewed. The project focused on laboratory experiments of the oil displacement in sandstone cores under acoustic stimulation. Additionally, the Seismic Prediction While Drilling (SPWD) borehole device prototype was set up for a feasibility field test. The laboratory experiments showed that, depending on the stimulation frequency, acoustic stimulation allows for an enhanced oil recovery. For single frequency stimulation a mean increase of 3 % pore volumes was observed at distinguished frequencies. A cyclic stimulation, where two of these frequencies were combined, an increase of 5% pore volume was observed. The SPWD borehole device was tested and adjusted during feasibility tests in the GFZ underground laboratory in the research and education mine ''Reiche Zeche'' of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg and in the GFZ KTB-Deep Laboratory in Windischeschenbach. The first successful test of the device under realistic conditions was performed at the test site ''Piana di Toppo'' of the OGS Trieste, Italy.

  12. High-order simulation of foam enhanced oil recovery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Meer, J.M.; Van Odyck, D.E.A.; Wirnsberger, P.; Jansen, J.D.

    2014-01-01

    If secondary hydrocarbon recovery methods fail because of the occurrence of gravity override or viscous fingering one can turn to an enhanced oil recovery method like the injection of foam. The generation of foam can be described by a set of partial differential equations with strongly nonlinear

  13. A Network Model for the Kinetics of Bioclogged Flow Diversion for Enhanced Oil Recovery

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lopez Pena, L.A.; Meulenbroek, B.J.; Vermolen, F.J.

    2016-01-01

    After the primary extraction in oil reservoirs up to 60 % of the oil remains trapped in the reservoir (Sen, 2008). Therefore, different mechanisms have been developed to get the oil out to the reservoir. One of these techniques is Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) which is a technique used

  14. Coconut oil enhances tomato carotenoid tissue accumulation compared to safflower oil in the Mongolian gerbil ( Meriones unguiculatus ).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conlon, Lauren E; King, Ryan D; Moran, Nancy E; Erdman, John W

    2012-08-29

    Evidence suggests that monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats facilitate greater absorption of carotenoids than saturated fats. However, the comparison of consuming a polyunsaturated fat source versus a saturated fat source on tomato carotenoid bioaccumulation has not been examined. The goal of this study was to determine the influence of coconut oil and safflower oil on tomato carotenoid tissue accumulation in Mongolian gerbils ( Meriones unguiculatus ) fed a 20% fat diet. Coconut oil feeding increased carotenoid concentrations among many compartments including total carotenoids in the serum (p = 0.0003), adrenal glandular phytoene (p = 0.04), hepatic phytofluene (p = 0.0001), testicular all-trans-lycopene (p = 0.01), and cis-lycopene (p = 0.006) in the prostate-seminal vesicle complex compared to safflower oil. Safflower oil-fed gerbils had greater splenic lycopene concentrations (p = 0.006) compared to coconut oil-fed gerbils. Coconut oil feeding increased serum cholesterol (p = 0.0001) and decreased hepatic cholesterol (p = 0.0003) compared to safflower oil. In summary, coconut oil enhanced tissue uptake of tomato carotenoids to a greater degree than safflower oil. These results may have been due to the large proportion of medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil, which might have caused a shift in cholesterol flux to favor extrahepatic carotenoid tissue deposition.

  15. Microbial EOR technology; Biseibutsu EOR gijutsu no kenkyu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taguchi, M.; Yonebayashi, E. [Tech. Research Center, Japan National Oil Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

    1995-11-10

    This paper describes attempts of establishing an oil recovery technology utilizing microorganisms and of aiming at improving the practicability of that technology. Fiscal 1994 has investigated effects of inorganic salts existing in reservoir beds and NaCl concentrations on proliferation of microorganisms and production of metabolites. The investigation was intended to discuss applicability of microorganisms to environments that are brought closer to actual field conditions. Furthermore, a core sweeping test using sandstone was carried out on the fiscal 1992 separated bacteria, the 4118 bacteria, that has high surfactant production capability. In addition, a sand pack was used to perform a flooding experiment under conditions of 50{degree}C and 50 KSC to evaluate functionality of microorganisms when environments in the reservoir bed are simulated with respect to pressures and temperatures. An oil recovering experiment was carried out using a sandstone with a diameter of 1.5 inches, a length of 1.0 foot and permeability of 600 md, and using Bacillus subtilis 4118 bacteria which attained the lowest interfacial tension among the bacteria examined. A recovery rate of 4.4% Sor was derived in the experiment. A recovery rate of 29.0% Sor at maximum was obtained when Bacillus licheniformis 18-2-a bacteria was supplied into a sand pack filled with silica sand. 20 figs., 7 tabs.

  16. Microwave thermal remediation of crude oil contaminated soil enhanced by carbon fiber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dawei; Zhang, Yaobin; Quan, Xie; Zhao, Yazhi

    2009-01-01

    Thermal remediation of the soil contaminated with crude oil using microwave heating enhanced by carbon fiber (CF) was explored. The contaminated soil was treated with 2.45 GHz microwave, and CF was added to improve the conversion of microwave energy into thermal energy to heat the soil. During microwave heating, the oil contaminant was removed from the soil matrix and recovered by a condensation system of ice-salt bath. The experimental results indicated that CF could efficiently enhance the microwave heating of soil even with relatively low-dose. With 0.1 wt.% CF, the soil could be heated to approximately 700 degrees C within 4 min using 800 W of microwave irradiation. Correspondingly, the contaminated soil could be highly cleaned up in a short time. Investigation of oil recovery showed that, during the remediation process, oil contaminant in the soil could be efficiently recovered without causing significant secondary pollution.

  17. Research Progress in Carbon Dioxide Storage and Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Keliang; Wang, Gang; Lu, Chunjing

    2018-02-01

    With the rapid development of global economy, human beings have become highly dependent upon fossil fuel such as coal and petroleum. Much fossil fuel is consumed in industrial production and human life. As a result, carbon dioxide emissions have been increasing, and the greenhouse effects thereby generated are posing serious threats to environment of the earth. These years, increasing average global temperature, frequent extreme weather events and climatic changes cause material disasters to the world. After scientists’ long-term research, ample evidences have proven that emissions of greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide have brought about tremendous changes to global climate. To really reduce carbon dioxide emissions, governments of different countries and international organizations have invested much money and human resources in performing research related to carbon dioxide emissions. Manual underground carbon dioxide storage and carbon dioxide-enhanced oil recovery are schemes with great potential and prospect for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Compared with other schemes for reducing carbon dioxide emissions, aforementioned two schemes exhibit high storage capacity and yield considerable economic benefits, so they have become research focuses for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. This paper introduces the research progress in underground carbon dioxide storage and enhanced oil recovery, pointing out the significance and necessity of carbon dioxide-driven enhanced oil recovery.

  18. Modelling of Salt Solubilities for Smart Water flooding in Carbonate Reservoirs using Extended UNIQUAC Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chakravarty, Krishna Hara

    recovery can increase that capture up to 25-30% of original oil in place (OOIP). But cost effective Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques if implemented correctly canbe used to produce another 10-15% of the initially available hydrocarbons. Advanced water flooding (i.e. altering injection brine...... compositions by varying concentration of selected ions) is an enhanced oil recovery method which in alow cost, non-toxic manner increases oil recovery from various carbonate reservoirs. Dan and Halfdan are chalk reservoirs from the Danish North Sea, which are matured oil fields that have been flooded......For most oil reservoirs which were drilled with conventional methods, the expected initial recovery of available hydrocarbons maybe as low as 15% – thusleaving 85+% of hydrocarbons in the reservoir. Implementation of mechanical methods including pump jacks and initial gas injection or thermal...

  19. Epigenetic oxidative redox shift (EORS) theory of aging unifies the free radical and insulin signaling theories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewer, Gregory J

    2010-03-01

    Harman's free radical theory of aging posits that oxidized macromolecules accumulate with age to decrease function and shorten life-span. However, nutritional and genetic interventions to boost anti-oxidants have generally failed to increase life-span. Furthermore, the free radical theory fails to explain why exercise causes higher levels of oxyradical damage, but generally promotes healthy aging. The separate anti-aging paradigms of genetic or caloric reductions in the insulin signaling pathway is thought to slow the rate of living to reduce metabolism, but recent evidence from Westbrook and Bartke suggests metabolism actually increases in long-lived mice. To unify these disparate theories and data, here, we propose the epigenetic oxidative redox shift (EORS) theory of aging. According to EORS, sedentary behavior associated with age triggers an oxidized redox shift and impaired mitochondrial function. In order to maintain resting energy levels, aerobic glycolysis is upregulated by redox-sensitive transcription factors. As emphasized by DeGrey, the need to supply NAD(+) for glucose oxidation and maintain redox balance with impaired mitochondrial NADH oxidoreductase requires the upregulation of other oxidoreductases. In contrast to the 2% inefficiency of mitochondrial reduction of oxygen to the oxyradical, these other oxidoreductases enable glycolytic energy production with a deleterious 100% efficiency in generating oxyradicals. To avoid this catastrophic cycle, lactate dehydrogenase is upregulated at the expense of lactic acid acidosis. This metabolic shift is epigenetically enforced, as is insulin resistance to reduce mitochondrial turnover. The low mitochondrial capacity for efficient production of energy reinforces a downward spiral of more sedentary behavior leading to accelerated aging, increased organ failure with stress, impaired immune and vascular functions and brain aging. Several steps in the pathway are amenable to reversal for exit from the vicious

  20. The analysis of scaling mechanism for water-injection pipe columns in the Daqing Oilfield

    OpenAIRE

    Jing, Guolin; Tang, Shan; Li, Xiaoxiao; Wang, Huaiyuan

    2013-01-01

    Although water-injection in mature reservoirs is a promising low-cost method of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), in the process of development in the oilfield, scale has been produced in water-injection pipe columns. The ability to prevent and control the deposition of scale is critical to the efficient recovery of crude oil from hard environments, as part of the broader discipline of “flow assurance” in the petroleum industry. To this end laboratory-scale deposition tests have been useful to und...

  1. Surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding for light oil recovery. Annual report, 1992--1993

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wasan, D.T.

    1994-08-01

    In this report, the authors present the results of experimental and theoretical studies in surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding for light oil recovery. The overall objective of this work is to develop a very cost-effective method for formulating a successful surfactant-enhanced alkaline flood by appropriately choosing mixed alkalis which form inexpensive buffers to obtain the desired pH (between 8.5 and 12.0) for ultimate spontaneous emulsification and ultralow interfacial tension. In addition, the authors have (1) developed a theoretical interfacial activity model for determining equilibrium interfacial tension, (2) investigated the mechanisms for spontaneous emulsification, (3) developed a technique to monitor low water content in oil, and (4) developed a technique to study water-in-oil emulsion film properties.

  2. Carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery in Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDonald, S.; Manbybura, F.; Sparks, N.

    1985-01-01

    This paper examines the potential for carbon dioxide as a major miscible solvent in Canada and describes Shell Canada's carbon dioxide exploration efforts over the last few years. Enhanced oil recovery, specifically miscible flooding, has been recognized as a technically and economically feasible method for adding reserves and productive capacity to Canada's light and medium oil. The fiscal regime has been altered by both the federal and provincial governments to encourage miscible flooding development. As a result many projects have been initiated with others being evaluated and designed. This paper analyzes the history and the direction of miscible flooding in the United States, where carbon dioxide is becoming the predominant miscible solvent. The potential for future use of carbon dioxide in Canada is specifically addressed: potential oil recovery solvent supply, and economics. Shell's carbon dioxide exploration play currently underway is also discussed.

  3. Engineering the biosynthesis of novel rhamnolipids in Escherichia coli for enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, L; Liu, P; Peng, Y; Lin, J; Wang, Q; Ma, Y

    2014-07-01

    The interfacial tension of rhamnolipids and their applications in enhanced oil recovery are dependent on their chemical structures and compositions. To improve their performances of interfacial tension and enhanced oil recovery, the engineered strategies were applied to produce novel rhamnolipids with different chemical structures and compositions. By introducing different key genes for rhamnolipid biosynthesis, Escherichia coli was firstly constructed to produce rhamnolipids that showed different performances in interfacial tension from those from Pseudomonas aeruginosa due to the different fatty acyl compositions. Then, the mutant RhlBs were created by directed evolution and subsequent site-directed mutagenesis and resulted in the production of the novel rhamnolipids with the different performances in interfacial tension as well as enhanced oil recovery. Lastly, computational modelling elucidates that the single amino acid mutation at the position 168 in RhlB would change the volume of binding pocket for substrate and thus affect the selectivity of rhamnolipid formation in E. coli. The novel rhamnolipids that showed the improved performances of interfacial tension and the potential different applications in enhanced oil recovery were successfully produced by engineered E. coli. This study proved that the combination of metabolic engineering and protein engineering is an important engineered strategy to produce many novel metabolites in micro-organisms. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  4. Enhancement of oleic acid in butter oil by high oleic fraction of moringa oleifera oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nadeem, M.; Ullah, R.

    2016-01-01

    Oleic acid in butter oil (BO) was enhanced by a high oleic acid fraction (HOF) of Moringa oleifera oil (MOO). HOF was blended with BO at four different concentrations i.e. 5%, 10 percent, 15% and 20% (HOF-5, HOF-10, HOF-15 and HOF-20, respectively), compared with a control (BO). The oleic acid in HOF increased from 71.55 percent to 80.25%. DPPH free radical scavenging activity and total flavonoid content of HOF was 76.88% and 34.52 mg/100 g. Supplementation of butter oil with 20% HOF, decreased the cholesterol from 224 to 177 mg/100 g. Peroxide value of three months stored HOF-20 was 1.18 (meqO/sub 2/ kg) as compared to control, 3.15 (meqO/sub 2/kg). Induction period of HOF-20 was 4.07 h greater than control. These results evidenced that oleic acid in butter oil can be substantially increased by HOF of MOO. (author)

  5. Acoustic wave emission for enhanced oil recovery (WAVE.O.R.)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reichmann, S.; Amro, M. [TU Bergakademie, Freiberg (Germany); Giese, R.; Jaksch, K.; Krauss, F.; Krueger, K.; Jurczyk, A. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam - Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ, Potsdam (Germany)

    2016-09-15

    In the project WAVE.O.R the potential of acoustic waves to enhance oil recovery was reviewed. The project focused on laboratory experiments of the oil displacement in sandstone cores under acoustic stimulation. Additionally, the Seismic Prediction While Drilling (SPWD) borehole device prototype was set up for a feasibility field test. The laboratory experiments showed that, depending on the stimulation frequency, acoustic stimulation allows for an enhanced oil recovery. For single frequency stimulation a mean increase of 3 % pore volumes was observed at distinguished frequencies. A cyclic stimulation, where two of these frequencies were combined, an increase of 5% pore volume was observed. The SPWD borehole device was tested and adjusted during feasibility tests in the GFZ underground laboratory in the research and education mine ''Reiche Zeche'' of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg and in the GFZ KTB-Deep Laboratory in Windischeschenbach. The first successful test of the device under realistic conditions was performed at the test site ''Piana di Toppo'' of the OGS Trieste, Italy.

  6. Corexit 9500 Enhances Oil Biodegradation and Changes ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    While COREXIT 9500 is widely applied after oil spills for its reported dispersing activity, there is still a debate on the effectiveness on enhancing oil biodegradation and its potential toxic effect on microbial communities. To better understand the impact of COREXIT 9500 on the structure and activity levels of hydrocarbon degrading microbial communities, we analyzed next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing libraries of hydrocarbon enrichments grown at cryophilic and mesophilic conditions and using both DNA and RNA extracts as sequencing templates. Oil biodegradation patterns in both cryophilic and mesophilic enrichments were consistent with those reported in the literature (i.e., aliphatics were degraded faster than aromatics). A slight increase in biodegradation was observed in the presence of COREXIT at both 25°C and 5°C experiments. Differences in community structure were observed between treatment conditions in the DNA-based libraries. The 25°C consortia was dominated by unclassified members of the Vibrio, Pseudoidiomarina, Marinobacter, Alcanivorax, and Thallassospira species, while the 5°C consortia were dominated by several genera of Flavobacteria, Alcanivorax and Oleispira. With the exception of Vibrio-like species, members of these genera have been linked to hydrocarbon degradation and have been observed after oil spills. Colwellia and Cycloclasticus, known aromatic degraders, was also found in these enrichments. RNA-based sequencing of 25°C

  7. The U.S. Gas Flooding Experience: CO2 Injection Strategies and Impact on Ultimate Recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nunez-Lopez, Vanessa [The University of Texas at Austin; Hosseini, Seyyed; Gil-Egui, Ramon

    2017-09-29

    The Permian Basin in West Texas and southwestern New Mexico has seen 45 years of oil reserve growth through CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2 EOR). More than 60 CO2 EOR projects are currently active in the region’s limestone, sandstone and dolomite reservoirs. Water alternating gas (WAG) has been the development strategy of choice in the Permian for several technical and economic reasons. More recently, the technology started to get implemented in the much more porous and permeable clastic depositional systems of the onshore U.S. Gulf Coast. Continued CO2 injection (CGI), as opposed to WAG, was selected as the injection strategy to develop Gulf Coast oil fields, where CO2 injection volumes are significantly larger (up to 6 times larger) than those of the Permian. We conducted a compositional simulation based study with the objective of comparing the CO2 utilization ratios (volume of CO2 injected to produce a barrel of oil) of 4 conventional and novel CO2 injection strategies: (1) continuous gas injection (CGI), (2) water alternating gas (WAG), (3) water curtain injection (WCI), and (4) WAG and WCI combination. These injection scenarios were simulated using the GEM module from the Computer Modeling Group (CMG). GEM is an advanced general equation-of-state compositional simulator, which includes equation of state, CO2 miscible flood, CO2/brine interactions, and complex phase behavior. The simulator is set up to model three fluid phases including water, oil, and gas. Our study demonstrates how the selected field development strategy has a significant impact on the ultimate recovery of CO2-EOR projects, with GCI injection providing maximum oil recovery in absolute volume terms, but with WAG offering a more balanced technical-economical approach.

  8. Quantifying the non-Gaussianity in the EoR 21-cm signal through bispectrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majumdar, Suman; Pritchard, Jonathan R.; Mondal, Rajesh; Watkinson, Catherine A.; Bharadwaj, Somnath; Mellema, Garrelt

    2018-05-01

    The epoch of reionization (EoR) 21-cm signal is expected to be highly non-Gaussian in nature and this non-Gaussianity is also expected to evolve with the progressing state of reionization. Therefore the signal will be correlated between different Fourier modes (k). The power spectrum will not be able capture this correlation in the signal. We use a higher order estimator - the bispectrum - to quantify this evolving non-Gaussianity. We study the bispectrum using an ensemble of simulated 21-cm signal and with a large variety of k triangles. We observe two competing sources driving the non-Gaussianity in the signal: fluctuations in the neutral fraction (x_{H I}) field and fluctuations in the matter density field. We find that the non-Gaussian contribution from these two sources varies, depending on the stage of reionization and on which k modes are being studied. We show that the sign of the bispectrum works as a unique marker to identify which among these two components is driving the non-Gaussianity. We propose that the sign change in the bispectrum, when plotted as a function of triangle configuration cos θ and at a certain stage of the EoR can be used as a confirmative test for the detection of the 21-cm signal. We also propose a new consolidated way to visualize the signal evolution (with evolving \\bar{x}_{H I} or redshift), through the trajectories of the signal in a power spectrum and equilateral bispectrum i.e. P(k) - B(k, k, k) space.

  9. Integration of the geological/engineering model with production performance for Patrick Draw Field, Wyoming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jackson, S.

    1993-03-01

    The NIPER Reservoir Assessment and Characterization Research Program incorporates elements of the near-term, mid-term and long-term objectives of the National Energy Strategy-Advanced Oil Recovery Program. The interdisciplinary NIPER team focuses on barrier island reservoirs, a high priority class of reservoirs, that contains large amounts of remaining oil in place located in mature fields with a high number of shut-in and abandoned wells. The project objectives are to: (1) identify heterogeneities that influence the movement and trapping of reservoir fluids in two examples of shoreline barrier reservoirs (Patrick Draw Field, WY and Bell Creek Field, MT); (2) develop geological and engineering reservoir characterization methods to quantify reservoir architecture and predict mobile oil saturation distribution for application of targeted infill drilling and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes; and (3) summarize reservoir and production characteristics of shoreline barrier reservoirs to determine similarities and differences. The major findings of the research include: (1) hydrogeochemical analytical techniques were demonstrated to be an inexpensive reservoir characterization tool that provides information on reservoir architecture and compartmentalization; (2) the formation water salinity in Patrick Draw Field varies widely across the field and can result in a 5 to 12% error in saturation values calculated from wireline logs if the salinity variations and corresponding resistivity values are not accounted for; and (3) an analysis of the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) potential of Patrick Draw Field indicates that CO[sub 2] flooding in the Monell Unit and horizontal drilling in the Arch Unit are potential methods to recover additional oil from the field.

  10. Integration of the geological/engineering model with production performance for Patrick Draw Field, Wyoming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jackson, S.

    1993-03-01

    The NIPER Reservoir Assessment and Characterization Research Program incorporates elements of the near-term, mid-term and long-term objectives of the National Energy Strategy-Advanced Oil Recovery Program. The interdisciplinary NIPER team focuses on barrier island reservoirs, a high priority class of reservoirs, that contains large amounts of remaining oil in place located in mature fields with a high number of shut-in and abandoned wells. The project objectives are to: (1) identify heterogeneities that influence the movement and trapping of reservoir fluids in two examples of shoreline barrier reservoirs (Patrick Draw Field, WY and Bell Creek Field, MT); (2) develop geological and engineering reservoir characterization methods to quantify reservoir architecture and predict mobile oil saturation distribution for application of targeted infill drilling and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes; and (3) summarize reservoir and production characteristics of shoreline barrier reservoirs to determine similarities and differences. The major findings of the research include: (1) hydrogeochemical analytical techniques were demonstrated to be an inexpensive reservoir characterization tool that provides information on reservoir architecture and compartmentalization; (2) the formation water salinity in Patrick Draw Field varies widely across the field and can result in a 5 to 12% error in saturation values calculated from wireline logs if the salinity variations and corresponding resistivity values are not accounted for; and (3) an analysis of the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) potential of Patrick Draw Field indicates that CO{sub 2} flooding in the Monell Unit and horizontal drilling in the Arch Unit are potential methods to recover additional oil from the field.

  11. Det er på tide at begynde et dansk pilotprojekt

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schrøder, Niels

    2008-01-01

    Det er velkendt, at CO2 kan bruges i oliefelter til at øge den mængde olie, man kan udvinde. Erfaringer fra Canada og USA viser, at brugen af CO2 i Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), kan øge olieudvindingsgraden med ca. ti pct. Af Energistyrelsens reseveopgørelse pr. 1. januar 2008 fremgår, at ved en...

  12. Natural oils as skin permeation enhancers for transdermal delivery of olanzapine: in vitro and in vivo evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aggarwal, Geeta; Dhawan, Sanju; HariKumar, S L

    2012-03-01

    The feasibility of development of transdermal delivery system of olanzapine utilizing natural oils as permeation enhancers was investigated. Penetration enhancing potential of corn (maize) oil, groundnut oil and jojoba oil on in vitro permeation of olanzapine across rat skin was studied. The magnitude of flux enhancement factor with corn oil, groundnut oil and jojoba oil was 7.06, 5.31 and 1.9 respectively at 5mg/ml concentration in solvent system. On the basis of in vitro permeation studies, eudragit based matrix type transdermal patches of olanzapine were fabricated using optimized concentrations of natural oils as permeation enhancers. All transdermal patches were found to be uniform with respect to physical characteristics. The interaction studies carried out by comparing the results of ultraviolet, HPLC and FTIR analyses for the pure drug, polymers and mixture of drug and polymers indicated no chemical interaction between the drug and excipients. Corn oil containing unsaturated fatty acids was found to be promising natural permeation enhancer for transdermal delivery of olanzapine with greatest cumulative amount of drug permeated (1010.68 μg/cm²/h) up to 24 h and caused no skin irritation. The fabricated transdermal patches were found to be stable. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of the final optimized matrix patch (T2) were determined after transdermal application to rabbits. The calculated relative bioavailability of TDDS was 113.6 % as compared to oral administration of olanzapine. The therapeutic effectiveness of optimized transdermal system was confirmed by tranquillizing activity in rotarod and grip mice model.

  13. Microbial enhanced oil recovery research. Final report, Annex 5

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharma, M.M.; Gerogiou, G.

    1993-07-01

    The objective of this project was to develop an engineering framework for the exploitation of microorganisms to enhance oil recovery. An order of magnitude analysis indicated that selective plugging and the production of biosurfactants are the two most likely mechanisms for the mobilization of oil in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The latter, biosurfactant production, is easier to control within a reservoir environment and was investigated in some detail. An extensive literature survey indicated that the bacterium Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 produces a very effective surface active agent capable of increasing the capillary number to values sufficiently low for oil mobilization. In addition, earlier studies had shown that growth of this bacterium and biosurfactant production occur under conditions that are typically encountered in MEOR, namely temperatures up to 55{degrees}C, lack of oxygen and salinities of up to 10% w/v. The chemical structure of the surfactant, its interfacial properties and its production by fermentation were characterized in some detail. In parallel, a set of experiments as conducted to measure the transport of Bacillus licheniformis JF-2 in sandpacks. It was shown that the determining parameters for cell transport in porous media are: cell size and degree of coagulation, presence of dispersants, injection velocity and cell concentration. The mechanisms of bacteria retention within the pores of the reservoir were analyzed based on heuristic arguments. A mathematical simulator of MEOR was developed using conservation equations in which the mechanisms of bacteria retention and the growth kinetics of the cells were incorporated. The predictions of the model agreed reasonably well with experimental results.

  14. Enhanced oil recovery by nanoparticles injection: Modeling and simulation

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed; Sun, Shuyu; Salama, Amgad

    2013-01-01

    In the present paper, a mathematical model and numerical simulation to describe the nanoparticles-water suspension imbibes into a water-oil two-phase flow in a porous medium is introduced. We extend the model to include the negative capillary pressure and mixed relative permeabilities correlations to fit with the mixed-wet system. Also, buoyancy and capillary forces as well as Brownian diffusion are considered. Throughout this investigation, we monitor the changing of the fluids and solid properties due to addition of the nanoparticles and check for possible enhancement of the oil recovery process using numerical experiments.

  15. Transient enhanced diffusion of dopants in preamorphized Si layers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Claverie, A.; Bonafos, C.; Omri, M.; Mauduit, B. de; Ben Assayag, G.; Martinez, A.; Alquier, D.; Mathiot, D.

    1997-01-01

    Transient Enhanced Diffusion (TED) of dopants in Si is the consequence of the evolution, upon annealing, of a large supersaturation of Si self-interstitial atoms left after ion bombardment. In the case of amorphizing implants, this supersaturation is located just beneath the c/a interface and evolves through the nucleation and growth of End-Of-Range (EOR) defects. For this reason, the authors discuss here the relation between TED and EOR defects. Modelling of the behavior of these defects upon annealing allows one to understand why and how they affect dopant diffusion. This is possible through the development of the Ostwald ripening theory applied to extrinsic dislocation loops. This theory is shown to be readily able to quantitatively describe the evolution of the defect population (density, size) upon annealing and gives access to the variations of the mean supersaturation of Si self-interstitial atoms between the loops and responsible for TED. This initial supersaturation is, before annealing, at least 5 decades larger than the equilibrium value and exponentially decays with time upon annealing with activation energies that are the same than the ones observed for TED. It is shown that this time decay is precisely at the origin of the transient enhancement of boron diffusivity through the interstitial component of boron diffusion. Side experiments shed light on the effect of the proximity of a free surface on the thermal behavior of EOR defects and allow us to quantitatively describe the space and time evolutions of boron diffusivity upon annealing of preamorphized Si layers

  16. Surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding for light oil recovery. Final report 1994--1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wasan, D.T.

    1995-12-01

    In this report, the authors present the results of their experimental and theoretical studies in surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding for light oil recovery. The overall objective of this work is to develop a very cost-effective method for formulating a successful surfactant-enhanced alkaline flood by appropriately choosing mixed alkalis which form inexpensive buffers to obtain the desired pH (between 8.5 and 12.0) for ultimate spontaneous emulsification and ultralow interfacial tension. In addition, the authors have (1) developed a theoretical interfacial activity model for determining equilibrium interfacial tension, (2) investigated the mechanisms for spontaneous emulsification, (3) developed a technique to monitor low water content in oil, and (4) developed a technique to study water-in-oil emulsion film properties, (5) investigated the effect of surfactant on the equilibrium and transient interfacial tension, (6) investigated the kinetics of oil removal from a silica surface, and (7) developed a theoretical interfacial activity model for determining equilibrium interfacial tension, accounting for added surfactant. The results of the studies conducted during the course of this project are summarized.

  17. Environmentally responsive surface-modified silica nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Behzadi, Abed; Mohammadi, Aliasghar

    2016-01-01

    Environmentally responsive surface-modified nanoparticles are colloidal nanoparticles coated with, at least, two physicochemically distinct surface groups. Recent advances in the synthesis and production of nanoparticles have enabled the production of environmentally responsive surface-modified nanoparticles with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface groups. These nanoparticles act like colloidal surfactants. In this paper, environmentally responsive surface-modified silica nanoparticles are synthesized and used for enhancement of oil recovery. For this purpose, silica nanoparticles are coated with polyethylene glycol chains as hydrophilic agent and propyl chains as hydrophobic agent at various quantities, and their ability to modulate oil–water interface properties and oil recovery is examined. Oil–water interfacial tension and water surface tension are decreased by 50 % in the presence of silica nanoparticles coated with both agents. Measuring oil-drop contact angle on oil-wetted glass slides and carbonate rock sections, after aging in various surface-modified silica nanofluids, indicates that the wettability of various oil-wetted surfaces is modified from strongly oil-wet to water-wet. Flooding nanofluids to glass micro-models and pore-level investigations demonstrate that surface modification of silica nanoparticles, specially, with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents improves considerably their performance in increasing oil recovery and wettability alteration.

  18. Environmentally responsive surface-modified silica nanoparticles for enhanced oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Behzadi, Abed; Mohammadi, Aliasghar, E-mail: amohammadi@sharif.edu [Sharif University of Technology, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2016-09-15

    Environmentally responsive surface-modified nanoparticles are colloidal nanoparticles coated with, at least, two physicochemically distinct surface groups. Recent advances in the synthesis and production of nanoparticles have enabled the production of environmentally responsive surface-modified nanoparticles with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface groups. These nanoparticles act like colloidal surfactants. In this paper, environmentally responsive surface-modified silica nanoparticles are synthesized and used for enhancement of oil recovery. For this purpose, silica nanoparticles are coated with polyethylene glycol chains as hydrophilic agent and propyl chains as hydrophobic agent at various quantities, and their ability to modulate oil–water interface properties and oil recovery is examined. Oil–water interfacial tension and water surface tension are decreased by 50 % in the presence of silica nanoparticles coated with both agents. Measuring oil-drop contact angle on oil-wetted glass slides and carbonate rock sections, after aging in various surface-modified silica nanofluids, indicates that the wettability of various oil-wetted surfaces is modified from strongly oil-wet to water-wet. Flooding nanofluids to glass micro-models and pore-level investigations demonstrate that surface modification of silica nanoparticles, specially, with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic agents improves considerably their performance in increasing oil recovery and wettability alteration.

  19. Study on a Novel Gelled Foam for Conformance Control in High Temperature and High Salinity Reservoirs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Li

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available A novel gelled foam for conformance control was investigated for its ability to enhance oil recovery (EOR in high temperature and high salinity reservoirs. The formulation optimization, foaming performance, and core flooding performance of the gelled foam were systematically evaluated under harsh reservoir conditions. The gelled foam formulation was optimized with 0.4% polymer (hydrolyzed polyacrylamide; HPAM, 0.06% cross-linker (phenolic and 0.2% foaming agent (sulphobetaine; SB. The addition of the gel improved the stability of the foam system by 3.8 times that of traditional foam. A stabilization mechanism in the gelled foam was proposed to describe the stabilization process of the foam film. The uniformly distributed three-dimensional network structure of the gel provided a thick protective layer for the foam system that maintained the stability of the foam and improved the strength and thickness of the liquid film. The gelled foam exhibited good formation adaptability, profile control, and EOR performance. The foam flowed into the high permeability layer, plugged the dominant channel, and increased the swept volume. Oil recovery was enhanced by 29.4% under harsh high -temperature and high salinity conditions.

  20. Muscle enhancement using intramuscular injections of oil in bodybuilding

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schäfer, Ch. N.; Hvolris, Jørgen Jesper; Karlsmark, Tonny

    2012-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Self-administered intramuscular injection of site enhancement oil (SEO) is a cosmetic and performance-enhancing procedure used to reshape muscles in the bodybuilder subculture, but its consequences and complications are only sporadically described. Methods: A systematic search...... in MEDLINE and EMBASE databases during the spring of 2009 and 2010. Internet searches were performed, and bodybuilder pharmacopoeias were consulted to describe SEO use and the clinical complications known. Results: One review and seven case reports were identified. Eight case reports describe oleomas caused...

  1. Effect of reservoir heterogeneity on air injection performance in a light oil reservoir

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hu Jia

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Air injection is a good option to development light oil reservoir. As well-known that, reservoir heterogeneity has great effect for various EOR processes. This also applies to air injection. However, oil recovery mechanisms and physical processes for air injection in heterogeneous reservoir with dip angle are still not well understood. The reported setting of reservoir heterogeneous for physical model or simulation model of air injection only simply uses different-layer permeability of porous media. In practice, reservoir heterogeneity follows the principle of geostatistics. How much of contrast in permeability actually challenges the air injection in light oil reservoir? This should be investigated by using layered porous medial settings of the classical Dykstra-Parsons style. Unfortunately, there has been no work addressing this issue for air injection in light oil reservoir. In this paper, Reservoir heterogeneity is quantified based on the use of different reservoir permeability distribution according to classical Dykstra-Parsons coefficients method. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of reservoir heterogeneity on physical process and production performance of air injection in light oil reservoir through numerical reservoir simulation approach. The basic model is calibrated based on previous study. Total eleven pseudo compounders are included in this model and ten complexity of reactions are proposed to achieve the reaction scheme. Results show that oil recovery factor is decreased with the increasing of reservoir heterogeneity both for air and N2 injection from updip location, which is against the working behavior of air injection from updip location. Reservoir heterogeneity sometimes can act as positive effect to improve sweep efficiency as well as enhance production performance for air injection. High O2 content air injection can benefit oil recovery factor, also lead to early O2 breakthrough in heterogeneous reservoir. Well

  2. Heterologous production of Pseudomonas aeruginosa rhamnolipid under anaerobic conditions for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, F; Shi, R; Zhao, J; Li, G; Bai, X; Han, S; Zhang, Y

    2015-02-01

    The ex situ application of rhamnolipid to enhance oil recovery is costly and complex in terms of rhamnolipid production and transportation, while in situ production of rhamnolipid is restricted by the oxygen-deficient environments of oil reservoirs. To overcome the oxygen-limiting conditions and to circumvent the complex regulation of rhamnolipid biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an engineered strain Pseudomonas stutzeri Rhl was constructed for heterologous production of rhamnolipid under anaerobic conditions. The rhlABRI genes for rhamnolipid biosynthesis were cloned into a facultative anaerobic strain Ps. stutzeri DQ1 to construct the engineered strain Rhl. Anaerobic production of rhamnolipid was confirmed by thin layer chromatography and Fourier transform infrared analysis. Rhamnolipid product reduced the air-water surface tension to 30.3 mN m(-1) and the oil-water interfacial tension to 0.169 mN m(-1). Rhl produced rhamnolipid of 1.61 g l(-1) using glycerol as the carbon source. Rhl anaerobic culture emulsified crude oil up to EI24 ≈ 74. An extra 9.8% of original crude oil was displaced by Rhl in the core flooding test. Strain Rhl achieved anaerobic production of rhamnolipid and worked well for enhanced oil recovery in the core flooding model. The rhamnolipid produced by Rhl was similar to that of the donor strain SQ6. This is the first study to achieve anaerobic and heterologous production of rhamnolipid. Results demonstrated the potential feasibility of Rhl as a promising strain to enhance oil recovery through anaerobic production of rhamnolipid. © 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  3. Nanoparticle enhanced evaporation of liquids: A case study of silicone oil and water

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Wenbin; Shen, Rong; Lu, Kunquan; Ji, Ailing; Cao, Zexian

    2012-01-01

    Evaporation is a fundamental physical phenomenon, of which many challenging questions remain unanswered. Enhanced evaporation of liquids in some occasions is of enormous practical significance. Here we report the enhanced evaporation of the nearly permanently stable silicone oil by dispersing with nanopariticles including CaTiO3, anatase and rutile TiO2. An evaporation rate as high as 1.33 mg/h·cm2 was measured in silicone oil when dispersed with 100 nm-sized CaTiO3 particles. Dependence of e...

  4. Anomalous dispersion of magnetic spiky particles for enhanced oil emulsions/water separation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hui-Jiuan; Hang, Tian; Yang, Chengduan; Liu, Guishi; Lin, Di-An; Wu, Jiangming; Pan, Shuolin; Yang, Bo-Ru; Tao, Jun; Xie, Xi

    2018-01-25

    In situ effective separation of oil pollutants including oil spills and oil emulsions from water is an emerging technology yet remains challenging. Hydrophobic micro- or nano-materials with ferromagnetism have been explored for oil removal, yet the separation efficiency of an oil emulsion was compromised due to the limited dispersion of hydrophobic materials in water. A surfactant coating on microparticles prevented particle aggregation, but reduced oil absorption and emulsion cleaning ability. Recently, polystyrene microbeads covered with nanospikes have been reported to display anomalous dispersion in phobic media without surfactants. Inspired by this phenomenon, here magnetic microparticles attached with nanospikes were fabricated for enhanced separation of oil emulsions from water. In this design, the particle surfaces were functionalized to be superhydrophobic/superoleophilic for oil absorption, while the surface of the nanospikes prevented particle aggregation in water without compromising surface hydrophobicity. The magnetic spiky particles effectively absorbed oil spills on the water surface, and readily dispersed in water and offered facile cleaning of the oil emulsion. In contrast, hydrophobic microparticles without nanospikes aggregated in water limiting the particle-oil contact, while surfactant coating severely reduced particle hydrophobicity and oil absorption ability. Our work provides a unique application scope for the anomalous dispersity of microparticles and their potential opportunities in effective oil-water separation.

  5. Numerical approach for enhanced oil recovery with surfactant flooding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadegh Keshtkar

    2016-03-01

    concentration and performance variable (cumulative oil recovery are studied. Finally, the comparison of oil recovery between water-flooding and surfactant-flooding was done. The results showed higher oil recovery with changes in capillary number when the partition coefficient is greater than unity. Increasing oil viscosity resulted in decreasing the oil recovery by changing in fractional flow. Moreover, it was concluded that the oil recovery was enhanced by increasing surfactant injection concentration. The oil recovery was increased when surfactant was injected to the system and this result was obtained by comparing water-flooding and surfactant-flooding.

  6. Neuro-Simulation Tool for Enhanced Oil Recovery Screening and Reservoir Performance Prediction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soheil Bahrekazemi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Assessment of the suitable enhanced oil recovery method in an oilfield is one of the decisions which are made prior to the natural drive production mechanism. In some cases, having in-depth knowledge about reservoir’s rock, fluid properties, and equipment is needed as well as economic evaluation. Both putting such data into simulation and its related consequent processes are generally very time consuming and costly.  In order to reduce study cases, an appropriate tool is required for primary screening prior to any operations being performed, to which leads reduction of time in design of ether pilot section or production under field condition. In this research, two different and useful screening tools are presented through a graphical user interface. The output of just over 900 simulations and verified screening criteria tables were employed to design the mentioned tools. Moreover, by means of gathered data and development of artificial neural networks, two dissimilar screening tools for proper assessment of suitable enhanced oil recovery method were finally introduced. The first tool is about the screening of enhanced oil recovery process based on published tables/charts and the second one which is Neuro-Simulation tool, concerns economical evaluation of miscible and immiscible injection of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and natural gas into the reservoir. Both of designed tools are provided in the form of a graphical user interface by which the user, can perceive suitable method through plot of oil recovery graph during 20 years of production, costs of gas injection per produced barrel, cumulative oil production, and finally, design the most efficient scenario.

  7. Enhanced oil recovery system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldsberry, Fred L.

    1989-01-01

    All energy resources available from a geopressured geothermal reservoir are used for the production of pipeline quality gas using a high pressure separator/heat exchanger and a membrane separator, and recovering waste gas from both the membrane separator and a low pressure separator in tandem with the high pressure separator for use in enhanced oil recovery, or in powering a gas engine and turbine set. Liquid hydrocarbons are skimmed off the top of geothermal brine in the low pressure separator. High pressure brine from the geothermal well is used to drive a turbine/generator set before recovering waste gas in the first separator. Another turbine/generator set is provided in a supercritical binary power plant that uses propane as a working fluid in a closed cycle, and uses exhaust heat from the combustion engine and geothermal energy of the brine in the separator/heat exchanger to heat the propane.

  8. 1D Simulations for Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery with Metabolite Partitioning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Shapiro, Alexander; Michelsen, Michael Locht

    2010-01-01

    We have developed a mathematical model describing the process of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The one-dimensional isothermal model comprises displacement of oil bywater containing bacteria and substrate for their feeding. The bacterial products are both bacteria andmetabolites....... The characteristics for the water phase saturation profiles and the oil recovery curves are elucidated. However, the effect from the surfactant is not necessarily restricted to influence only interfacial tension, but it can also be an approach for changing, e.g., wettability. The distribution coefficient determines...... the time lag, until residual oil mobilization is initialized. It has also been found that the final recovery depends on the distance from the inlet before the surfactant effect takes place. The surfactant effect position is sensitive to changes in maximum growth rate, and injection concentrations...

  9. Effects of enhanced UV-B radiation on Mentha spicata essential oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karousou, R.; Grammatikopoulos, G.; Lanaras, T.; Manetas, Y.; Kokkini, S.

    1998-01-01

    In vitro propagated plantlets representing two distinct chemotypes of Mentha spicata, viz. plants producing essential oils rich in piperitone oxide and piperitenone oxide (chemotype I) and rich in carvone and dihydrocarvone (chemotype II), were grown in the field under ambient or ambient plus supplemental UV-B radiation, biologically equivalent to a 15% ozone depletion over Patras (38.3°N, 29.1°E), Greece. Enhanced UV-B radiation stimulated essential oil production in chemotype II substantially, while a similar, non-significant trend was observed in chemotype I. No effect was found on the qualitative composition of the essential oils, whereas the quantitative composition was slightly modified in chemotype I. This is the first investigation reporting an improved essential oil content under UV-B supplementation in aromatic plants under field conditions

  10. Aerobic microbial enhanced oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Torsvik, T. [Univ. of Bergen (Norway); Gilje, E.; Sunde, E.

    1995-12-31

    In aerobic MEOR, the ability of oil-degrading bacteria to mobilize oil is used to increase oil recovery. In this process, oxygen and mineral nutrients are injected into the oil reservoir in order to stimulate growth of aerobic oil-degrading bacteria in the reservoir. Experiments carried out in a model sandstone with stock tank oil and bacteria isolated from offshore wells showed that residual oil saturation was lowered from 27% to 3%. The process was time dependent, not pore volume dependent. During MEOR flooding, the relative permeability of water was lowered. Oxygen and active bacteria were needed for the process to take place. Maximum efficiency was reached at low oxygen concentrations, approximately 1 mg O{sub 2}/liter.

  11. The experimental research of a field-enhanced multichannel oil switch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, R.; Zeng, N.; Yang, D.; Jiang, X.; Wang, X.

    1993-01-01

    This paper describes the performance of a field enhanced multichannel oil switch which is used as the main switch of HEAVEN-LIGHT II intense pulsed electron beam accelerator at CIAE. The switch experiments have been carried out with different inductance of the solenoid inductor in series with a self-closing axial gap and position and diameter of the trigger disc. The experiments using water as a breakdown medium of the switch have been done to compare with oil switch. These experimental results and conclusions are presented in the paper

  12. Enhancement of Palm Oil Extraction Using Cell Wall Degrading Enzyme Formulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silvamany, H.; Jamaliah Md Jahim

    2015-01-01

    In this recent work, application of aqueous enzymatic process to enhance recovery of palm oil was studied. Experiments were carried out to investigate the structural carbohydrate composition of oil palm mesocarp (Elaeis guineensis) and to analyze the effect of different combination of enzymes on the palm oil recovery and degree of digestibility and the respective correlation. The optimum combination of enzymes comprising of Cellic CTec2 (X 1 ), Cellic HTec2 (X 2 ) and Pectinex Ultra SP-L (X 3 ) for Aqueous Enzymatic Oil Extraction Process (AEOEP), were determined using Simplex Lattice mixture design under fixed parameters. Maximum oil recovery of 88 % was achieved with ratio of enzymes at 0.46: 0.34: 0.2 (X 1 :X 2 :X 3 ), at enzyme loading of 30 mg protein/ 10 g substrate, substrate loading of 50 % w/v, pH 4.8, and 2 hours of incubation at 50 degree Celsius. The conversion of reducing sugar at corresponding condition was measured to evaluate the effectiveness of enzymes in degrading fruit cell wall releasing trapped oil. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was utilized to indicate the increase in cell wall disintegration leading to higher release of oil with enzymatic treatment. (author)

  13. Elucidation of penetration enhancement mechanism of Emu oil using FTIR microspectroscopy at EMIRA laboratory of SESAME synchrotron

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansour, Randa S. H.; Sallam, Alsayed A.; Hamdan, Imad I.; Khalil, Enam A.; Yousef, Ibraheem

    2017-10-01

    It has been proposed that Emu oil possesses skin permeation-enhancing effect. This study aimed to address its possible penetration enhancement mechanism(s) using IR microscopy, in accordance with LPP theory. The penetration of Emu oil through the layers of human skin was accomplished by monitoring oil-IR characteristic feature at 3006 cm- 1. The unsaturated components of Emu oil accumulated at about 270 μm depth of skin surface. The interaction of Emu oil with lipid and protein constituents of SC was investigated in comparison with a commonly used enhancer, IPM. Inter-sample spectral differences were identified using PCA and linked with possible enhancement mechanisms. Emu oil treatment caused a change in the slope of the right contour of amide I band of the protein spectral range. This was also clear in the second derivative spectra where the emergence of a new shoulder at higher frequency was evident, suggesting disorganization of keratin α-helix structure. This effect could be a result of disruption of some hydrogen bonds in which amide Cdbnd O and Nsbnd H groups of keratin are involved. The low intensity of the emerged shoulder is also in agreement with formation of weaker hydrogen bonds. IPM did not affect the protein component. No conclusions regarding the effect of penetration enhancers on the SC lipids were obtained. This was due to the overlap of the endogenous (skin) and exogenous (oil) CH stretching and scissoring frequencies. The SC carbonyl stretching peak disappeared as a result of IPM treatment which may reflect some degree of lipid extraction.

  14. Improving Chemical EOR Simulations and Reducing the Subsurface Uncertainty Using Downscaling Conditioned to Tracer Data

    KAUST Repository

    Torrealba, Victor A.

    2017-10-02

    Recovery mechanisms are more likely to be influenced by grid-block size and reservoir heterogeneity in Chemical EOR (CEOR) than in conventional Water Flood (WF) simulations. Grid upscaling based on single-phase flow is a common practice in WF simulation models, where simulation grids are coarsened to perform history matching and sensitivity analyses within affordable computational times. This coarse grid resolution (typically about 100 ft.) could be sufficient in WF, however, it usually fails to capture key physical mechanisms in CEOR. In addition to increased numerical dispersion in coarse models, these models tend to artificially increase the level of mixing between the fluids and may not have enough resolution to capture different length scales of geological features to which EOR processes can be highly sensitive. As a result of which, coarse models usually overestimate the sweep efficiency, and underestimate the displacement efficiency. Grid refinement (simple downscaling) can resolve artificial mixing but appropriately re-creating the fine-scale heterogeneity, without degrading the history-match conducted on the coarse-scale, remains a challenge. Because of the difference in recovery mechanisms involved in CEOR, such as miscibility and thermodynamic phase split, the impact of grid downscaling on CEOR simulations is not well understood. In this work, we introduce a geostatistical downscaling method conditioned to tracer data to refine a coarse history-matched WF model. This downscaling process is necessary for CEOR simulations when the original (fine) earth model is not available or when major disconnects occur between the original earth model and the history-matched coarse WF model. The proposed downscaling method is a process of refining the coarse grid, and populating the relevant properties in the newly created finer grid cells. The method considers the values of rock properties in the coarse grid as hard data, and the corresponding variograms and property

  15. Enhanced inhibition of Aspergillus niger on sedge (Lepironia articulata) treated with heat-cured lime oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matan, N; Matan, N; Ketsa, S

    2013-08-01

    This study aimed to examine heat curing effect (30-100°C) on antifungal activities of lime oil and its components (limonene, p-cymene, β-pinene and α-pinene) at concentrations ranging from 100 to 300 μl ml(-1) against Aspergillus niger in microbiological medium and to optimize heat curing of lime oil for efficient mould control on sedge (Lepironia articulata). Broth dilution method was employed to determine lime oil minimum inhibitory concentration, which was at 90 μl ml(-1) with heat curing at 70°C. Limonene, a main component of lime oil, was an agent responsible for temperature dependencies of lime oil activities observed. Response surface methodology was used to construct the mathematical model describing a time period of zero mould growth on sedge as functions of heat curing temperature and lime oil concentration. Heat curing of 90 μl ml(-1) lime oil at 70°C extended a period of zero mould growth on sedge to 18 weeks under moist conditions. Heat curing at 70°C best enhanced antifungal activity of lime oil against A. niger both in medium and on sedge. Heat curing of lime oil has potential to be used to enhance the antifungal safety of sedge products. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  16. Enhanced Biodegradability, Lubricity and Corrosiveness of Lubricating Oil by Oleic Acid Diethanolamide Phosphate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fang Jianhua

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Impacts of oleic acid diethanolamide phosphate (abbreviated as ODAP as an additive on biodegradability, anti-wear capacity, friction-reducing ability and corrosiveness of an unreadily biodegradable HVI 350 mineral lubricating oil was studied. The biodegradabilities of neat lubricating oil and its formulations with ODAP were evaluated on a biodegradation tester. Furthermore, the anti-wear and friction-reducing abilities and the corrosiveness of neat oil and the formulated oils were determined on a four-ball tribotester and a copper strip corrosion tester, respectively. The results indicated that ODAP markedly enhanced biodegradability as well as anti-wear and friction-reducing abilities of the lubricating oil. On the other hand, excellent color ratings of copper strips for both neat oil and the ODAP-doped oil were obtained in the corrosion tests, demonstrating that the corrosiveness of neat oil and the doped oil was negligible, although the latter seemed to provide slightly better anti-corrosion ability.

  17. Investigation of biosurfactant-producing indigenous microorganisms that enhance residue oil recovery in an oil reservoir after polymer flooding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    She, Yue-Hui; Zhang, Fan; Xia, Jing-Jing; Kong, Shu-Qiong; Wang, Zheng-Liang; Shu, Fu-Chang; Hu, Ji-Ming

    2011-01-01

    Three biosurfactant-producing indigenous microorganisms (XDS1, XDS2, XDS3) were isolated from a petroleum reservoir in the Daqing Oilfield (China) after polymer flooding. Their metabolic, biochemical, and oil-degradation characteristics, as well as their oil displacement in the core were studied. These indigenous microorganisms were identified as short rod bacillus bacteria with white color, round shape, a protruding structure, and a rough surface. Strains have peritrichous flagella, are able to produce endospores, are sporangia, and are clearly swollen and terminal. Bacterial cultures show that the oil-spreading values of the fermentation fluid containing all three strains are more than 4.5 cm (diameter) with an approximate 25 mN/m surface tension. The hydrocarbon degradation rates of each of the three strains exceeded 50%, with the highest achieving 84%. Several oil recovery agents were produced following degradation. At the same time, the heavy components of crude oil were degraded into light components, and their flow characteristics were also improved. The surface tension and viscosity of the crude oil decreased after being treated by the three strains of microorganisms. The core-flooding tests showed that the incremental oil recoveries were 4.89-6.96%. Thus, XDS123 treatment may represent a viable method for microbial-enhanced oil recovery.

  18. Rock formation characterization for CO2-EOR and carbon geosequestration; 3D seismic amplitude and coherency anomalies, Wellington Field, Kansas, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohl, D.; Raef, A.; Watnef, L.; Bhattacharya, S.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we present a workflow for a Mississipian carbonates characterization case-study integrating post-stack seismic attributes, well-logs porosities, and seismic modeling to explore relating changes in small-scale "lithofacies" properties and/or sub-seismic resolution faulting to key amplitude and coherency 3D seismic attributes. The main objective of this study is to put emphasis on reservoir characterization that is both optimized for and subsequently benefiting from pilot tertiary CO2-EOR in preparation for future carbon geosequestration in a depleting reservoir and a deep saline aquifer. The extracted 3D seismic coherency attribute indicated anomalous features that can be interpreted as a lithofacies change or a sub-seismic resolution faulting. A 2D finite difference modeling has been undertaken to understand and potentially build discriminant attributes to map structural and/or lithofacies anomalies of interest especially when embarking upon CO2-EOR and/or carbon sequestration monitoring and management projects. ?? 2011 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

  19. Microbial enhancement of oil recovery: Recent advances

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Premuzic, E.T.; Woodhead, A.D.; Vivirito, K.J. (eds.)

    1992-01-01

    During recent years, systematic, scientific, and engineering effort by researchers in the United States and abroad, has established the scientific basis for Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) technology. The successful application of MEOR technology as an oil recovery process is a goal of the Department of Energy (DOE). Research efforts involving aspects of MEOR in the microbiological, biochemical, and engineering fields led DOE to sponsor an International Conference at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1992, to facilitate the exchange of information and a discussion of ideas for the future research emphasis. At this, the Fourth International MEOR Conference, where international attendees from 12 countries presented a total of 35 papers, participants saw an equal distribution between research'' and field applications.'' In addition, several modeling and state-of-the-art'' presentations summed up the present status of MEOR science and engineering. Individual papers in this proceedings have been process separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

  20. Biosurfactant production by Bacillus subtilis B30 and its application in enhancing oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Wahaibi, Yahya; Joshi, Sanket; Al-Bahry, Saif; Elshafie, Abdulkadir; Al-Bemani, Ali; Shibulal, Biji

    2014-02-01

    The fermentative production of biosurfactants by Bacillus subtilis strain B30 and the evaluation of biosurfactant based enhanced oil recovery using core-flood were investigated. Different carbon sources (glucose, sucrose, starch, date molasses, cane molasses) were tested to determine the optimal biosurfactant production. The isolate B30 produced a biosurfactant that could reduce the surface tension and interfacial tension to 26.63±0.45 mN/m and 3.79±0.27 mN/m, respectively in less than 12h in both glucose or date molasses based media. A crude biosurfactant concentration of 0.3-0.5 g/l and critical micelle dilution (CMD) values of 1:8 were observed. The biosurfactants gave stable emulsions with wide range of hydrocarbons including light and heavy crude oil. The biosurfactants were partially purified and identified as a mixture of lipopeptides similar to surfactin, using high performance thin layer chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The biosurfactants were stable over wide range of pH, salinity and temperatures. The crude biosurfactant preparation enhanced light oil recovery by 17-26% and heavy oil recovery by 31% in core-flood studies. The results are indicative of the potential of the strain for the development of ex situ microbial enhanced oil recovery processes using glucose or date molasses based minimal media. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Investigation on Mechanisms of Polymer Enhanced Oil Recovery by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Microscopic Theoretical Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ji-Cheng, Zhang; Kao-Ping, Song; Er-Long, Yang; Li, Liu

    2008-01-01

    Polymer flooding is an efficient technique to enhance oil recovery over water flooding. There are lots of discussions regarding the mechanisms for polymer flooding enhancing oil recovery. The main focus is whether polymer flooding can increase sweep efficiency alone, or can increase both of sweep efficiency and displacement efficiency. We present a study on this problem. Oil displacement experiments on 4 natural cores show that polymer flooding can increase oil recovery efficiency by more than 12% over water. Moreover, photos are taken by the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method both after water flooding and after polymer flooding, which show remaining oil saturation distribution at the middle cross section and the central longitudinal section. Analyses of these photos demonstrate that polymer flooding can increase both sweep efficiency and displacement efficiency. (fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications))

  2. Conference on microbiological processes useful in enhanced oil recovery. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1979-10-01

    Six formal presentations were made at the meeting, followed by four workshops dealing with specific topics: bioengineering, reservoir ecology and environment, transformations, and bioproducts. All were related to microbial enhancement of oil recovery. (DLC)

  3. Essential oil from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. and its main components used as transdermal penetration enhancers: a comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lan, Yi; Li, Hui; Chen, Yan-yan; Zhang, Ye-wen; Liu, Na; Zhang, Qing; Wu, Qing

    2014-11-01

    Our previous studies had confirmed that the essential oil from Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. (Z. bungeanum oil) could effectively enhance the percutaneous permeation of drug molecules as a natural transdermal penetration enhancer. The aim of the present study is to investigate and compare the skin penetration enhancement effect of Z. bungeanum oil and its main components on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) active components. Toxicities of Z. bungeanum oil and three selected terpene compounds (terpinen-4-ol, 1,8-cineole, and limonene) in epidermal keratinocytes (HaCaT) and dermal fibroblast (CCC-ESF-1) cell lines were measured using an MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Five model drugs in TCM external preparations, namely osthole (OT), tetramethylpyrazine (TMP), ferulic acid (FA), puerarin (PR), and geniposide (GP), which were selected based on their lipophilicity denoted by logKo/w, were tested using in vitro permeation studies in which vertical Franz diffusion cells and rat abdominal skin were employed. The secondary structure changes of skin stratum corneum (SC) and drug thermodynamic activities were investigated to understand their mechanisms of action using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and saturation solubility studies, respectively. It was found that Z. bungeanum oil showed lower toxicities in both HaCaT cells and CCC-ESF-1 cells compared with three terpene compounds used alone. The enhancement permeation capacities by all tested agents were in the following increasing order: terpinen-4-ol≈1,8-cineoleoil. The mechanisms of permeation enhancement suggested that these enhancers promoted the skin permeation of drugs mainly by affecting SC lipids. These results indicated that Z. bungeanum oil exhibited better performance in enhancing the skin permeation of active components in TCM preparations.

  4. VSP Monitoring of CO2 Injection at the Aneth Oil Field in Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, L.; Rutledge, J.; Zhou, R.; Denli, H.; Cheng, A.; Zhao, M.; Peron, J.

    2008-12-01

    Remotely tracking the movement of injected CO2 within a geological formation is critically important for ensuring safe and long-term geologic carbon sequestration. To study the capability of vertical seismic profiling (VSP) for remote monitoring of CO2 injection, a geophone string with 60 levels and 96 channels was cemented into a monitoring well at the Aneth oil field in Utah operated by Resolute Natural Resources and Navajo National Oil and Gas Company. The oil field is located in the Paradox Basin of southeastern Utah, and was selected by the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, to demonstrate combined enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and CO2 sequestration. The geophones are placed at depths from 805 m to 1704 m, and the oil reservoir is located approximately from 1731 m to 1786 m in depth. A baseline VSP dataset with one zero-offset and seven offset source locations was acquired in October, 2007 before CO2 injection. The offsets/source locations are approximately 1 km away from the monitoring well with buried geophone string. A time-lapse VSP dataset with the same source locations was collected in July, 2008 after five months of CO2/water injection into a horizontal well adjacent to the monitoring well. The total amount of CO2 injected during the time interval between the two VSP surveys was 181,000 MCF (million cubic feet), or 10,500 tons. The time-lapse VSP data are pre-processed to balance the phase and amplitude of seismic events above the oil reservoir. We conduct wave-equation migration imaging and interferometry analysis using the pre-processed time-lapse VSP data. The results demonstrate that time-lapse VSP surveys with high-resolution migration imaging and scattering analysis can provide reliable information about CO2 migration. Both the repeatability of VSP surveys and sophisticated time-lapse data pre-processing are essential to make VSP as an effective tool for monitoring CO2 injection.

  5. A Review of Recovery Mechanisms of Ionically Modified Waterflood in Carbonate Reservoirs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sohal, Muhammad Adeel Nassar; Thyne, Geoffrey; Søgaard, Erik Gydesen

    2016-01-01

    . This process has been evaluated as a wettability-modifying agent in carbonates and captured the global research focus in water-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the published research to speed the process of further investigations in this field. The review......Advanced water flooding is a process in which the ionic strength as well as the ionic composition of the injected water is tuned to improve the oil recovery. It has been observed in field trials and in lab core flooding experiments; advanced water flooding has the potential to recover additional oil...

  6. Effectiveness of commercial microbial products in enhancing oil degradation in Prince William Sound field plots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venosa, A.D.; Haines, J.R.; Allen, D.M.

    1991-01-01

    In the spring of 1990, previously reported laboratory experiments were conducted on 10 commercial microbial products to test for enhanced biodegradation of weathered crude oil from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The laboratory tests measured the rate and extent of oil degradation in closed flasks. Weathered oil from the beaches in Alaska and seawater from Prince William Sound were used in the tests. Two of the 10 products were found to provide significantly greater alkane degradation than flasks supplemented with mineral nutrients alone. These two products were selected for further testing on a beach in Prince William Sound. A randomized complete block experiment was designed to compare the effectiveness of these two products in enhancing oil degradation compared to simple fertilizer alone. Four small plots consisting of a no nutrient control, a mineral nutrient plot, and two plots receiving mineral nutrients plus the two products, were laid out on a contaminated beach. These four plots comprised a 'block' of treatments, and this block was replicated four times on the same beach. Triplicate samples of beach sediment were collected at four equally spaced time intervals and analyzed for oil residue weight and alkane hydrocarbon profile changes with time. The objective was to determine if either of the two commercial microbiological products was able to enhance bioremediation of an oil-contaminated beach in Prince William Sound to an extent greater than that achievable by simple fertilizer application. Results indicated no significant differences among the four treatments in the 27-day period of the experiment

  7. Mechanism governing nanoparticle flow behaviour in porous media: insight for enhanced oil recovery applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agi, Augustine; Junin, Radzuan; Gbadamosi, Afeez

    2018-06-01

    Nanotechnology has found its way to petroleum engineering, it is well-accepted path in the oil and gas industry to recover more oil trapped in the reservoir. But the addition of nanoparticles to a liquid can result in the simplest flow becoming complex. To understand the working mechanism, there is a need to study the flow behaviour of these particles. This review highlights the mechanism affecting the flow of nanoparticles in porous media as it relates to enhanced oil recovery. The discussion focuses on chemical-enhanced oil recovery, a review on laboratory experiment on wettability alteration, effect of interfacial tension and the stability of emulsion and foam is discussed. The flow behaviour of nanoparticles in porous media was discussed laying emphasis on the physical aspect of the flow, the microscopic rheological behaviour and the adsorption of the nanoparticles. It was observed that nanofluids exhibit Newtonian behaviour at low shear rate and non-Newtonian behaviour at high shear rate. Gravitational and capillary forces are responsible for the shift in wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. The dominant mechanisms of foam flow process were lamellae division and bubble to multiple bubble lamellae division. In a water-wet system, the dominant mechanism of flow process and residual oil mobilization are lamellae division and emulsification, respectively. Whereas in an oil-wet system, the generation of pre-spinning continuous gas foam was the dominant mechanism. The literature review on oil displacement test and field trials indicates that nanoparticles can recover additional oil. The challenges encountered have opened new frontier for research and are highlighted herein.

  8. Microbial enhanced oil recovery—a modeling study of the potential of spore-forming bacteria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Nesterov, Igor; Shapiro, Alexander

    2016-01-01

    resulted in the following conclusions. In order to obtain sufficient local concentrations of surfactant, substantial amounts of substrate should be supplied; however, massive growth of bacteria increases the risk for clogging at the well inlet areas, causing injectivity loss. In such areas, starvation may......Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) utilizes microbes for enhancing the recovery by several mechanisms, among which the most studied are the following: (1) reduction of oil-water interfacial tension (IFT) by the produced biosurfactant and (2) selective plugging by microbes and metabolic products...

  9. Thermally-enhanced oil recovery method and apparatus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, Charles R.; Gibson, Michael A.; Knudsen, Christian W.

    1987-01-01

    A thermally-enhanced oil recovery method and apparatus for exploiting deep well reservoirs utilizes electric downhole steam generators to provide supplemental heat to generate high quality steam from hot pressurized water which is heated at the surface. A downhole electric heater placed within a well bore for local heating of the pressurized liquid water into steam is powered by electricity from the above-ground gas turbine-driven electric generators fueled by any clean fuel such as natural gas, distillate or some crude oils, or may come from the field being stimulated. Heat recovered from the turbine exhaust is used to provide the hot pressurized water. Electrical power may be cogenerated and sold to an electric utility to provide immediate cash flow and improved economics. During the cogeneration period (no electrical power to some or all of the downhole units), the oil field can continue to be stimulated by injecting hot pressurized water, which will flash into lower quality steam at reservoir conditions. The heater includes electrical heating elements supplied with three-phase alternating current or direct current. The injection fluid flows through the heater elements to generate high quality steam to exit at the bottom of the heater assembly into the reservoir. The injection tube is closed at the bottom and has radial orifices for expanding the injection fluid to reservoir pressure.

  10. Spectral Induced Polarization (SIP) monitoring during Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heenan, J. W.; Ntarlagiannis, D.; Slater, L. D.

    2010-12-01

    Jeffrey Heenan, Dimitrios Ntarlagiannis, Lee Slater Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark NJ Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) is an established, cost effective, method for enhancing tertiary oil recovery. Although not commonly used for shallow heavy oils, it could be a viable alternative since it can offer sustainable economic recovery and minimal environmental impact. A critical component of successful MEOR treatments is accurate, real time monitoring of the biodegradation processes resulting from the injection of microbial communities into the formation; results of recent biogeophysical research suggest that minimally-invasive geophysical methods could significantly contribute to such monitoring efforts. Here we present results of laboratory experiments, to assess the sensitivity of the spectral induced polarization method (SIP) to MEOR treatments. We used heavy oil, obtained from a shallow oilfield in SW Missouri, to saturate three sand columns. We then followed common industry procedures,and used a commercially available microbial consortia, to treat the oil columns. The active MEOR experiments were performed in duplicate while a control column maintained similar conditions, without promoting microbial activity and oil degradation. We monitored the SIP signatures, between 0.001 Hz and 1000 Hz, for a period of six months. To support the geophysical measurements we also monitored common geochemical parameters, including pH, Eh and fluid conductivity, and collected weekly fluid samples from the outflow and inflow for further analysis; fluid samples were analyzed to confirm that microbes actively degraded the heavy oils in the column while destructive analysis of the solid materials was performed upon termination of the experiment. Preliminary analysis of the results suggests that SIP is sensitive to MEOR processes. In both inoculated columns we recorded an increase in the low frequency polarization with time; measureable

  11. A review on applications of nanotechnology in the enhanced oil recovery part B: effects of nanoparticles on flooding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheraghian, Goshtasp; Hendraningrat, Luky

    2016-11-01

    Chemical flooding is of increasing interest and importance due to high oil prices and the need to increase oil production. Research in nanotechnology in the petroleum industry is advancing rapidly, and an enormous progress in the application of nanotechnology in this area is to be expected. The nanotechnology has been widely used in several other industries, and the interest in the oil industry is increasing. Nanotechnology has the potential to profoundly change enhanced oil recovery and to improve mechanism of recovery, and it is chosen as an alternative method to unlock the remaining oil resources and applied as a new enhanced oil recovery method in last decade. This paper therefore focuses on the reviews of the application of nanotechnology in chemical flooding process in oil recovery and reviews the applications of nanomaterials for improving oil recovery that have been proposed to explain oil displacement by polymer flooding within oil reservoirs, and also this paper highlights the research advances of polymer in oil recovery. Nanochemical flooding is an immature method from an application point of view.

  12. Responsive copolymers for enhanced petroleum recovery. Annual report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCormick, C.; Hester, R.

    1994-08-01

    A coordinated research program involving synthesis, characterization, and rheology has been undertaken to develop advanced polymer system which should be significantly more efficient than polymers presently used for mobility control and conformance. Unlike the relatively inefficient, traditional EOR polymers, these advanced polymer systems possess microstructural features responsive to temperature, electrolyte concentration, and shear conditions. Contents of this report include the following chapters. (1) First annual report responsive copolymers for enhanced oil recovery. (2) Copolymers of acrylamide and sodium 3-acrylamido-3-methylbutanoate. (3) Terpolymers of NaAMB, Am, and n-decylacrylamide. (4) Synthesis and characterization of electrolyte responsive terpolymers of acrylamide, N-(4-butyl)phenylacrylamide, and sodium acrylate, sodium-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulphonate or sodium-3-acrylamido-3-methylbutanoate. (5) Synthesis and solution properties of associative acrylamido copolymers with pyrensulfonamide fluorescence labels. (6) Photophysical studies of the solution behavior of associative pyrenesulfonamide-labeled polyacrylamides. (7) Ampholytic copolymers of sodium 2-(acrylamido)-2-methylpropanesulfonate with [2-(acrylamido)-2-methypropyl]trimethylammonium chloride. (8) Ampholytic terpolymers of acrylamide with sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulphoante and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanetrimethyl-ammonium chloride and (9) Polymer solution extensional behavior in porous media.

  13. Production, Characterization and Application of Bacillus licheniformis W16 Biosurfactant in Enhancing Oil Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanket J. Joshi

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The biosurfactant production by Bacillus licheniformis W16 and evaluation of biosurfactant based enhanced oil recovery using core-flood under reservoir conditions were investigated. Previously reported nine different production media were screened for biosurfactant production, and two were further optimized with different carbon sources (glucose, sucrose, starch, cane molasses or date molasses, as well as the strain was screened for biosurfactant production during the growth in different media. The biosurfactant reduced the surface tension and interfacial tension to 24.33+0.57mN m-1 and 2.47+0.32mN m-1 respectively within 72h, at 40 C, and also altered the wettability of a hydrophobic surface by changing the contact angle from 55.67°+1.6° to 19.54°+0.96°. The critical micelle dilution values of 4X were observed. The biosurfactants were characterized by different analytical techniques and identified as lipopeptide, similar to lichenysin-A. The biosurfactant was stable over wide range of extreme environmental conditions. The core flood experiments showed that the biosurfactant was able to enhance the oil recovery by 24-26% over residual oil saturation (Sor. The results highlight the potential application of lipopeptide biosurfactant in wettability alteration and microbial enhanced oil recovery processes.

  14. Reactive Transport Modeling of Microbe-mediated Fe (II) Oxidation for Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Surasani, V.; Li, L.

    2011-12-01

    Microbially Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) aims to improve the recovery of entrapped heavy oil in depleted reservoirs using microbe-based technology. Reservoir ecosystems often contain diverse microbial communities those can interact with subsurface fluids and minerals through a network of nutrients and energy fluxes. Microbe-mediated reactions products include gases, biosurfactants, biopolymers those can alter the properties of oil and interfacial interactions between oil, brine, and rocks. In addition, the produced biomass and mineral precipitates can change the reservoir permeability profile and increase sweeping efficiency. Under subsurface conditions, the injection of nitrate and Fe (II) as the electron acceptor and donor allows bacteria to grow. The reaction products include minerals such as Fe(OH)3 and nitrogen containing gases. These reaction products can have large impact on oil and reservoir properties and can enhance the recovery of trapped oil. This work aims to understand the Fe(II) oxidation by nitrate under conditions relevant to MEOR. Reactive transport modeling is used to simulate the fluid flow, transport, and reactions involved in this process. Here we developed a complex reactive network for microbial mediated nitrate-dependent Fe (II) oxidation that involves both thermodynamic controlled aqueous reactions and kinetic controlled Fe (II) mineral reaction. Reactive transport modeling is used to understand and quantify the coupling between flow, transport, and reaction processes. Our results identify key parameter controls those are important for the alteration of permeability profile under field conditions.

  15. The potential of Bacillus licheniformis strains for in situ enhanced oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yakimov, Michail M.; Timmis, Kenneth N. [Microbial Ecology Group, Division of Microbiology, GBF-National Research Centre for Biotechnology, Braunschweig (Germany); Amro, Mohammed M.; Kessel, Dagobert G. [German Petroleum Institute, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany); Bock, Michael; Boseker, Klaus [BGR, Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources, Hannover (Germany); Fredrickson, Herbert L. [Environmental Laboratory, Waterways Experimental Station, USAGE, Vicksburg, MS (United States)

    1997-07-15

    The ability of microorganisms isolated from oil reservoirs to increase oil recovery by in situ growth and metabolism following the injection of laboratory grown microbial cells and nutrients were studied. Four strains isolated from Northern German oil reservoirs at depths of 866 to 1520 m, and identified as Bacillus licheniformis, were characterized taxonomically and physiologically. All strains grew on a variety of substrates at temperatures of up to 55C and at salinities of up to 12% NaCl. Extracellular polymer production occurred both aerobically and anaerobically over a wide range of temperatures, pressures and salinities, though it was optimal at temperatures around 50C and at salinities between 5 and 10% NaCl. Strain BNP29 was able to produce significant amounts of biomass, polymer, fermentation alcohols and acids in batch culture experiments under simulated reservoir conditions. Oil recovery (core flooding) experiments with strain BNP29 and a sucrose-based nutrient were performed with lime-free and lime-containing, oil-bearing sandstone cores. Oil recovery efficiencies varied from 9.3 to 22.1% of the water flood residual oil saturation. Biogenic acid production that accompanied oil production, along with selective plugging, are important mechanisms leading to increased oil recovery, presumably through resulting changes in rock porosity and alteration of wettability. These data show that strain BNP29 exhibits potential for the development of enhanced oil recovery processes

  16. Sophorolipids Production by Candida bombicola ATCC 22214 and its Potential Application in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elshafie, Abdulkadir E; Joshi, Sanket J; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M; Al-Bemani, Ali S; Al-Bahry, Saif N; Al-Maqbali, Dua'a; Banat, Ibrahim M

    2015-01-01

    Biosurfactant production using Candida bombicola ATCC 22214, its characterization and potential applications in enhancing oil recovery were studied at laboratory scale. The seed media and the production media were standardized for optimal growth and biosurfactant production. The production media were tested with different carbon sources: glucose (2%w/v) and corn oil (10%v/v) added separately or concurrently. The samples were collected at 24 h interval up to 120 h and checked for growth (OD660), and biosurfactant production [surface tension (ST) and interfacial tension (IFT)]. The medium with both glucose and corn oil gave better biosurfactant production and reduced both ST and IFT to 28.56 + 0.42mN/m and 2.13 + 0.09mN/m, respectively within 72 h. The produced biosurfactant was quite stable at 13-15% salinity, pH range of 2-12, and at temperature up to 100°C. It also produced stable emulsions (%E24) with different hydrocarbons (pentane, hexane, heptane, tridecane, tetradecane, hexadecane, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2,2,4,4,6,8-heptamethylnonane, light and heavy crude oil). The produced biosurfactant was extracted using ethyl acetate and characterized as a mixture of sophorolipids (SPLs). The potential of SPLs in enhancing oil recovery was tested using core-flooding experiments under reservoir conditions, where additional 27.27% of residual oil (Sor) was recovered. This confirmed the potential of SPLs for applications in microbial enhanced oil recovery.

  17. Utilizing natural gas huff and puff to enhance production in heavy oil reservoir

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wenlong, G.; Shuhong, W.; Jian, Z.; Xialin, Z. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)]|[PetroChina Co. Ltd., Beijing (China); Jinzhong, L.; Xiao, M. [China Univ. of Petroleum, Beijing (China)

    2008-10-15

    The L Block in the north structural belt of China's Tuha Basin is a super deep heavy oil reservoir. The gas to oil ratio (GOR) is 12 m{sup 3}/m{sup 3} and the initial bubble point pressure is only 4 MPa. The low production can be attributed to high oil viscosity and low flowability. Although steam injection is the most widely method for heavy oil production in China, it is not suitable for the L Block because of its depth. This paper reviewed pilot tests in which the natural gas huff and puff process was used to enhance production in the L Block. Laboratory experiments that included both conventional and unconventional PVT were conducted to determine the physical property of heavy oil saturated by natural gas. The experiments revealed that the heavy oil can entrap the gas for more than several hours because of its high viscosity. A pseudo bubble point pressure exists much lower than the bubble point pressure in manmade foamy oils, which is relative to the depressurization rate. Elastic energy could be maintained in a wider pressure scope than natural depletion without gas injection. A special experimental apparatus that can stimulate the process of gas huff and puff in the reservoir was also introduced. The foamy oil could be seen during the huff and puff experiment. Most of the oil flowed to the producer in a pseudo single phase, which is among the most important mechanisms for enhancing production. A pilot test of a single well demonstrated that the oil production increased from 1 to 2 cubic metres per day to 5 to 6 cubic metres per day via the natural gas huff and puff process. The stable production period which was 5 to 10 days prior to huff and puff, was prolonged to 91 days in the first cycle and 245 days in the second cycle. 10 refs., 1 tab., 12 figs.

  18. Microbial mineral illization of montmorillonite in low-permeability oil reservoirs for microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Kai; Sun, Shanshan; Xiao, Meng; Liu, Tongjing; Xu, Quanshu; Dong, Honghong; Wang, Di; Gong, Yejing; Sha, Te; Hou, Jirui; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Fu, Pengcheng

    2018-05-11

    Microbial mineral illization has been investigated for its role in the extraction and recovery of metals from ores. Here we report our application of mineral bioillization for the microbial enhanced oil recovery in low-permeability oil reservoirs. It aimed to reveal the etching mechanism of the four Fe (III)-reducing microbial strains under anaerobic growth conditions on the Ca-montmorillonite. The mineralogical characterization of the Ca-montmorillonite was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer. Results showed that the microbial strains could efficiently reduce Fe (III) at an optimal rate of 71 %, and alter the crystal lattice structure of the lamella to promote the interlayer cation exchange, and to efficiently inhibit the Ca-montmorillonite swelling at an inhibitory rate of 48.9 %. Importance Microbial mineral illization is ubiquitous in the natural environment. Microbes in low-permeability reservoirs are able to enable the alteration of the structure and phase of the Fe-poor minerals by reducing Fe (III) and inhibiting clay swelling which is still poorly studied. This study aimed to reveal the interaction mechanism between Fe (III)-reducing bacterial strains and Ca-montmorillonite under anaerobic atmosphere, and to investigate the extent and rates of Fe (III) reduction and phase changes with their activities. Application of Fe (III)-reducing bacteria will provide a new way to inhibit clay swelling, to elevate reservoir permeability, and to reduce pore throat resistance after water flooding for enhanced oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

  19. BioTiger{sup TM} : a natural microbial product for enhanced hydrocarbon recovery from oil sands

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brigmon, R.L.; Berry, C.J.; Milliken, C.E.; Jones, W. [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States)

    2008-07-01

    This presentation discussed the feasibility of using BioTiger{sup TM} technology to increase hydrocarbon recovery from oil sands. This enhanced ex situ oil recovery processes was initially developed and used by the United States Department of Energy for bioremediation of soils contaminated with oil, but it may also be used to optimize bitumen separation. BioTiger was described as being a unique microbial consortia that has resulted from nearly a decade of extensive microbiology screening and characterization of samples collected from an old waste lagoon. The technology offers rapid and complete degradation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons and produces new surfactants. It is tolerant of both chemical and metal toxicity and has good activity at high temperatures at extreme pH levels. A flotation test protocol with oil sands from Fort McMurray, Alberta was used for the BioTiger evaluation. A comparison of hot water extraction/flotation test of the oil sands performed with BioTiger showed a 50 per cent improvement in separation as measured by gravimetric analysis. BioTiger is well suited for enhanced hydrocarbon recovery from oil sands because it performs well at high temperatures. 8 figs.

  20. SOLVENT-BASED ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY PROCESSES TO DEVELOP WEST SAK ALASKA NORTH SLOPE HEAVY OIL RESOURCES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David O. Ogbe; Tao Zhu

    2004-01-01

    A one-year research program is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of applying solvent-based enhanced oil recovery processes to develop West Sak and Ugnu heavy oil resources found on the Alaska North Slope (ANS). The project objective is to conduct research to develop technology to produce and market the 300-3000 cp oil in the West Sak and Ugnu sands. During the first phase of the research, background information was collected, and experimental and numerical studies of vapor extraction process (VAPEX) in West Sak and Ugnu are conducted. The experimental study is designed to foster understanding of the processes governing vapor chamber formation and growth, and to optimize oil recovery. A specially designed core-holder and a computed tomography (CT) scanner was used to measure the in-situ distribution of phases. Numerical simulation study of VAPEX was initiated during the first year. The numerical work completed during this period includes setting up a numerical model and using the analog data to simulate lab experiments of the VAPEX process. The goal was to understand the mechanisms governing the VAPEX process. Additional work is recommended to expand the VAPEX numerical study using actual field data obtained from Alaska North Slope.

  1. Potential of wheat bran to promote indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, Yali; Wang, Qinghong; Chen, Chunmao; Kim, Jung Bong; Zhang, Hongdan; Yoza, Brandon A; Li, Qing X

    2017-06-01

    Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is an emerging oil extraction technology that utilizes microorganisms to facilitate recovery of crude oil in depleted petroleum reservoirs. In the present study, effects of wheat bran utilization were investigated on stimulation of indigenous MEOR. Biostimulation conditions were optimized with the response surface methodology. The co-application of wheat bran with KNO 3 and NH 4 H 2 PO 4 significantly promoted indigenous MEOR (IMEOR) and exhibited sequential aerobic (O-), facultative (A n -) and anaerobic (A 0 -) metabolic stages. The surface tension of fermented broth decreased by approximately 35%, and the crude oil was highly emulsified. Microbial community structure varied largely among and in different IMEOR metabolic stages. Pseudomonas sp., Citrobacter sp., and uncultured Burkholderia sp. dominated the O-, A n - and early A 0 -stages. Bacillus sp., Achromobacter sp., Rhizobiales sp., Alcaligenes sp. and Clostridium sp. dominated the later A 0 -stage. This study illustrated occurrences of microbial community succession driven by wheat bran stimulation and its industrial potential.

  2. Screening of microorganisms for microbial enhanced oil recovery processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yonebayashi, H. [Japan National Oil Corp., Tokyo (Japan); Yoshida, S. [Japan Food Research Laboratiories, Tokyo (Japan). Div. of Microbiology; Ono, K. [Japan National Oil Corp., Chiba (Japan). Tech. Research Center; Enomoto, H. [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan). Dept. of Geoscience and Tech.

    2000-01-01

    The objective of this study is to screen effective microorganisms for the Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery process (or simply as MEOR). Samples of drilling cuttings, formation water, and soil were collected from domestic drilling sites and oil fields. Moreover, samples of activated-sludge and compost were collected from domestic sewage treatment facility and food treatment facility. At first, microorganisms in samples were investigated by incubation with different media; then they were isolated. By two stage-screening based on metabolizing ability, 4 strains (Bacillus licheniformis TRC-18-2-a, Enterobacter cloacae TRC-322, Bacillus subtilis TRC-4118, and Bacillus subtilis TRC-4126) were isolated as effective microorganisms for oil recovery. B. licheniformis TRC-18-2-a is a multifunctional microorganism possessing excellent surfactant productivity, and in addition it has gas, acid and polymer productivities. E. cloacae TRC-332 has gas and acid producing abilities. B. subtilis TRC-4118 and TRC-4126 are effective biosurfactant producers, and they reduce the interfacial tension to 0.04 and 0.12 dyne/cm, respectively. (author)

  3. Activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force, reporting period March--August 1991; Contracts for field projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery, reporting period October--December 1990

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-10-01

    Activities of DOE's Oil Implementation Task Force for the period March--August 1991 are reviewed. Contracts for fields projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery are discussed, with a list of related publications given. Enhanced recovery processes covered include chemical flooding, gas displacement, thermal recovery, and microbial recovery.

  4. Activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force, December 1990--February 1991; Contracts for field projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery, April--June 1990

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tiedemann, H.A. (ed.) (USDOE Bartlesville Project Office, OK (USA))

    1991-03-01

    The Oil Implementation Task Force was appointed to implement the US DOE's new oil research program directed toward increasing domestic oil production by expanded research on near- or mid-term enhanced oil recovery methods. An added priority is to preserve access to reservoirs that have the largest potential for oil recovery, but that are threatened by the large number of wells abandoned each year. This report describes the progress of research activities in the following areas: chemical flooding; gas displacement; thermal recovery; resource assessment; microbial technology; geoscience technology; and environmental technology. (CK)

  5. Exploring opportunities for enhancing innovation in agriculture: The case of oil palm production in Ghana

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adjei-Nsiah, S.; Sakyi-Dawson, O.; Kuyper, T.W.

    2012-01-01

    We carried out a study using key informant interviews, focus group discussions and individual interviews to explore opportunities to enhance innovation in the oil palm sector in Ghana. Current technical innovations at the farm level are insufficient to promote sustainable oil palm production and to

  6. The effect of ZnO nanoparticles on improved oil recovery in spontaneous imbibition mechanism of heavy oil production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tajmiri, M.; Ehsani, M. R.; Mousavi, S. M.; Roayaei, E.; Emadi, A.

    2015-07-01

    Spontaneous imbibition (SI) gets a controversial subject in oil- wet carbonate reservoirs. The new concept of nanoparticles applications in an EOR area have been recently raised by researches about oil viscosity reduction and generate emulsion without surfactant. But a lot of questions have been remained about which nanoparticles can alter wettability from oil- wet to water- wet to improve oil recovery. This study introduces the new idea of adding ZnO nanoparticles (0.2%wt concentration) by experimental work on oil recovery. The main goals of this research were to prove that ZnO nanoparticles have the ability to reduce viscosity and also alter wettability. The ultimate objective was to determine the potential of these nanoparticles to imbibe into and displace oil. Through the use of Amott- cell, laboratory tests were conducted in two experiments on four cylindrical core samples (three sandstones and one carbonate) were taken from real Iranian heavy oil reservoir. In the first experiment, core samples were saturated by crude oil and in the second experiment, nanoparticles were flooding into core samples and then saturated by crude oil for about two weeks and after that they were immersed in distilled water and the amount of recovery was monitored during 30 days for both tests. We expected that ZnO nanoparticles decreased the surface tension which reduced the capillary forces through SI and wettability alteration took place towards a more water-wet system and caused the oil relative permeability to increase which dominated the gravitational forces to pull out the oil. Our results proved this expectation from ZnO nanoparticles clearly because carbonate core was oil- wet and the capillary pressure was high and negative to push water into the core so the original oil in place (OOIP) was zero whereas by adding ZnO nanoparticles OOIP was increased to 8.89%. SI yielded recovery values from 17.3, 2 and 15 without nanoparticles to 20.68, 17.57 and 36.2 % OOIP with

  7. Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery: 3D Simulation with Gravity Effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Jessen, K.; Shapiro, Alexander

    2010-01-01

    Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) utilizes the activity of microorganisms, where microorganisms simultaneously grow in a reservoir and convert substrate into recovery enhancing products (usually, surfactants). In order to predict the performance of a MEOR process, a simulation tool is required...... using an operator splitting technique. To the best of our knowledge, this has resulted in the first full 3D MEOR streamline simulator. For verification purposes, we compare results from our streamline MEOR simulator to those of a conventional finite difference approach for 1D and 2D displacement...

  8. Biodegradation of Alaska North Slope crude oil enhanced by commercial bioremediation agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aldrett, S.; Bonner, J.S.; Mills, M.A.; McDonald, T.J.; Autenrieth, R.L.

    1996-01-01

    The biodegradation of crude oil was studied. Tests were conducted in which natural unpolluted seawater was collected and then contaminated with Alaska North Slope crude oil. The oil was weathered by heating it to 521 degrees F to remove the light-end hydrocarbons. A total of 13 different bioremediation agents were tested, each one separately. Three samples per treatment were destructively analysed for petroleum chemistry. The thirteen treatments were analyzed for oil and grease. It was found that microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons was enhanced by the addition of bioremediation agents, but it was not possible to identify the intermediate products responsible for the increase of resolved petroleum hydrocarbons through time. It was suggested that caution be used when interpreting results since the protocols used to test the products were prone to uncontrollable variations. 11 refs., 5 tabs., 6 figs

  9. Bioaugmentation of oil reservoir indigenous Pseudomonas aeruginosa to enhance oil recovery through in-situ biosurfactant production without air injection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Feng; Li, Ping; Guo, Chao; Shi, Rong-Jiu; Zhang, Ying

    2018-03-01

    Considering the anoxic conditions within oil reservoirs, a new microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technology through in-situ biosurfactant production without air injection was proposed. High-throughput sequencing data revealed that Pseudomonas was one of dominant genera in Daqing oil reservoirs. Pseudomonas aeruginosa DQ3 which can anaerobically produce biosurfactant at 42 °C was isolated. Strain DQ3 was bioaugmented in an anaerobic bioreactor to approximately simulate MEOR process. During bioaugmentation process, although a new bacterial community was gradually formed, Pseudomonas was still one of dominant genera. Culture-based data showed that hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and biosurfactant-producing bacteria were activated, while sulfate reducing bacteria were controlled. Biosurfactant was produced at simulated reservoir conditions, decreasing surface tension to 33.8 mN/m and emulsifying crude oil with EI 24  = 58%. Core flooding tests revealed that extra 5.22% of oil was displaced by in-situ biosurfactant production. Bioaugmenting indigenous biosurfactant producer P. aeruginosa without air injection is promising for in-situ MEOR applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Microbial enhancement of oil recovery: Recent advances. Proceedings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Premuzic, E.T.; Woodhead, A.D.; Vivirito, K.J. [eds.

    1992-12-31

    During recent years, systematic, scientific, and engineering effort by researchers in the United States and abroad, has established the scientific basis for Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) technology. The successful application of MEOR technology as an oil recovery process is a goal of the Department of Energy (DOE). Research efforts involving aspects of MEOR in the microbiological, biochemical, and engineering fields led DOE to sponsor an International Conference at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1992, to facilitate the exchange of information and a discussion of ideas for the future research emphasis. At this, the Fourth International MEOR Conference, where international attendees from 12 countries presented a total of 35 papers, participants saw an equal distribution between ``research`` and ``field applications.`` In addition, several modeling and ``state-of-the-art`` presentations summed up the present status of MEOR science and engineering. Individual papers in this proceedings have been process separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

  11. Potential evaluation of CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery of tight oil reservoir in the Ordos Basin, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Xiaofeng; Cheng, Linsong; Cao, Renyi; Zhang, Miaoyi; Guo, Qiang; Wang, Yimin; Zhang, Jian; Cui, Yu

    2015-07-01

    Carbon -di-oxide (CO2) is regarded as the most important greenhouse gas to accelerate climate change and ocean acidification. The Chinese government is seeking methods to reduce anthropogenic CO2 gas emission. CO2 capture and geological storage is one of the main methods. In addition, injecting CO2 is also an effective method to replenish formation energy in developing tight oil reservoirs. However, exiting methods to estimate CO2 storage capacity are all based on the material balance theory. This was absolutely correct for normal reservoirs. However, as natural fractures widely exist in tight oil reservoirs and majority of them are vertical ones, tight oil reservoirs are not close. Therefore, material balance theory is not adaptive. In the present study, a new method to calculate CO2 storage capacity is presented. The CO2 effective storage capacity, in this new method, consisted of free CO2, CO2 dissolved in oil and CO2 dissolved in water. Case studies of tight oil reservoir from Ordos Basin was conducted and it was found that due to far lower viscosity of CO2 and larger solubility in oil, CO2 could flow in tight oil reservoirs more easily. As a result, injecting CO2 in tight oil reservoirs could obviously enhance sweep efficiency by 24.5% and oil recovery efficiency by 7.5%. CO2 effective storage capacity of Chang 7 tight oil reservoir in Longdong area was 1.88 x 10(7) t. The Chang 7 tight oil reservoir in Ordos Basin was estimated to be 6.38 x 10(11) t. As tight oil reservoirs were widely distributed in Songliao Basin, Sichuan Basin and so on, geological storage capacity of CO2 in China is potential.

  12. Research and Application of Radiation Processed Polymers to Enhance Oil Recovery in Petroleum Industry - Current Status and Prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Hai; Nguyen Trong Hoanh Phong; Le Van Toan; Nguyen Ly Lan; Nguyen Tan Man; Le Dinh Lang; Nguyen Van Toan; Pham Anh Tuan

    2011-01-01

    The preparation of polymers for enhanced oil recovery has been carried out by radiation copolymerization method involving two monomers of acrylamide and N-vinyl-2- pyrrolidone, and N-methylpyrrolidone used as an anti-gel agent. The properties and oil recovery efficiency of polymer solution was discussed. The studied polymer dissolved in water and in saline water. They have non-precipitating behavior in hard brines at high temperature (>120 o C) and their viscosity decreased 20% after heating 30 days at 120 o C. Evaluation of oil recovery efficiency has been carried out at Laboratory model of reservoir of oil wells were submerged, the obtained results shown that the recovery yield of oil enhanced higher than 10% in the reservoir temperature and pressure conditions. The experimental results also shown that studied polymer products are applying in effect for submerged oil wells. These studied polymers have been being planned for application in pilot scale on the White Tiger oil field one of the big oil fields in this country. (author)

  13. Impact of innovations on future energy supply - chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bittner, Christian

    2013-01-01

    The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects an increase of global energy demand by one-third during next 20 years together with a change in the global energy mix. A key-influencing factor is a strong expected increase in oil and gas production in the United States driven by 'new' technologies such as hydraulic fracturing. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) is another strong growing technology with the potential of a step change innovation, which will help to secure future oil supply by turning resources into reserves. While conventional production methods give access to on average only one-third of original oil in place, the use of surfactants and polymers allows for recovery of up to another third of this oil. In the case of polymer flooding with poly acrylamide, the number of full field implementations has increased in recent years. In the meantime new polymers have been developed to cover previously unmet needs - such polymers can be applied in fields of high salinity and high temperature. Use of surfactants is in an earlier stage, but pilot tests show promising results.

  14. Preparation of function-enhanced vegetable oils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroshi Maeda

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Previously, we (HM found that most commercially available edible oils, which were processed by hexane extraction followed by a number of purification steps, were extremely low in anti-peroxy radical (ROO., or radical scavenging activity. This is a great contrast to the respective virgin oils as exemplified by extra-virgin olive oil or crude rape seed oil [1-4] (Figure 1. Therefore, such highly purified oils will became prooxidant and less desirable food components in terms of health oriented diet. Oxidized oils may eventually cause DNA cleavages, modification of proteins, RNA, and lipids, as well as cellular damage, or promote inflammation and carcinogenesis at later time [5-9]. These commercial oils of low antioxidant activity may be improved by adding functionally effective antioxidative components, by using dried vegetable-waste such as tomato-juice-waste-residues and wine-ferment-waste-residues. Their antioxiative components will be transferred into the functionally poor grade edible oils, and consequently, one can improve the quality of such functionally poor oils and thereby contributing human health [2,8,9]. The purpose of this paper is to report a practical procedure to fortify functionally low grade conventional edible oils to functionally enriched edible oils using dried vegetable-waste residues such as tomato juice waste, and wine-ferment-residues, or other vegetable-waste residues. Methods: (1 Preparation and measurements of lycopene and carotenoid enriched oils. To 5.0g or 1.0g of the dried residue of tomato juice waste, 100ml of commercial rape seed (canola oil was added respectively. Each mixture was incubated at room temperature in dark for several weeks. Amount of lycopene and carotenoids extracted into the oil was monitored by increase of absorption (400-550nm and fluorescence at 470nm of carotenoid. Grape-juice ferment (wine waste was similarly prepared after hot air drying, and immersed in canola oil. (2

  15. Simulations of Microbial-Enhanced Oil Recovery: Adsorption and Filtration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Nesterov, Igor; Shapiro, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    In the context of microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) with injection of surfactant-producing bacteria into the reservoir, different types of bacteria attachment and growth scenarios are studied using a 1D simulator. The irreversible bacteria attachment due to filtration similar to the deep bed...... applied to filtration model provides formation of two oil banks during recovery. This feature is not reproduced by application of REA model or DBF with growth in attached phase. This makes it possible to select a right model based on the qualitative analysis of the experimental data. A criterion...... is introduced to study the process efficiency: the dimensionless time at which average recovery between pure water injection and maximum surfactant effect is reached. This characteristic recovery period (CRP) was studied as a function of the different MEOR parameters such as bacterial activity, filtration...

  16. Quasi-zero-dimensional cobalt-doped CeO2 dots on Pd catalysts for alcohol electro-oxidation with enhanced poisoning-tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Qiang; Zhu, Haiyan; Guo, Shengwu; Chen, Yuanzhen; Jiang, Tao; Shu, Chengyong; Chong, Shaokun; Hultman, Benjamin; Liu, Yongning; Wu, Gang

    2017-08-31

    Deactivation of an anode catalyst resulting from the poisoning of CO ad -like intermediates is one of the major problems for methanol and ethanol electro-oxidation reactions (MOR & EOR), and remains a grand challenge towards achieving high performance for direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs). Herein, we report a new approach for the preparation of ultrafine cobalt-doped CeO 2 dots (Co-CeO 2 , d = 3.6 nm), which can be an effective anti-poisoning promoter for Pd catalysts towards MOR and EOR in alkaline media. Compared to Pd/CeO 2 and pure Pd, the hybrid Pd/Co-CeO 2 nanocomposite catalyst exhibited a much enhanced activity and remarkable anti-poisoning ability for both MOR and EOR. The nanocomposite catalyst showed much higher mass activity (4×) than a state-of-the-art PtRu catalyst. The promotional mechanism was elucidated using extensive characterization and density-functional theory (DFT). A bifunctional effect of the Co-CeO 2 dots was discovered to be due to (i) an enhanced electronic interaction between Co-CeO 2 and Pd dots and (ii) the increased oxygen storage capacity of Co-CeO 2 dots to facilitate the oxidation of CO ad . Therefore, the Pd/Co-CeO 2 nanocomposite appears to be a promising catalyst for advanced DAFCs with low cost and high performance.

  17. International Energy Agency (IEA) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sacuta, Norm [Petroleum Technology Research Centre Incorporated, Saskatchewan (Canada); Young, Aleana [Petroleum Technology Research Centre Incorporated, Saskatchewan (Canada); Worth, Kyle [Petroleum Technology Research Centre Incorporated, Saskatchewan (Canada)

    2015-12-22

    The IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project (WMP) began in 2000 with the first four years of research that confirmed the suitability of the containment complex of the Weyburn oil field in southeastern Saskatchewan as a storage location for CO₂ injected as part of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. The first half of this report covers research conducted from 2010 to 2012, under the funding of the United States Department of Energy (contract DEFE0002697), the Government of Canada, and various other governmental and industry sponsors. The work includes more in-depth analysis of various components of a measurement, monitoring and verification (MMV) program through investigation of data on site characterization and geological integrity, wellbore integrity, storage monitoring (geophysical and geochemical), and performance/risk assessment. These results then led to the development of a Best Practices Manual (BPM) providing oilfield and project operators with guidance on CO₂ storage and CO₂-EOR. In 2013, the USDOE and Government of Saskatchewan exercised an optional phase of the same project to further develop and deploy applied research tools, technologies, and methodologies to the data and research at Weyburn with the aim of assisting regulators and operators in transitioning CO₂-EOR operations into permanent storage. This work, detailed in the second half of this report, involves seven targeted research projects – evaluating the minimum dataset for confirming secure storage; additional overburden monitoring; passive seismic monitoring; history-matched modelling; developing proper wellbore design; casing corrosion evaluation; and assessment of post CO₂-injected core samples. The results from the final and optional phases of the Weyburn-Midale Project confirm the suitability of CO₂-EOR fields for the injection of CO₂, and further, highlight the necessary MMV and follow-up monitoring required for these operations to be considered

  18. The combined effects of phytoremediation and biostimulation in enhancing habitat restoration and oil degradation of petroleum contaminated wetlands

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Qianxin; Mendelssohn, Irving A [Wetland Biogeochemistry Institute, Center for Coastal, Energy, and Environmental Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (United States)

    1998-06-30

    The combined effects of biostimulation and phytoremediation as a means of post-oil spill habitat restoration and enhancement of oil degradation in the soil were evaluated. Marsh sods of Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens were dosed with 0, 4, 8, 16 and 24 l m{sup -2} of south Louisiana crude oil in the greenhouse. Plants were killed at oil dosages of 8 l m{sup -2} in the growing season following oil application. Two years after application of the oil, S. alterniflora and S. patens individuals were transplanted into the oiled and unoiled sods. Fertilizer was applied 1 and 7 months after transplantation. Application of the fertilizer significantly increased biomass of the transplants within 6 months and regrowth biomass of the transplants 1 year after transplantation for both plant species. The residual oil in the soil did not significantly affect the biomass of the S. patens transplants compared with that in the no oil treatment, except at the highest oil level. However, regrowth biomass of the S. alterniflora transplants treated with fertilizer was significantly higher at all oil levels up to 250 mg g{sup -1} than in the unoiled treatment, with or without fertilizer. The oil degradation rate in the soil was significantly enhanced by the application of fertilizer in conjunction with the presence of transplants. These results suggest that vegetative transplantation, when implemented with fertilization, can simultaneously restore oil contaminated wetlands and accelerate oil degradation in the soil

  19. A review on applications of nanotechnology in the enhanced oil recovery part A: effects of nanoparticles on interfacial tension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheraghian, Goshtasp; Hendraningrat, Luky

    2016-01-01

    Chemical enhanced oil recovery is another strong growing technology with the potential of a step change innovation, which will help to secure future oil supply by turning resources into reserves. While Substantial amount of crude oil remains in the reservoir after primary and secondary production, conventional production methods give access to on average only one-third of original oil in place, the use of surfactants and polymers allows for recovery of up to another third of this oil. Chemical flooding is of increasing interest and importance due to high oil prices and the need to increase oil production. Research in nanotechnology in the petroleum industry is advancing rapidly and an enormous progress in the application of nanotechnology in this area is to be expected. Nanotechnology has the potential to profoundly change enhanced oil recovery and to improve mechanism of recovery. This paper, therefore, focuses on the reviews of the application of nano technology in chemical flooding process in oil recovery and reviews the application nano in the polymer and surfactant flooding on the interfacial tension process.

  20. Production of lipopeptide biosurfactants by Bacillus atrophaeus 5-2a and their potential use in microbial enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Junhui; Xue, Quanhong; Gao, Hui; Lai, Hangxian; Wang, Ping

    2016-10-03

    Lipopeptides are known as promising microbial surfactants and have been successfully used in enhancing oil recovery in extreme environmental conditions. A biosurfactant-producing strain, Bacillus atrophaeus 5-2a, was recently isolated from an oil-contaminated soil in the Ansai oilfield, Northwest China. In this study, we evaluated the crude oil removal efficiency of lipopeptide biosurfactants produced by B. atrophaeus 5-2a and their feasibility for use in microbial enhanced oil recovery. The production of biosurfactants by B. atrophaeus 5-2a was tested in culture media containing eight carbon sources and nitrogen sources. The production of a crude biosurfactant was 0.77 g L -1 and its surface tension was 26.52 ± 0.057 mN m -1 in a basal medium containing brown sugar (carbon source) and urea (nitrogen source). The biosurfactants produced by the strain 5-2a demonstrated excellent oil spreading activity and created a stable emulsion with paraffin oil. The stability of the biosurfactants was assessed under a wide range of environmental conditions, including temperature (up to 120 °C), pH (2-13), and salinity (0-50 %, w/v). The biosurfactants were found to retain surface-active properties under the extreme conditions. Additionally, the biosurfactants were successful in a test to simulate microbial enhanced oil recovery, removing 90.0 and 93.9 % of crude oil adsorbed on sand and filter paper, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the biosurfactants were a mixture of lipopeptides, which are powerful biosurfactants commonly produced by Bacillus species. The study highlights the usefulness of optimization of carbon and nitrogen sources and their effects on the biosurfactants production and further emphasizes on the potential of lipopeptide biosurfactants produced by B. atrophaeus 5-2a for crude oil removal. The favorable properties of the lipopeptide biosurfactants make them good candidates for application in the bioremediation of oil

  1. Opportunities for early Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage development in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jansen, D. [ECN Biomass and Energy Efficiency, Petten (Netherlands)

    2013-01-15

    The outline of the presentation shows the following elements: China CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage) policy, strategy and development status; International developments in CCUS; High-purity CO2 sources and potential EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) locations in China; Capture routes: (a) Separation technologies/processes, (b) CO2 purity specifications, compression and after treatment, (c) CO2 transportation options, (d) Associated Cost; Potential cost-effective full-chain CCUS projects in Shaanxi; Barriers to CCUS development in Shaanxi; and Conclusions.

  2. Oil recovery enhancement from fractured, low permeability reservoirs. Annual report, October 1, 1990--September 31, 1991, Annex 4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poston, S.W.

    1991-01-01

    The results of the investigative efforts for this jointly funded DOE-State of Texas research project achieved during the 1990-1991 year may be summarized as follows: Geological Characterization - Detailed maps of the development and hierarchical nature the fracture system exhibited by Austin Chalk outcrops were prepared. The results of these efforts were directly applied to the development of production decline type curves applicable to a dual-fracture-matrix flow system. Analysis of production records obtained from Austin Chalk operators illustrated the utility of these type curves to determine relative fracture/matrix contributions and extent. Well-log response in Austin Chalk wells has been shown to be a reliable indicator of organic maturity. Shear-wave splitting concepts were used to estimate fracture orientations from Vertical Seismic Profile, VSP data. Several programs were written to facilitate analysis of the data. The results of these efforts indicated fractures could be detected with VSP seismic methods.Development of the EOR Imbibition Process - Laboratory displacement as well as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI and Computed Tomography, CT imaging studies have shown the carbonated water-imbibition displacement process significantly accelerates and increases recovery from oil saturated, low permeability rocks.Field Tests - Two operators amenable to conducting a carbonated water flood test on an Austin Chalk well have been identified. Feasibility studies are presently underway.

  3. Characterization of indigenous oil field microorganisms for microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sitte, J.; Krueger, M. [Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Hannover (Germany); Biegel, E.; Herold, A. [BASF SE, Ludwigshafen (Germany); Alkan, H. [Wintershall Holding GmbH, Kassel (Germany)

    2013-08-01

    Microbial activities and their resulting metabolites became a focus of attention for enhanced oil recovery (MEOR, microbial enhanced oil recovery) in the recent years. In order to develop a strategy for a MEOR application in a German oil field operated by Wintershall experiments were performed to investigate different sampling strategies and the microbial communities found in these samples. The objectives of this study were (1) to characterize the indigenous microbial communities, (2) to investigate the dependency of microbial activity/diversity on the different sampling strategies, and (3) to study the influence of the in situ pressure on bacterial growth and metabolite production. Fluids were sampled at the well head (surface) and in situ in approx. 785 m depth to collect uncontaminated production water directly from the reservoir horizon and under the in situ pressure of 31 bar (subsurface). In the lab the pressure was either released quickly or slowly to assess the sensitivity of microorganisms to rapid pressure changes. Quantitative PCR resulted in higher microbial cell numbers in the subsurface than in the surface sample. Biogenic CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} formation rates were determined under atmospheric and high pressure conditions in the original fluids, with highest rates found in the surface fluid. Interestingly, no methane was formed in the native fluid samples. While nitrate reduction was exclusively detected in the surface samples, sulfide formation also occurred in the subsurface fluids. Increased CO{sub 2} formation was measured after addition of a variety of substrates in the surface fluids, while only fructose and glucose showed a stimulating effect on CO{sub 2} production for the subsurface sample. Stable enrichment cultures were obtained in complex medium inoculated with the subsurface fluid, both under atmospheric and in situ pressure. Growth experiments with constant or changing pressure, and subsequent DGGE analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA genes

  4. Enhanced heavy oil recovery for carbonate reservoirs integrating cross-well seismic–a synthetic Wafra case study

    KAUST Repository

    Katterbauer, Klemens

    2015-07-14

    Heavy oil recovery has been a major focus in the oil and gas industry to counter the rapid depletion of conventional reservoirs. Various techniques for enhancing the recovery of heavy oil were developed and pilot-tested, with steam drive techniques proven in most circumstances to be successful and economically viable. The Wafra field in Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of utilizing steam recovery for carbonate heavy oil reservoirs in the Middle East. With growing injection volumes, tracking the steam evolution within the reservoir and characterizing the formation, especially in terms of its porosity and permeability heterogeneity, are key objectives for sound economic decisions and enhanced production forecasts. We have developed an integrated reservoir history matching framework using ensemble based techniques incorporating seismic data for enhancing reservoir characterization and improving history matches. Examining the performance on a synthetic field study of the Wafra field, we could demonstrate the improved characterization of the reservoir formation, determining more accurately the position of the steam chambers and obtaining more reliable forecasts of the reservoir’s recovery potential. History matching results are fairly robust even for noise levels up to 30%. The results demonstrate the potential of the integration of full-waveform seismic data for steam drive reservoir characterization and increased recovery efficiency.

  5. Green bio-oil extraction for oil crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zainab, H.; Nurfatirah, N.; Norfaezah, A.; Othman, H.

    2016-06-01

    The move towards a green bio-oil extraction technique is highlighted in this paper. The commonly practised organic solvent oil extraction technique could be replaced with a modified microwave extraction. Jatropha seeds (Jatropha curcas) were used to extract bio-oil. Clean samples were heated in an oven at 110 ° C for 24 hours to remove moisture content and ground to obtain particle size smaller than 500μm. Extraction was carried out at different extraction times 15 min, 30 min, 45 min, 60 min and 120 min to determine oil yield. The biooil yield obtained from microwave assisted extraction system at 90 minutes was 36% while that from soxhlet extraction for 6 hours was 42%. Bio-oil extracted using the microwave assisted extraction (MAE) system could enhance yield of bio-oil compared to soxhlet extraction. The MAE extraction system is rapid using only water as solvent which is a nonhazardous, environment-friendly technique compared to soxhlet extraction (SE) method using hexane as solvent. Thus, this is a green technique of bio-oil extraction using only water as extractant. Bio-oil extraction from the pyrolysis of empty fruit bunch (EFB), a biomass waste from oil palm crop, was enhanced using a biocatalyst derived from seashell waste. Oil yield for non-catalytic extraction was 43.8% while addition of seashell based biocatalyst was 44.6%. Oil yield for non-catalytic extraction was 43.8% while with addition of seashell-based biocatalyst was 44.6%. The pH of bio-oil increased from 3.5 to 4.3. The viscosity of bio-oil obtained by catalytic means increased from 20.5 to 37.8 cP. A rapid and environment friendly extraction technique is preferable to enhance bio-oil yield. The microwave assisted approach is a green, rapid and environmental friendly extraction technique for the production of bio-oil bearing crops.

  6. Chemometric assessment of enhanced bioremediation of oil contaminated soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soleimani, Mohsen; Farhoudi, Majid; Christensen, Jan H

    2013-06-15

    Bioremediation is a promising technique for reclamation of oil polluted soils. In this study, six methods for enhancing bioremediation were tested on oil contaminated soils from three refinery areas in Iran (Isfahan, Arak, and Tehran). The methods included bacterial enrichment, planting, and addition of nitrogen and phosphorous, molasses, hydrogen peroxide, and a surfactant (Tween 80). Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentrations and CHEMometric analysis of Selected Ion Chromatograms (SIC) termed CHEMSIC method of petroleum biomarkers including terpanes, regular, diaromatic and triaromatic steranes were used for determining the level and type of hydrocarbon contamination. The same methods were used to study oil weathering of 2 to 6 ring polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). Results demonstrated that bacterial enrichment and addition of nutrients were most efficient with 50% to 62% removal of TPH. Furthermore, the CHEMSIC results demonstrated that the bacterial enrichment was more efficient in degradation of n-alkanes and low molecular weight PACs as well as alkylated PACs (e.g. C₃-C₄ naphthalenes, C₂ phenanthrenes and C₂-C₃ dibenzothiophenes), while nutrient addition led to a larger relative removal of isoprenoids (e.g. norpristane, pristane and phytane). It is concluded that the CHEMSIC method is a valuable tool for assessing bioremediation efficiency. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Enhanced oil recovery using flash-driven steamflooding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roark, Steven D.

    1990-01-01

    The present invention is directed to a novel steamflooding process which utilizes three specific stages of steam injection for enhanced oil recovery. The three stages are as follows: As steam is being injected into an oil-bearing reservoir through an injection well, the production rate of a production well located at a distance from the injection well is gradually restricted to a point that the pressure in the reservoir increases at a predetermined rate to a predetermined maximum value. After the maximum pressure has been reached, the production rate is increased to a value such that the predetermined maximum pressure value is maintained. Production at maximum pressure is continued for a length of time that will be unique for each individual reservoir. In some cases, this step of the steamflooding process of the invention may be omitted entirely. In the third stage of the steamflooding process of the invention, production rates at the producing well are increased gradually to allow the pressure to decrease down from the maximum pressure value to the original pressure value at the producing well. The rate of pressure reduction will be unique for each reservoir. After completing stage three, the three stages can be repeated or the steamflood may be terminated as considered desirable.

  8. Enhancing the biodegradation of oil in sandy sediments with choline: A naturally methylated nitrogen compound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mortazavi, Behzad; Horel, Agota; Anders, Jennifer S.; Mirjafari, Arsalan; Beazley, Melanie J.; Sobecky, Patricia A.

    2013-01-01

    We investigated how additions of choline, a naturally occurring methylated nitrogen-containing compound, accelerated hydrocarbon degradation in sandy sediments contaminated with moderately weathered crude oil (4000 mg kg −1 sediment). Addition of lauroylcholine chloride (LCC) and tricholine citrate (TCC) to oil contaminated sediments resulted in 1.6 times higher hydrocarbon degradation rates compared to treatments without added choline derivatives. However, the degradation rate constant for the oil contaminated sediments amended with LCC was similar to that in contaminated sediments amended with inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, and glucose. Additions of LLC and TCC to sediments containing extensively weathered oil also resulted in enhanced mineralization rates. Cultivation-free 16S rRNA analysis revealed the presence of an extant microbial community with clones closely related to known hydrocarbon degraders from the Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Firmicutes phyla. The results demonstrate that the addition of minimal amounts of organic compounds to oil contaminated sediments enhances the degradation of hydrocarbons. -- Highlights: •Aerobic degradation of weathered crude oil in sandy sediments was determined. •The effect of input of choline on degradation rates was determined. •16S rRNA clone library analyses were used to examine the microbial phylogeny. •The bacterial community was consisted of clones related to hydrocarbon degraders. •Hydrocarbon degradation in sandy sediments was accelerated by addition of choline. -- Choline, a naturally occurring methylated nitrogen-containing compound, accelerated hydrocarbon degradation in sandy sediments by an extant microbial community

  9. Constructive Activation of Reservoir-Resident Microbes for Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeBruyn, R. P.

    2017-12-01

    Microbial communities living in subsurface oil reservoirs biodegrade oil, producing methane. If this process could create methane within the waterflooded pore spaces of an oilfield, the methane would be expected to remain and occupy pore space, decreasing water relative permeability, diverting water flow, and increasing oil recovery by expanding the swept zone of the waterflood. This approach was tested in an oilfield in northern Montana. Preliminary assessments were made of geochemical conditions and microbiological habitations. Then, a formulation of microbial activators, with composition tailored for the reservoir's conditions, was metered at low rates into the existing injection water system for one year. In the field, the responses observed included improved oil production performance; a slight increase in injection pressure; and increased time needed for tracers to move between injection and producing wells. We interpret these results to confirm that successful stimulation of the microbial community caused more methane to be created within the swept zone of the waterflooded reservoir. When the methane exsolved as water flowed between high-pressure injection and low-pressure production wells, the bubbles occupied pore space, reducing water saturation and relative permeability, and re-directing some water flow to "slower" unswept rock with lower permeability and higher oil saturation. In total, the waterflood's swept zone had been expanded to include previously-unflooded rock. This technology was applied in this field after screening based on careful anaerobic sampling, advanced microbiological analysis, and the ongoing success of its waterflood. No reservoir or geological or geophysical simulation models were employed, and physical modifications to field facilities were minor. This technology of utilizing existing microbial populations for enhanced oil recovery can therefore be considered for deployment into waterfloods where small scale, advanced maturity, or

  10. Bio-Oil Hydrotreatment for Enhancing Solubility in Biodiesel and the Oxydation Stability of Resulting Blends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botella, Lucía; Stankovikj, Filip; Sánchez, José L; Gonzalo, Alberto; Arauzo, Jesús; Garcia-Pérez, Manuel

    2018-01-01

    The major challenge for the pyrolytic conversion of lignocellulosic materials into crude bio-oil is the poor quality of the final product. Several strategies (addition of solvents, production of emulsions, and extraction with biodiesel) have been studied to improve its fuel properties. The extraction with biodiesel is an interesting solution because it allows direct utilization of some bio-oil fractions as fuels. However, fraction extracted with biodiesel is typically between 10 and 18 wt. %. In this paper we studied mild hydrotreatment of pyrolysis oil to enhance its solubility in biodiesel. The study was conducted with BTG and Amaron oils hydrotreated at temperatures between 200 and 325°C in the presence of Ru/C catalyst. Hydrotreated oils generated three phases: top oil (light hydrocarbons), middle aqueous phase and bottom heavy oil phase. Each of the phases was characterized and the content of acetic acid, phenols, aromatic compounds, and linear alkane hydrocarbons quantified. The upgraded bio-oils were more soluble in biodiesel than the crude bio-oils, obtaining blends with up to 48 and 38 wt. % for the BTG and Amaron bio-oil, respectively. Some of the fuel properties of the resulting blends are also reported here.

  11. Bio-oil Hydrotreatment for Enhancing Solubility in Biodiesel and the Oxydation Stability of Resulting Blends

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botella, Lucía; Stankovikj, Filip; Sánchez, José L.; Gonzalo, Alberto; Arauzo, Jesús; Garcia-Pérez, Manuel

    2018-04-01

    The major challenge for the pyrolytic conversion of lignocellulosic materials into crude bio-oil is the poor quality of the final product. Several strategies (addition of solvents, production of emulsions, and extraction with biodiesel) have been studied to improve its fuel properties. The extraction with biodiesel is an interesting solution because it allows direct utilization of some bio-oil fractions as fuels. However, fraction extracted with biodiesel is typically between 10 and 18 wt. %. In this paper we studied mild hydrotreatment of pyrolysis oil to enhance its solubility in biodiesel. The study was conducted with BTG and Amaron oils hydrotreated at temperatures between 200 and 325 °C in the presence of Ru/C catalyst. Hydrotreated oils generated three phases: top oil (light hydrocarbons), middle aqueous phase and bottom heavy oil phase. Each of the phases was characterized and the content of acetic acid, phenols, aromatic compounds and linear alkane hydrocarbons quantified. The upgraded bio-oils were more soluble in biodiesel than the crude bio-oils, obtaining blends with up to 48 and 38 wt. % for the BTG and Amaron bio-oil, respectively. Some of the fuel properties of the resulting blends are also reported here.

  12. Bio-Oil Hydrotreatment for Enhancing Solubility in Biodiesel and the Oxydation Stability of Resulting Blends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucía Botella

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The major challenge for the pyrolytic conversion of lignocellulosic materials into crude bio-oil is the poor quality of the final product. Several strategies (addition of solvents, production of emulsions, and extraction with biodiesel have been studied to improve its fuel properties. The extraction with biodiesel is an interesting solution because it allows direct utilization of some bio-oil fractions as fuels. However, fraction extracted with biodiesel is typically between 10 and 18 wt. %. In this paper we studied mild hydrotreatment of pyrolysis oil to enhance its solubility in biodiesel. The study was conducted with BTG and Amaron oils hydrotreated at temperatures between 200 and 325°C in the presence of Ru/C catalyst. Hydrotreated oils generated three phases: top oil (light hydrocarbons, middle aqueous phase and bottom heavy oil phase. Each of the phases was characterized and the content of acetic acid, phenols, aromatic compounds, and linear alkane hydrocarbons quantified. The upgraded bio-oils were more soluble in biodiesel than the crude bio-oils, obtaining blends with up to 48 and 38 wt. % for the BTG and Amaron bio-oil, respectively. Some of the fuel properties of the resulting blends are also reported here.

  13. Bio-Oil Hydrotreatment for Enhancing Solubility in Biodiesel and the Oxydation Stability of Resulting Blends

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botella, Lucía; Stankovikj, Filip; Sánchez, José L.; Gonzalo, Alberto; Arauzo, Jesús; Garcia-Pérez, Manuel

    2018-01-01

    The major challenge for the pyrolytic conversion of lignocellulosic materials into crude bio-oil is the poor quality of the final product. Several strategies (addition of solvents, production of emulsions, and extraction with biodiesel) have been studied to improve its fuel properties. The extraction with biodiesel is an interesting solution because it allows direct utilization of some bio-oil fractions as fuels. However, fraction extracted with biodiesel is typically between 10 and 18 wt. %. In this paper we studied mild hydrotreatment of pyrolysis oil to enhance its solubility in biodiesel. The study was conducted with BTG and Amaron oils hydrotreated at temperatures between 200 and 325°C in the presence of Ru/C catalyst. Hydrotreated oils generated three phases: top oil (light hydrocarbons), middle aqueous phase and bottom heavy oil phase. Each of the phases was characterized and the content of acetic acid, phenols, aromatic compounds, and linear alkane hydrocarbons quantified. The upgraded bio-oils were more soluble in biodiesel than the crude bio-oils, obtaining blends with up to 48 and 38 wt. % for the BTG and Amaron bio-oil, respectively. Some of the fuel properties of the resulting blends are also reported here. PMID:29675406

  14. Laboratory and simulation approach to the polymer EOR evaluation in German reservoir characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zheng, S.; Hincapie-Reina, R.; Ganzer, L. [Technische Univ. Clausthal, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany). ITE

    2013-08-01

    Nowadays, polymer flooding is widely used as it enhances oil recovery. As polymer has relatively higher viscosity than water, which leads to better mobility ratio compared to it, and thus better sweep efficiency. However, this technique is limited by some factors. As normal polymers are not tolerant to high temperature or salinity or hardness, which lead to lose of most their viscosity, and thus lost their function in enhanced oil recovery. Therefore, new polymers which are resistant to high temperature, high salinity or other factors which may happen in the reservoir should be employed. In that direction, the present work focus in characterize two different polymers, Flopaam AN 125 and ZLPAM 22051, how they would be influenced by polymer concentration, salinity, shear rate and temperature, and to predict how they would work in the reservoir. A synthetic brine from a German reservoir (Valendis, Suderbruch Field) is used to analyze the polymer. In many different previous experiments is observed the divalent and monovalent effect of salt in polymers was carried out. Rheology characterization was done under the reservoir conditions to get the best approximation related to concentration, shear rate and temperature effect; filtration ratio and filterability plot are used as a quality check for the solutions. Finally, all the data is used into the Polymer Flood Predictive Model (PFPM), to figure out how polymer acted in German typical reservoir conditions, and the specific incremental in oil recovery and effect due the possible polymer application, which might provide information for future polymer flooding application decisions. (orig.)

  15. Enhanced antibacterial effects of clove essential oil by nanoemulsion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anwer, Md Khalid; Jamil, Shahid; Ibnouf, Elmutasim Osman; Shakeel, Faiyaz

    2014-01-01

    The aim of present study was to develop and evaluate nanoemulsion formulations of clove essential oil (CEO) for its antibacterial effects in comparison with pure CEO and standard amikacin antibiotic (positive control). Different nanoemulsions of CEO were developed by aqueous phase titration method via construction of pseudo-ternary phase diagrams and investigated for thermodynamic stability and self-nanoemulsification tests. Selected formulations (F1-F5) were characterized for droplet size distribution, viscosity, zeta potential, transmittance and surface morphology. Based on lowest droplet size (29.1 nm), lowest PI (0.026), lowest viscosity (34.6 cp), optimal zeta potential (-31.4 mV), highest transmittance (99.4 %) and lowest concentration of Triacetin (8 % w/w), CEO nanoemulsion F1 (containing 1 % w/w of CEO, 8 % w/w of Triacetin, 15 % w/w of Tween-80, 15 % w/w of Labrasol and 61 % w/w of water) was subjected to antibacterial studies in comparison with pure oil and standard amikacin. The antibacterial effects of F1 were found to be superior over pure oil against all bacterial strains investigated. However, the antibacterial effects of F1 were highly comparable with standard amikacin against all bacterial strains. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of F1 were observed in the range of 0.075-0.300 % w/w as compared to pure oil (MICs 0.130-0.500 % w/w) and standard amikacin (MICs 2-16 μg/ml). These results indicated the potential of nanoemulsions for enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of natural bioactive ingredients such as CEO.

  16. Activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force; Contracts for field projects and supporting research on enhanced oil recovery, July--September 1990

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tiedemann, H.A. (ed.) (USDOE Bartlesville Project Office, OK (USA))

    1991-05-01

    The report contains a general introduction and background to DOE's revised National Energy Strategy Advanced Oil Recovery Program and activities of the Oil Implementation Task Force; a detailed synopsis of the symposium, including technical presentations, comments and suggestions; a section of technical information on deltaic reservoirs; and appendices containing a comprehensive listing of references keyed to general deltaic and geological aspects of reservoirs and those relevant to six selected deltaic plays. Enhanced recovery processes include chemical floodings, gas displacement, thermal recovery, geoscience, and microbial recovery.

  17. Influence of Oil Viscosity on Alkaline Flooding for Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong Du

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Oil viscosity was studied as an important factor for alkaline flooding based on the mechanism of “water drops” flow. Alkaline flooding for two oil samples with different viscosities but similar acid numbers was compared. Besides, series flooding tests for the same oil sample were conducted at different temperatures and permeabilities. The results of flooding tests indicated that a high tertiary oil recovery could be achieved only in the low-permeability (approximately 500 mD sandpacks for the low-viscosity heavy oil (Zhuangxi, 390 mPa·s; however, the high-viscosity heavy oil (Chenzhuang, 3450 mPa·s performed well in both the low- and medium-permeability (approximately 1000 mD sandpacks. In addition, the results of flooding tests for the same oil at different temperatures also indicated that the oil viscosity put a similar effect on alkaline flooding. Therefore, oil with a high-viscosity is favorable for alkaline flooding. The microscopic flooding test indicated that the water drops produced during alkaline flooding for oils with different viscosities differed significantly in their sizes, which might influence the flow behaviors and therefore the sweep efficiencies of alkaline fluids. This study provides an evidence for the feasibility of the development of high-viscosity heavy oil using alkaline flooding.

  18. Normal Stresses and Interface Displacement: Influence of Viscoelasticity on Enhanced Oil Recovery Efficiency Contraintes normales et déplacement d’interface : influence de la viscoélasticité sur l’efficacité de la récupération assistée

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avendano J.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available One of chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR methods consists in injecting aqueous solutions of polymers into the reservoir in order to improve mobility ratio between the injected fluid and the remaining oil. This “polymer flooding” process is usually only characterized with the low shear viscosity of the injected fluid, even if these aqueous solutions are strongly shear thinning and may show high elastic properties evidenced by normal stresses appearance. In order to study the mechanisms at the interface level, we develop simple model experimentations with the goal of quantifying the influence of viscoelastic properties on fluid displacement in a simple geometry. For this purpose, we propose and characterize a model fluid formulation, for which elastic and viscous effects can be tuned systematically. We study then the displacement of a viscous oil by a Newtonian non elastic, a viscoelastic or a purely shear thinning fluid in a two dimensional flow cell. Observing the shape of the interface between aqueous fluids and displaced oil permits to appreciate viscoelasticity effects on the displacement. Using model geometries and controlled rheology fluids, we show that viscoelastic fluids tend to better displace immiscible liquids than Newtonian fluids and that those effects are closely related to the apparitions of normal stresses independently of shear thinning property or variation of interfacial tension as soon as viscous effects govern the flow. Une des méthodes de récupération assistée du pétrole (EOR - Enhanced Oil Recovery consiste à injecter dans les puits des solutions aqueuses de polymère pour améliorer le rapport de mobilité entre le fluide injecté et le pétrole qui reste dans le puits. Ce procédé de “polymer flooding” est communément caractérisé par la seule valeur de la viscosité à faible gradient de vitesse du fluide injecté, bien que les solutions employées présentent une forte rhéofluidification et

  19. Gas Production Generated from Crude Oil Biodegradation: Preliminary Study on its Aplication in Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Astri Nugroho

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Gas Production Generated from Crude Oil Biodegradation: Preliminary Study on its Aplication in MicrobialEnhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR. The objective of this study is to observe the capacity of gas production generatedfrom crude oil degradation by the isolated bacteria. The gas in the MEOR could increase pressure in the reservoir,decrease oil viscosity, increase oil permeability-due to the increase of the porosity and viscosity, and also increase oilvolume due to the amount of dissolved gas. A research on gas analysis of oil degradation by 6 isolated bacteria has beenconducted. The bacteria isolates including Bacillus badius (A, Bacillus circulans (B, Bacillus coagulans (C, Bacillusfirmus (D, Pasteurella avium (E and Streptobacillus moniliformis (F. The trial on gas production, gas analysis and oildegradation analysis, was carried out by using SMSS medium. The test of gas production was done by usingmicrorespirometer at 40°C. The result shows that B, C, D, E produce more gas than A and F. Gas of CO2, O2, CO, N2,CH4, and H2 were analyzed by using GC. The results show that only three gases were detected by GC i.e. CO2, N2, andO2. The concentration of CO2 and N2 gas increased while the concentration of O2 decreased over an 8th day ofobservation. CO2 gas producted by mix culture was higher than by the pure culture. On the 8th day of incubation, theproduction of CO2 gas by mix culture was 4,0452% while pure culture C and D only produced 2,4543% and 2,8729%.The mix culture increase simple hydrocarbon by 12.03% and the formation of a complex hydrocarbon by 3.07%. Themix culture (C-D generated the highest concentration of CO2 gas as well as a synergistic concortium that has ability todegrade crude oil.

  20. Enhanced biodegradation of diesel oil by a newly identified Rhodococcus baikonurensis EN3 in the presence of mycolic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, M; Kim, M K; Singleton, I; Goodfellow, M; Lee, S-T

    2006-02-01

    The aim of the present study was to isolate and characterize a bacterium, strain EN3, capable of using diesel oil as a major carbon and energy source, and to analyse the enhancement of diesel oil degradation by this organism using synthetic mycolic acid (2-hexyl-3-hydroxyldecanoic acid). An actinomycete with the ability to degrade diesel oil was isolated from oil contaminated soil and characterized. The strain had phenotypic properties consistent with its classification in the genus Rhodococcus showing a 16S rRNA gene similarity of 99.7% with Rhodococcus baikonurensis DSM 44587(T). The ability of the characterized strain to degrade diesel oil at various concentrations (1000, 5000, 10 000 and 20 000 mg l(-1)) was determined. The effect of synthetic mycolic acid on the biodegradation of diesel oil was investigated at the 20 000 mg l(-1) concentration; the surfactant was added to the flask cultures at three different concentrations (10, 50 and 100 mg l(-1)) and degradation followed over 7 days. Enhanced degradation was found at all three concentrations of the surfactant. In addition, the enhancement of diesel oil degradation by other surfactants was observed. The synthetic mycolic acid has potential for the remediation of petroleum-contaminated sites from both an economic and applied perspective as it can stimulate biodegradation at low concentrations. This study showed that the synthesized mycolic acid can be used for potential applications in the bioremediation industries, for example, in oil spill clean-up, diesel fuel remediation and biostimulation.

  1. Profiling of Indigenous Microbial Community Dynamics and Metabolic Activity During Enrichment in Molasses-Supplemented Crude Oil-Brine Mixtures for Improved Understanding of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halim, Amalia Yunita; Pedersen, Dorthe Skou; Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Lantz, Anna Eliasson

    2015-06-01

    Anaerobic incubations using crude oil and brine from a North Sea reservoir were conducted to gain increased understanding of indigenous microbial community development, metabolite production, and the effects on the oil-brine system after addition of a complex carbon source, molasses, with or without nitrate to boost microbial growth. Growth of the indigenous microbes was stimulated by addition of molasses. Pyrosequencing showed that specifically Anaerobaculum, Petrotoga, and Methanothermococcus were enriched. Addition of nitrate favored the growth of Petrotoga over Anaerobaculum. The microbial growth caused changes in the crude oil-brine system: formation of oil emulsions, and reduction of interfacial tension (IFT). Reduction in IFT was associated with microbes being present at the oil-brine interphase. These findings suggest that stimulation of indigenous microbial growth by addition of molasses has potential as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) strategy in North Sea oil reservoirs.

  2. Production of microbial rhamnolipid by Pseudomonas aeruginosa MM1011 for ex situ enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amani, Hossein; Müller, Markus Michael; Syldatk, Christoph; Hausmann, Rudolf

    2013-07-01

    Recently, several investigations have been carried out on the in situ bacteria flooding, but the ex situ biosurfactant production and addition to the sand pack as agents for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) has little been studied. In order to develop suitable technology for ex situ MEOR processes, it is essential to carry out tests about it. Therefore, this work tries to fill the gap. The intention of this study was to investigate whether the rhamnolipid mix could be produced in high enough quantities for enhanced oil recovery in the laboratory scale and prove its potential use as an effective material for field application. In this work, the ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa MM1011 to grow and produce rhamnolipid on sunflower as sole carbon source under nitrogen limitation was shown. The production of Rha-C10-C10 and Rha2-C10-C10 was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The rhamnolipid mixture obtained was able to reduce the surface and interfacial tension of water to 26 and 2 mN/m, respectively. The critical micelle concentration was 120 mg/L. Maximum rhamnolipid production reached to about 0.7 g/L in a shake flask. The yield of rhamnolipid per biomass (Y RL/x ), rhamnolipid per sunflower oil (Y RL/s ), and the biomass per sunflower oil (Y x/s ) for shake flask were obtained about 0.01, 0.0035, and 0.035 g g(-1), respectively. The stability of the rhamnolipid at different salinities, pH and temperature, and also, its emulsifying activity has been investigated. It is an effective surfactant at very low concentrations over a wide range of temperatures, pHs, and salt concentrations, and it also has the ability to emulsify oil, which is essential for enhanced oil recovery. With 120 mg/L rhamnolipid, 27 % of original oil in place was recovered after water flooding from a sand pack. This result not only suggests rhamnolipids as appropriate model biosurfactants for MEOR, but it even shows the potential as a

  3. Corexit 9500 Enhances Oil Biodegradation and Changes Active Bacterial Community Structure of Oil-Enriched Microcosms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Techtmann, Stephen M; Zhuang, Mobing; Campo, Pablo; Holder, Edith; Elk, Michael; Hazen, Terry C; Conmy, Robyn; Santo Domingo, Jorge W

    2017-05-15

    To better understand the impacts of Corexit 9500 on the structure and activity levels of hydrocarbon-degrading microbial communities, we analyzed next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing libraries of hydrocarbon enrichments grown at 5 and 25°C using both DNA and RNA extracts as the sequencing templates. Oil biodegradation patterns in both 5 and 25°C enrichments were consistent with those reported in the literature (i.e., aliphatics were degraded faster than aromatics). Slight increases in biodegradation were observed in the presence of Corexit at both temperatures. Differences in community structure were observed between treatment conditions in the DNA-based libraries. The 25°C consortia were dominated by Vibrio , Idiomarina , Marinobacter , Alcanivorax , and Thalassospira species, while the 5°C consortia were dominated by several species of the genera Flavobacterium , Alcanivorax , and Oleispira Most of these genera have been linked to hydrocarbon degradation and have been observed after oil spills. Colwellia and Cycloclasticus , known aromatic degraders, were also found in these enrichments. The addition of Corexit did not have an effect on the active bacterial community structure of the 5°C consortia, while at 25°C, a decrease in the relative abundance of Marinobacter was observed. At 25°C, Thalassospira , Marinobacter , and Idiomarina were present at higher relative abundances in the RNA than DNA libraries, suggesting that they were active in degradation. Similarly, Oleispira was greatly stimulated by the addition of oil at 5°C. IMPORTANCE While dispersants such as Corexit 9500 can be used to treat oil spills, there is still debate on the effectiveness on enhancing oil biodegradation and its potential toxic effect on oil-degrading microbial communities. The results of this study provide some insights on the microbial dynamics of hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial populations in the presence of Corexit 9500. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) analyses

  4. CO2 in Alberta - a vision of the future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edwards, K.

    1999-01-01

    The potential to develop a province-wide infrastructure for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) collection and transmission was discussed. The petroleum industry's original interest in CO 2 was its potential for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) for Alberta's depleted oil fields. However, new interest has stemmed from its perceived role in global climate change and the potentially negative business and economic implications of emitting CO 2 into the atmosphere. It was suggested that the development of a province wide infrastructure to collect CO 2 would address both interests. A simple screening of the reservoirs was carried out to determine if Alberta has the right oil reservoirs and sufficient CO 2 supplies to support a large-scale CO 2 infrastructure. The proposed infrastructure would consist of CO 2 supplies from electrical power generation plants, CO 2 trunklines, feeder pipelines to deliver CO 2 from the trunklines to the field and the oil reservoirs where the CO 2 would be injected. Such infrastructures already exist in Texas and Mexico where more than 1 billion scf per day of CO 2 is used for EOR. This study compared the factors leading to a large-scale CO 2 industry with factors in place during the 1970s and 1980s, when most of the hydrocarbon miscible floods were initiated in Alberta. It was concluded that the preliminary economics suggest that the concept has merit. 12 refs., 3 tabs., 9 figs

  5. Relevance of Linear Stability Results to Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Xueru; Daripa, Prabir

    2012-11-01

    How relevant can the results based on linear stability theory for any problem for that matter be to full scale simulation results? Put it differently, is the optimal design of a system based on linear stability results is optimal or even near optimal for the complex nonlinear system with certain objectives of interest in mind? We will address these issues in the context of enhanced oil recovery by chemical flooding. This will be based on an ongoing work. Supported by Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation).

  6. Integrated steam generation process and system for enhanced oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Betzer-Zilevitch, M. [Ex-Tar Technologies Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    A method of producing steam for the extraction of heavy bitumens was presented. The direct contact steam generation (DCSG) method is used for the direct heat transfer between combustion gas and contaminated liquid phase water to generate steam. This paper presented details of experimental and field studies conducted to demonstrate the DCSG. Results of the study demonstrated that pressure and temperature are positively correlated. As pressure increases, the flow rate of the discharged mass decreases and the steam ratio decreases. As pressure increases, the condensate and distillate flow rates increases while water vapor losses in the non-condensable gases decrease. The study indicated that for a 10 bar pressurized system producing 9.6 mt per hour of 10,000 kpa steam and 9.6 mt per hour of distillate BFW, 70 percent of the combustion energy should be recovered to generate 10,000 kpa pressure steam for EOR. Combustion energy requirements were found to decrease when pressure decreases. 11 refs., 5 tabs., 8 figs.

  7. A coconut oil-rich meal does not enhance thermogenesis compared to corn oil in a randomized trial in obese adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaBarrie, Janna; St-Onge, Marie-Pierre

    2017-01-01

    Consumption of medium chain triglycerides (MCT) in overweight adults increases thermogenesis and improves weight management. Coconut oil is a rich natural source of MCT, but its thermogenic effect is unknown. Our study evaluated the effects of a test oil enriched in coconut oil, on energy expenditure, satiety, and metabolic markers in a randomized, double blind, cross-over study. Fifteen children, age 13-18 years, body mass index >85th percentile for age and sex, were enrolled. Two test meals, containing 20 g of fat from either corn oil or a coconut oil-enriched baking fat (1.1 g of fatty acids with chain lengths ≤ 10C), were administered. A fasting blood sample was taken before breakfast and at 30, 45, 60, 120, and 180 min post-meal for measurement of metabolites. Thermic effect of food (TEF) was assessed over 6 h using indirect calorimetry. Satiety was measured using visual analog scales (VAS). There was no significant effect of fat type, time, or fat type × time interaction on TEF, appetite/satiety, glucose, and insulin area under the curve. There was a significant effect of fat type on leptin (P=0.027), triglycerides (P=0.020) and peptide YY (P=0.0085); leptin and triglyceride concentrations were lower and peptide YY concentrations were higher with corn oil consumption. A coconut oil-enriched baking fat does not enhance thermogenesis and satiety in children. Given that this is the only current study of its kind, more research is needed into the use of coconut oil as a tool in weight management in overweight and obese children.

  8. Towards the understanding of microbial metabolism in relation to microbial enhanced oil recovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halim, Amalia Yunita; Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Nielsen, Kristian Fog

    2017-01-01

    In this study, Bacillus licheniformis 421 was used as a model organism to understand the effects of microbial cell growth and metabolite production under anaerobic conditions in relation to microbial enhanced oil recovery. The bacterium was able to grow anaerobically on different carbon compounds...

  9. Considering economic and geological uncertainty in the simulation of realistic investment decisions for CO2-EOR projects in the North Sea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Welkenhuysen, Kris; Rupert, Jort; Compernolle, Tine; Ramirez, Andrea|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/284852414; Swennen, Rudy; Piessens, Kris

    2017-01-01

    The use of anthropogenic CO2 for enhancing oil recovery from mature oil fields in the North Sea has several potential benefits, and a number of assessments have been conducted. It remains, however, difficult to realistically simulate the economic circumstances and decisions, while including the

  10. Assessment of microorganisms from Indonesian Oil Fields

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kadarwati, S.; Udiharto, M.; Rahman, M.; Jasjfi, E.; Legowo, E.H. [Research and Development Centre for Oil and Gas Technology LEMIGAS, Jakarta Selatan (Indonesia)

    1995-12-31

    Petroleum resources have been the mainstay of the national development in Indonesia. However, resources are being depleted after over a century of exploitation, while the demand continues to grow with the rapid economic development of the country. In facing the problem, EOR has been applied in Indonesia, such as the steamflooding project in Duri field, but a more energy efficient technology would be preferable. Therefore, MEOR has been recommended as a promising solution. Our study, aimed at finding indigenous microorganisms which can be developed for application in MEOR, has isolated microbes from some oil fields of Indonesia. These microorganisms have been identified, their activities studied, and the effects of their metabolisms examined. This paper describes the research carried out by LEMIGAS in this respect, giving details on the methods of sampling, incubation, identification, and activation of the microbes as well as tests on the effects of their metabolites, with particular attention to those with potential for application in MEOR.

  11. Investigation of the Gas Injection Effect on Asphaltene Onset Precipitation Using the Cubic-Plus-Association Equation of State

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arya, Alay; von Solms, Nicolas; Kontogeorgis, Georgios M.

    2016-01-01

    Miscible and immiscible gas flooding is one of the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques that has been widely used to increase the oil production. One of the critical problems with gas flooding is that it generally aggravates the asphaltene precipitation, which further creates a flow assurance...... dependency upon the saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes (SARA) analysis or molecular weight (MW) of asphaltene is also analyzed. In addition, a unique characteristic of the model for the given stock tank oil (STO) is identified, which does not change with different types and amounts of gas...... injections and also remains the same at upper and lower onset pressure boundaries. On the basis of this unique characteristic, a simple procedure to predict asphaltene phase envelope (APE) for the reservoir oil with relatively simple and few experimental data, performed on STO with n...

  12. Microbial enhanced heavy oil recovery by the aid of inhabitant spore-forming bacteria: an insight review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibulal, Biji; Al-Bahry, Saif N; Al-Wahaibi, Yahya M; Elshafie, Abdulkader E; Al-Bemani, Ali S; Joshi, Sanket J

    2014-01-01

    Crude oil is the major source of energy worldwide being exploited as a source of economy, including Oman. As the price of crude oil increases and crude oil reserves collapse, exploitation of oil resources in mature reservoirs is essential for meeting future energy demands. As conventional recovery methods currently used have become less efficient for the needs, there is a continuous demand of developing a new technology which helps in the upgradation of heavy crude oil. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is an important tertiary oil recovery method which is cost-effective and eco-friendly technology to drive the residual oil trapped in the reservoirs. The potential of microorganisms to degrade heavy crude oil to reduce viscosity is considered to be very effective in MEOR. Earlier studies of MEOR (1950s) were based on three broad areas: injection, dispersion, and propagation of microorganisms in petroleum reservoirs; selective degradation of oil components to improve flow characteristics; and production of metabolites by microorganisms and their effects. Since thermophilic spore-forming bacteria can thrive in very extreme conditions in oil reservoirs, they are the most suitable organisms for the purpose. This paper contains the review of work done with thermophilic spore-forming bacteria by different researchers.

  13. Microbial Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery by the Aid of Inhabitant Spore-Forming Bacteria: An Insight Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Biji Shibulal

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Crude oil is the major source of energy worldwide being exploited as a source of economy, including Oman. As the price of crude oil increases and crude oil reserves collapse, exploitation of oil resources in mature reservoirs is essential for meeting future energy demands. As conventional recovery methods currently used have become less efficient for the needs, there is a continuous demand of developing a new technology which helps in the upgradation of heavy crude oil. Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR is an important tertiary oil recovery method which is cost-effective and eco-friendly technology to drive the residual oil trapped in the reservoirs. The potential of microorganisms to degrade heavy crude oil to reduce viscosity is considered to be very effective in MEOR. Earlier studies of MEOR (1950s were based on three broad areas: injection, dispersion, and propagation of microorganisms in petroleum reservoirs; selective degradation of oil components to improve flow characteristics; and production of metabolites by microorganisms and their effects. Since thermophilic spore-forming bacteria can thrive in very extreme conditions in oil reservoirs, they are the most suitable organisms for the purpose. This paper contains the review of work done with thermophilic spore-forming bacteria by different researchers.

  14. Basic properties of crude rubber seed oil and crude palm oil blend as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production with enhanced cold flow characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yusup, Suzana; Khan, Modhar [Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia)

    2010-10-15

    Research and development in the field of biodiesel showed that fatty acid methyl esters synthesized from agriculture or animal oils and fats, which exhibit qualifying properties, can replace diesel fuel used in internal combustion engine. However, the industry had some downfall recently with the fluctuating prices of edible oils and increasing demand for nutritional needs. Crude rubber seed oil (CRSO) and crude palm oil (CPO) were used in this study since both can be extracted and produced locally in Malaysia from their abundant plantations. The benefits of introducing such blend are that CRSO is considered a non-edible feedstock with no major industrial utilizations that has the potential to reduce the usage of CPO in biodiesel industry and was found to enhance the cold flow characteristics when blended with CPO by reducing the saturated fatty acids in the feedstock. The oils and blends were characterized for density, kinematic viscosity, heating value, acid value, free fatty acid content, refractive index, mono-, di- and triglycerides and sulphur content. Fatty acids composition and iodine value were established for an equivolume blend of the oils. (author)

  15. Basic properties of crude rubber seed oil and crude palm oil blend as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production with enhanced cold flow characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yusup, Suzana; Khan, Modhar

    2010-01-01

    Research and development in the field of biodiesel showed that fatty acid methyl esters synthesized from agriculture or animal oils and fats, which exhibit qualifying properties, can replace diesel fuel used in internal combustion engine. However, the industry had some downfall recently with the fluctuating prices of edible oils and increasing demand for nutritional needs. Crude rubber seed oil (CRSO) and crude palm oil (CPO) were used in this study since both can be extracted and produced locally in Malaysia from their abundant plantations. The benefits of introducing such blend are that CRSO is considered a non-edible feedstock with no major industrial utilizations that has the potential to reduce the usage of CPO in biodiesel industry and was found to enhance the cold flow characteristics when blended with CPO by reducing the saturated fatty acids in the feedstock. The oils and blends were characterized for density, kinematic viscosity, heating value, acid value, free fatty acid content, refractive index, mono-, di- and triglycerides and sulphur content. Fatty acids composition and iodine value were established for an equivolume blend of the oils.

  16. Viscous fingering and channeling in chemical enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daripa, Prabir; Dutta, Sourav

    2017-11-01

    We have developed a hybrid numerical method based on discontinuous finite element method and modified method of characteristics to compute the multiphase multicomponent fluid flow in porous media in the context of chemical enhanced oil recovery. We use this method to study the effect of various chemical components on the viscous fingering and channeling in rectilinear and radial flow configurations. We will also discuss about the efficiency of various flooding schemes based on these understandings. Time permitting, we will discuss about the effect of variable injection rates in these practical setting. U.S. National Science Foundation Grant DMS-1522782.

  17. Microfluidic diffusivity meter: a tool to optimize CO2 driven enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puneeth, S. B.; Kim, Young Ho; Goel, Sanket

    2017-02-01

    As the energy demands continue to swell with growing population and there persists a lack of unexploited oilfields, the prime focus of any nation would be to maximize the oil recovery factor from existing oil fields. CO2-Enhanced oil recovery is a process to improve the recovery of crude oil from an oil field and works at high pressure and in very deep conditions. CO2 and oil are miscible at high pressure, resulting in low viscosity and oil swells. This swelling can be measured based on mathematical calculations in real time and correlated with the CO2 concentration. This process has myriad advantages over its counterparts which include being able to harness oil trapped in reservoirs besides being cheaper and more efficient. A Diffusivity meter is inevitable in the measurement of the diffusion co-efficient of two samples. Diffusivity meters currently available in the market are weighed down by disadvantages like the requirement of large samples for testing, high cost and complexity. This elicits the need for a Microfluidic based diffusivity meter capable of analyzing Nano-liter sample volumes besides being more precise and affordable. The scope of this work involves the design and development of a Microfluidic robust and inexpensive prototype diffusivity meter using a capillary tube and endorsing its performance by comparison of results with known diffusivity range and supervision of the results with an electronic microscope coupled to PC and Data Acquisition System. The prototype produced at the end of the work is expected to outweigh disadvantages in existing products in terms of sample size, efficiency and time saving.

  18. SOVENT BASED ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY FOR IN-SITU UPGRADING OF HEAVY OIL SANDS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Munroe, Norman

    2009-01-30

    With the depletion of conventional crude oil reserves in the world, heavy oil and bitumen resources have great potential to meet the future demand for petroleum products. However, oil recovery from heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs is much more difficult than that from conventional oil reservoirs. This is mainly because heavy oil or bitumen is partially or completely immobile under reservoir conditions due to its extremely high viscosity, which creates special production challenges. In order to overcome these challenges significant efforts were devoted by Applied Research Center (ARC) at Florida International University and The Center for Energy Economics (CEE) at the University of Texas. A simplified model was developed to assess the density of the upgraded crude depending on the ratio of solvent mass to crude oil mass, temperature, pressure and the properties of the crude oil. The simplified model incorporated the interaction dynamics into a homogeneous, porous heavy oil reservoir to simulate the dispersion and concentration of injected CO2. The model also incorporated the characteristic of a highly varying CO2 density near the critical point. Since the major challenge in heavy oil recovery is its high viscosity, most researchers have focused their investigations on this parameter in the laboratory as well as in the field resulting in disparaging results. This was attributed to oil being a complex poly-disperse blend of light and heavy paraffins, aromatics, resins and asphaltenes, which have diverse behaviors at reservoir temperature and pressures. The situation is exacerbated by a dearth of experimental data on gas diffusion coefficients in heavy oils due to the tedious nature of diffusivity measurements. Ultimately, the viscosity and thus oil recovery is regulated by pressure and its effect on the diffusion coefficient and oil swelling factors. The generation of a new phase within the crude and the differences in mobility between the new crude matrix and the

  19. Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dandina N. Rao; Subhash C. Ayirala; Madhav M. Kulkarni; Wagirin Ruiz Paidin; Thaer N. N. Mahmoud; Daryl S. Sequeira; Amit P. Sharma

    2006-09-30

    This is the final report describing the evolution of the project ''Development and Optimization of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage (GAGD) Process for Improved Light Oil Recovery'' from its conceptual stage in 2002 to the field implementation of the developed technology in 2006. This comprehensive report includes all the experimental research, models developments, analyses of results, salient conclusions and the technology transfer efforts. As planned in the original proposal, the project has been conducted in three separate and concurrent tasks: Task 1 involved a physical model study of the new GAGD process, Task 2 was aimed at further developing the vanishing interfacial tension (VIT) technique for gas-oil miscibility determination, and Task 3 was directed at determining multiphase gas-oil drainage and displacement characteristics in reservoir rocks at realistic pressures and temperatures. The project started with the task of recruiting well-qualified graduate research assistants. After collecting and reviewing the literature on different aspects of the project such gas injection EOR, gravity drainage, miscibility characterization, and gas-oil displacement characteristics in porous media, research plans were developed for the experimental work to be conducted under each of the three tasks. Based on the literature review and dimensional analysis, preliminary criteria were developed for the design of the partially-scaled physical model. Additionally, the need for a separate transparent model for visual observation and verification of the displacement and drainage behavior under gas-assisted gravity drainage was identified. Various materials and methods (ceramic porous material, Stucco, Portland cement, sintered glass beads) were attempted in order to fabricate a satisfactory visual model. In addition to proving the effectiveness of the GAGD process (through measured oil recoveries in the range of 65 to 87% IOIP), the visual models demonstrated

  20. Dynamic investigation of nutrient consumption and injection strategy in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) by means of large-scale experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Zhiyong; Zhu, Weiyao; Sun, Gangzheng; Blanckaert, Koen

    2015-08-01

    Microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) depends on the in situ microbial activity to release trapped oil in reservoirs. In practice, undesired consumption is a universal phenomenon but cannot be observed effectively in small-scale physical simulations due to the scale effect. The present paper investigates the dynamics of oil recovery, biomass and nutrient consumption in a series of flooding experiments in a dedicated large-scale sand-pack column. First, control experiments of nutrient transportation with and without microbial consumption were conducted, which characterized the nutrient loss during transportation. Then, a standard microbial flooding experiment was performed recovering additional oil (4.9 % Original Oil in Place, OOIP), during which microbial activity mostly occurred upstream, where oil saturation declined earlier and steeper than downstream in the column. Subsequently, more oil remained downstream due to nutrient shortage. Finally, further research was conducted to enhance the ultimate recovery by optimizing the injection strategy. An extra 3.5 % OOIP was recovered when the nutrients were injected in the middle of the column, and another additional 11.9 % OOIP were recovered by altering the timing of nutrient injection.

  1. Off-shore enhanced oil recovery in the North Sea : The impact of price uncertainty on the investment decisions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Compernolle, T.; K, Welkenhuysen,; Huisman, Kuno; K, Piessens,; Kort, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Although CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) is considered a key solution for CO2 emission mitigation, it is currently not economically feasible. CO2 enhanced oil recovery can play a significant role in stimulating CCS deployment because CO2 is used to extract additional quantities of oil. This study

  2. Survey on efficient linear solvers for porous media flow models on recent hardware architectures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anciaux-Sedrakian, Ani; Gratien, Jean-Marc; Guignon, Thomas; Gottschling, Peter

    2014-01-01

    In the past few years, High Performance Computing (HPC) technologies led to General Purpose Processing on Graphics Processing Units (GPGPU) and many-core architectures. These emerging technologies offer massive processing units and are interesting for porous media flow simulators may used for CO 2 geological sequestration or Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) simulation. However the crucial point is 'are current algorithms and software able to use these new technologies efficiently?' The resolution of large sparse linear systems, almost ill-conditioned, constitutes the most CPU-consuming part of such simulators. This paper proposes a survey on various solver and pre-conditioner algorithms, analyzes their efficiency and performance regarding these distinct architectures. Furthermore it proposes a novel approach based on a hybrid programming model for both GPU and many-core clusters. The proposed optimization techniques are validated through a Krylov subspace solver; BiCGStab and some pre-conditioners like ILU0 on GPU, multi-core and many-core architectures, on various large real study cases in EOR simulation. (authors)

  3. Mesoporous PtSnO2/C Catalyst with Enhanced Catalytic Activity for Ethanol Electro-oxidation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siyu Chen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we report the synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical evaluation of a mesoporous PtSnO2/C catalyst, called PtSnO2(M/C, with a nominal Pt : Sn ratio of 3 : 1. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller and transmission electron microscopy characterizations showed the obvious mesoporous structure of SnO2 in PtSnO2(M/C catalyst. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis exhibited the interaction between Pt and mesoporous SnO2. Compared with Pt/C and commercial PtSnO2/C catalysts, PtSnO2(M/C catalyst has a lower active site, but higher catalytic activity for ethanol electro-oxidation reaction (EOR. The enhanced activity could be attributed to Pt nanoparticles deposited on mesoporous SnO2 that could decrease the amount of poisonous intermediates produced during EOR by the interaction between Pt and mesoporous SnO2.

  4. Magnetic enhancement caused by hydrocarbon migration in the Mawangmiao Oil Field, Jianghan Basin, China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Qingsheng; Yang, Tao [Department of Geophysics, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074 (China); Liu, Qingsong [National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH (United Kingdom); Chan, Lungsang [Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong (China); Xia, Xianghua; Cheng, Tongjin [Wuxi Institute of Petroleum Geology, SNOPEC, Jiangsu Wuxi 214151 (China)

    2006-08-15

    Magnetic parameters (volume-specific susceptibility k, and hysteresis parameters and ratios) of 47 samples, collected from an oil-producing well (M{sub 36}) and a dry well (M{sub 46}) from the oil-bearing II-You Formation of Paleogene Xingouzui Group in the Mawangmiao Oil Field in China, were measured to address the secondary alteration of iron-bearing minerals associated with hydrocarbon migration. Our results indicated that both k and magnetization (saturation magnetization J{sub s} and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization J{sub rs}) of oil-bearing formation have been dramatically enhanced. Further grain size estimation reveals that the background samples (samples both in M{sub 46} and outside the oil-bearing formation in M{sub 36}) contain coarser-grained magnetic particles (circa 30{mu}m) of detrital origin. In contrast, the alteration of hydrocarbon produces finer-grained (circa 25nm) magnetic particles. The new constraints on grain sizes and its origin of the hydrocarbon-related magnetic particles improve our understanding of the mechanism of formation of these secondary finer-grained particles, even though the precise nature of this process is still unknown. (author)

  5. Investigation of spore forming bacterial flooding for enhanced oil recovery in a North Sea chalk Reservoir

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halim, Amalia Yunita; Nielsen, Sidsel Marie; Eliasson Lantz, Anna

    2015-01-01

    Little has been done to study microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) in chalk reservoirs. The present study focuses on core flooding experiments designed to see microbial plugging and its effect on oil recovery. A pressure tapped core holder was used for this purpose. A spore forming bacteria...... Bacillus licheniformis 421 was used as it was shown to be a good candidate in a previous study. Bacterial spore can penetrate deeper into the chalk rock, squeezing through the pore throats. Our results showed that injection of B. licheniformis 421 as a tertiary oil recovery method, in the residual oil...... saturation state, was able to produce additionally 1.0-2.3% original oil in place (OOIP) in homogeneous cores and 6.9-8.8% OOIP in heterogeneous cores. In addition, the pressure gradient was much higher in the heterogeneous cores, which confirms that bacterial selective plugging plays an important role...

  6. Experimental studies on the enhanced performance of lightweight oil recovery using a combined electrocoagulation and magnetic field processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yang; Yang, Jie; Jiang, Wenming; Chen, Yimei; Yang, Chaojiang; Wang, Tianyu; Li, Yuxing

    2018-08-01

    On marine oil spill, inflammable lightweight oil has characteristics of explosion risk and contamination of marine enviroment, therefore treatment of stable emulsion with micron oil droplets is urgent. This study aimed to propose a combined electrocoagulation and magnetic field processes to enhance performance of lightweight oil recovery with lower energy consumption. The effects of current density, electrolysis time, strength and direction of magnetic field on the overall treatment efficiency of the reactor were explored. Furthermore, the comparison between coupling device and only electrocoagulation through tracking oil removal in nine regions between the electrodes. The results were shown that the permanent magnets applied was found to enhance demulsification process within electrocoagulation reactor. For a given current density of 60 A m -2 at 16 min, Lorentz force downward was proved to promote the sedimentation of coagulants. As the magnetic field strength increases from 20 to 60 mT, oil removal efficiency was observed to increase and then decrease, and simultaneously energy consumption reduced and then present constantly. The results were found that the magnetic field strength of 40 mT was optimal within electrocoagulation reactor, which can not only diminishe difference of mass transfer rate along the height of vertical plate but also consume lowest energy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Impact of an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery field trial on microbial community structure in a high pour-point oil reservoir

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Fan; Zhang, Xiao-Tao; Hou, Du-Jie [China Univ. of Geosciences, Beijing (China). The Key Lab. of Marine Reservoir Evolution and Hydrocarbon Accumulation Mechanism; She, Yue-Hui [Yangtze Univ., Jingzhou, Hubei (China). College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering; Huazhong Univ. of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China). College of Life Science and Technology; Li, Hua-Min [Beijing Bioscience Research Center (China); Shu, Fu-Chang; Wang, Zheng-Liang [Yangtze Univ., Jingzhou, Hubei (China). College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering; Yu, Long-Jiang [Huazhong Univ. of Science and Technology, Wuhan (China). College of Life Science and Technology

    2012-08-15

    Based on preliminary investigation of microbial populations in a high pour-point oil reservoir, an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) field trial was carried out. The purpose of the study is to reveal the impact of the indigenous MEOR process on microbial community structure in the oil reservoir using 16Sr DNA clone library technique. The detailed monitoring results showed significant response of microbial communities during the field trial and large discrepancies of stimulated microorganisms in the laboratory and in the natural oil reservoir. More specifically, after nutrients injection, the original dominant populations of Petrobacter and Alishewanella in the production wells almost disappeared. The expected desirable population of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, determined by enrichment experiments in laboratory, was stimulated successfully in two wells of the five monitored wells. Unexpectedly, another potential population of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes which were not detected in the enrichment culture in laboratory was stimulated in the other three monitored production wells. In this study, monitoring of microbial community displayed a comprehensive alteration of microbial populations during the field trial to remedy the deficiency of culture-dependent monitoring methods. The results would help to develop and apply more MEOR processes. (orig.)

  8. Impact of an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery field trial on microbial community structure in a high pour-point oil reservoir.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fan; She, Yue-Hui; Li, Hua-Min; Zhang, Xiao-Tao; Shu, Fu-Chang; Wang, Zheng-Liang; Yu, Long-Jiang; Hou, Du-Jie

    2012-08-01

    Based on preliminary investigation of microbial populations in a high pour-point oil reservoir, an indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) field trial was carried out. The purpose of the study is to reveal the impact of the indigenous MEOR process on microbial community structure in the oil reservoir using 16Sr DNA clone library technique. The detailed monitoring results showed significant response of microbial communities during the field trial and large discrepancies of stimulated microorganisms in the laboratory and in the natural oil reservoir. More specifically, after nutrients injection, the original dominant populations of Petrobacter and Alishewanella in the production wells almost disappeared. The expected desirable population of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, determined by enrichment experiments in laboratory, was stimulated successfully in two wells of the five monitored wells. Unexpectedly, another potential population of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes which were not detected in the enrichment culture in laboratory was stimulated in the other three monitored production wells. In this study, monitoring of microbial community displayed a comprehensive alteration of microbial populations during the field trial to remedy the deficiency of culture-dependent monitoring methods. The results would help to develop and apply more MEOR processes.

  9. Modeling CO2 Sequestration in Saline Aquifer and Depleted Oil Reservoir To Evaluate Regional CO2 Sequestration Potential of Ozark Plateau Aquifer System, South-Central Kansas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watney, W. Lynn [University Of Kansas Center For Research, Inc. Lawrence, KS (United States); Rush, Jason [University Of Kansas Center For Research, Inc. Lawrence, KS (United States); Raney, Jennifer [University Of Kansas Center For Research, Inc. Lawrence, KS (United States)

    2014-09-30

    1. Drilled, cored, and logged three wells to the basement and collecting more than 2,700 ft of conventional core; obtained 20 mi2 of multicomponent 3D seismic imaging and merged and reprocessed more than 125 mi2 of existing 3D seismic data for use in modeling CO2- EOR oil recovery and CO2 storage in five oil fields in southern Kansas. 2. Determined the technical feasibility of injecting and sequestering CO2 in a set of four depleted oil reservoirs in the Cutter, Pleasant Prairie South, Eubank, and Shuck fields in southwest Kansas; of concurrently recovering oil from those fields; and of quantifying the volumes of CO2 sequestered and oil recovered during the process. 3. Formed a consortium of six oil operating companies, five of which own and operate the four fields. The consortium became part of the Southwest Kansas CO2-EOR Initiative for the purpose of sharing data, knowledge, and interest in understanding the potential for CO2-EOR in Kansas. 4. Built a regional well database covering 30,000 mi2 and containing stratigraphic tops from ~90,000 wells; correlated 30 major stratigraphic horizons; digitized key wells, including wireline logs and sample logs; and analyzed more than 3,000 drill stem tests to establish that fluid levels in deep aquifers below the Permian evaporites are not connected to the surface and therefore pressures are not hydrostatic. Connectivity with the surface aquifers is lacking because shale aquitards and impermeable evaporite layers consist of both halite and anhydrite. 5. Developed extensive web applications and an interactive mapping system that do the following: a. Facilitate access to a wide array of data obtained in the study, including core descriptions and analyses, sample logs, digital (LAS) well logs, seismic data, gravity and magnetics maps, structural and stratigraphic maps, inferred fault traces, earthquakes, Class I and II disposal wells, and

  10. Modeling CO2 Sequestration in Saline Aquifer and Depleted Oil Reservoir To Evaluate Regional CO2 Sequestration Potential of Ozark Plateau Aquifer System, South-Central Kansas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watney, W. Lynn [University Of Kansas Center For Research, Inc. Lawrence, KS (United States)

    2014-09-30

    1. Drilled, cored, and logged three wells to the basement and collecting more than 2,700 ft of conventional core; obtained 20 mi2 of multicomponent 3D seismic imaging and merged and reprocessed more than 125 mi2 of existing 3D seismic data for use in modeling CO2- EOR oil recovery and CO2 storage in five oil fields in southern Kansas. 2. Determined the technical feasibility of injecting and sequestering CO2 in a set of four depleted oil reservoirs in the Cutter, Pleasant Prairie South, Eubank, and Shuck fields in southwest Kansas; of concurrently recovering oil from those fields; and of quantifying the volumes of CO2 sequestered and oil recovered during the process. 3. Formed a consortium of six oil operating companies, five of which own and operate the four fields. The consortium became part of the Southwest Kansas CO2-EOR Initiative for the purpose of sharing data, knowledge, and interest in understanding the potential for CO2-EOR in Kansas. 4. Built a regional well database covering 30,000 mi2 and containing stratigraphic tops from ~90,000 wells; correlated 30 major stratigraphic horizons; digitized key wells, including wireline logs and sample logs; and analyzed more than 3,000 drill stem tests to establish that fluid levels in deep aquifers below the Permian evaporites are not connected to the surface and therefore pressures are not hydrostatic. Connectivity with the surface aquifers is lacking because shale aquitards and impermeable evaporite layers consist of both halite and anhydrite. 5. Developed extensive web applications and an interactive mapping system that do the following: a. Facilitate access to a wide array of data obtained in the study, including core descriptions and analyses, sample logs, digital (LAS) well logs, seismic data, gravity and magnetics maps, structural and stratigraphic maps, inferred fault traces, earthquakes, Class I and II disposal wells, and

  11. Enhancement of anti-cholinesterase activity of Zingiber cassumunar essential oil using a microemulsion technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okonogi, S; Chaiyana, W

    2012-10-01

    The aim of the present study was to enhance the cholinesterase inhibitory activity of Zingiber cassumunar (ZC) oil using a microemulsion (ME) technique. Pseudoternary phase diagrams of the oil, water, and surfactant/co-surfactant mixture were constructed using a water titration method. Effects of co-surfactant, surfactant/co-surfactant ratio, ionic strength, and pH were examined by means of the microemulsion region which existed in the phase diagrams. The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) were tested by Ellman's colorimetric assay. It was found that ZC oil possesses inhibitory activity against not only AChE but also BChE. Formulation of ZC oil as ME revealed that alkyl chain length and number of hydroxyl groups of co-surfactant exhibited a remarkable effect on the pseudoternary phase diagram. Longer alkyl chains and more hydroxyl groups gave smaller regions of MEs. Ionic strength also affected the ME region. However, the phase behavior was hardly influenced by pH. The suitable ZC oil ME was composed of Triton X-114 in combination with propylene glycol. The anti-cholinesterase activity of this ME was much higher than that of native ZC oil. It exhibited twenty times and twenty five times higher inhibitory activity against AChE and BChE, respectively. ZC oil loaded ME is an attractive formulation for further characterization and an in vivo study in an animal model with Alzheimer's disease.

  12. Enhancement of biodegradation of crude petroleum-oil in contaminated water by the addition of nitrogen sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukred, A M; Hamid, A A; Hamzah, A; Yusoff, W M Wan

    2008-09-01

    Addition of nitrogen sources as supplementary nutrient into MSM medium to enhance biodegradation by stimulating the growth four isolates, Acinetobacter faecalis, Staphylococcus sp., Pseudomonas putida and Neisseria elongata isolated from petroleum contaminated groundwater, wastewater aeration pond and biopond at the oil refinery Terengganu Malaysia was investigated. The organic nitrogen sources tested not only supported growth but also enhances biodegradation of 1% Tapis crude oil. All four isolates showed good growth especially when peptone was employed as the organic nitrogen compared to growth in the basal medium. Gas chromatography showed that more then 91, 93, 94 and 95% degradation of total hydrocarbon was observed after 5 days of incubation by isolates Pseudomonas putida, Neisseria elongate, Acinetobacter faecalis and Staphylococcus sp., respectively.

  13. Subsurface Monitor for Dissolved Inorganic Carbon at Geological Sequestration Site Phase 1 SBIR Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheng Wu

    2012-08-03

    Phase I research of this SBIR contract has yielded anticipated results and enable us to develop a practical new instrument to measure the Dissolved Inorganic Carbons (DIC) as well as Supercritical (SC) CO2 in underground brine water at higher sensitivity, lower cost, higher frequency and longer period of time for the Monitoring, Verification & Accounting (MVA) of CO2 sequestration as well as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). We show that reduced cost and improved performance are possible; both future and emerging market exist for the proposed new instrument.

  14. Changes in Specific Surface as observed by NMR, caused by saturation of Chalk with porewater bearing divalent Ions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Katika, Konstantina; Addassi, Mouadh; Alam, Mohammad Monzurul

    2014-01-01

    Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometry has proved to be a good technique for determining the petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks; such as porosity and pore size distribution. We investigated how pore water rich in divalent ions affect the NMR signal from chalk with two different de......-to-volume ratio of the pore space. The results of this work could benefit the ongoing study on the optimization of the water composition for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods and shed light on how it can affect the mechanical and physical properties of the rock....

  15. Enhancement of Hydrodynamic Processes in Oil Pipelines Considering Rheologically Complex High-Viscosity Oils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konakhina, I. A.; Khusnutdinova, E. M.; Khamidullina, G. R.; Khamidullina, A. F.

    2016-06-01

    This paper describes a mathematical model of flow-related hydrodynamic processes for rheologically complex high-viscosity bitumen oil and oil-water suspensions and presents methods to improve the design and performance of oil pipelines.

  16. Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery - Advanced Reservoir Simulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Sidsel Marie

    the water phase. The biofilm formation implies that the concentration of bacteria near the inlet increases. In combination with surfactant production, the biofilm results in a higher surfactant concentration in the initial part of the reservoir. The oil that is initially bypassed in connection...... simulator. In the streamline simulator, the effect of gravity is introduced using an operator splitting technique. The gravity effect stabilizes oil displacement causing markedly improvement of the oil recovery, when the oil density becomes relatively low. The general characteristics found for MEOR in one......-dimensional simulations are also demonstrated both in two and three dimensions. Overall, this MEOR process conducted in a heterogeneous reservoir also produces more oil compared to waterflooding, when the simulations are run in multiple dimensions. The work presented in this thesis has resulted in two publications so far....

  17. Proficiency feasibility of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the presence of polymeric surfactant on enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nezhad, Javad Razavi; Jafari, Arezou; Abdollahi, Mahdi

    2018-01-01

    Enhanced heavy oil recovery methods are widely utilized to increase oil recovery. For this purpose, polymer and surfactant flooding have been used extensively. Recently, polymeric surfactant flooding has become an attractive alternative to sole polymer flooding due to their capability of providing an increase in solution viscosity and a decrease in interfacial tension, which are both beneficial for efficiency of the process. Applying nanoparticles as an additive to polymer solutions is a method to improve viscosity and alter rock wettability. Therefore, in this research, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was mixed with a polymeric surfactant of polyacrylamide-graft-lignin copolymer (PAM-g-L) synthesized via radical grafting reaction. Moreover, several solutions with different concentrations of nanoparticles with PAM-g-L were prepared. The solutions were injected into a micromodel to evaluate the PAM-g-L flooding efficiency in presence of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The results of micromodel flooding showed that increasing MWCNT concentration results in lower sweep efficiencies; and consequently, oil production will decrease. Therefore, MWCNT along with PAM-g-L has an unacceptable performance in enhanced heavy oil recovery. But data of wettability tests revealed that MWCNT can change the wettability from oil-wet to water-wet. In addition, the combination of the PAM-g-L and MWCNT in a solution will cause more water-wet condition.

  18. A study of energy consumption in turning process using lubrication of nanoparticles enhanced coconut oil (NECO)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansor, A. F.; Zakaria, M. S.; Azmi, A. I.; Khalil, A. N. M.; Musa, N. A.

    2017-10-01

    Cutting fluids play very important role in machining application in order to increase tool life, surface finish and reduce energy consumption. Instead of using petrochemical and synthetic based cutting fluids, vegetable oil based lubricants is safety for operators, environmental friendly and become more popular in the industrial applications. This research paper aims to find the advantage of using vegetable oils (coconut oil) with additional of nano particles (CuO) as lubricant to the energy consumption during machining process. The energy was measured for each run from 2 level factorial experimental layout. Obtained results illustrate that lubricant with enhancement of nanoparticles has capability to improve the energy consumption during the machining process.

  19. Prediction of the Gas Injection Effect on the Asphaltene Phase Envelope

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahrami Peyman

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Asphaltene instability may occur when pressure, temperature and compositional variations affect the reservoir oil. Permeability reduction, wettability alteration, and plugging of wells and flow lines are the consequences of this phenomenon. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the asphaltene behavior in different thermodynamic conditions by knowing the Asphaltene Precipitation Envelope (APE in a preventive way rather than the costly clean-up procedures. The selected reservoir oil has faced a remarkable decline in production due to several years of extraction, and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR has been considered as a solution. Therefore, in this paper, a comprehensive study was carried out to predict the effects of different injected gases on asphaltene onset and to prevent future asphaltene precipitation based on the laboratory data. The Advanced Redlich-Kwong-Soave (RKSA equation of state was considered to develop APE using Multiflash (Infochem Co.. For the selected reservoir oil, with temperature reduction at low temperatures, asphaltene precipitation weakened and made the onset pressure decrease, so this behavior is different from the results obtained in other published reports. On the basis of this model, several sensitivity analyses were performed with different gases (i.e., methane, CO2, N2 and associated gases to compare the risk of each gas for future EOR strategies. APE tend to expand as the amount of injected gases increases, except for CO2 gas injection, that showed another unconventional behavior for this crude oil. It was observed that for CO2 gas injection below a certain temperature, asphaltene stability increased, which can be considered as a good inhibitor of asphaltene precipitation.

  20. RNA interference of GhPEPC2 enhanced seed oil accumulation and salt tolerance in Upland cotton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yanpeng; Huang, Yi; Wang, Yumei; Cui, Yupeng; Liu, Zhengjie; Hua, Jinping

    2018-06-01

    Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase) mainly produces oxaloacetic acid for tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Here we reported that GhPEPC2 silencing with PEPC2-RNAi vector could regulate oil and protein accumulation in cottonseeds. In GhPEPC2 transgenic plants, PEPCase activities in immature embryos were significantly reduced, and the oil content in seed kernel was increased 7.3 percentages, whereas total proteins decreased 5.65 percentages. Compared to wild type, agronomical traits of transgenic plant were obviously unaffected. Furthermore, gene expression profile of GhPEPC2 transgenic seeds were investigated using RNA-seq, most lipid synthesis related genes were up-regulated, but amino acid metabolic related genes were down-regulated. In addition, the GhPEPC2 transgenic cotton seedlings were stressed using sodium salts at seedling stage, and the salt tolerance was significantly enhanced. Our observations of GhPEPC2 in cotton would shade light on understanding the regulation of oil content, protein accumulation and salt tolerance enhancement in other plants. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Integrating geologic and engineering data into 3-D reservoir models: an example from norman wells field, NWT, Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yose, L.A.

    2004-01-01

    A case study of the Norman Wells field will be presented to highlight the work-flow and data integration steps associated with characterization and modeling of a complex hydrocarbon reservoir. Norman Wells is a Devonian-age carbonate bank ('reef') located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, 60 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. The reservoir reaches a maximum thickness of 130 meters in the reef interior and thins toward the basin due to depositional pinch outs. Norman Wells is an oil reservoir and is currently under a 5-spot water injection scheme for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). EOR strategies require a detailed understanding of how reservoir flow units, flow barriers and flow baffles are distributed to optimize hydrocarbon sweep and recovery and to minimize water handling. Reservoir models are routinely used by industry to characterize the 3-D distribution of reservoir architecture (stratigraphic layers, depositional facies, faults) and rock properties (porosity. permeability). Reservoir models are validated by matching historical performance data (e.g., reservoir pressures, well production or injection rates). Geologic models are adjusted until they produce a history match, and model adjustments are focused on inputs that have the greatest geologic uncertainty. Flow simulation models are then used to optimize field development strategies and to forecast field performance under different development scenarios. (author)

  2. Profiling of Indigenous Microbial Community Dynamics and Metabolic Activity During Enrichment in Molasses-Supplemented Crude Oil-Brine Mixtures for Improved Understanding of Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halim, Amalia Yunita; Pedersen, Dorthe Skou; Nielsen, Sidsel Marie

    2015-01-01

    Anaerobic incubations using crude oil and brine from a North Sea reservoir were conducted to gain increased understanding of indigenous microbial community development, metabolite production, and the effects on the oil–brine system after addition of a complex carbon source, molasses, with or with...... of molasses has potential as microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) strategy in North Sea oil reservoirs.......Anaerobic incubations using crude oil and brine from a North Sea reservoir were conducted to gain increased understanding of indigenous microbial community development, metabolite production, and the effects on the oil–brine system after addition of a complex carbon source, molasses....... The microbial growth caused changes in the crude oil–brine system: formation of oil emulsions, and reduction of interfacial tension (IFT). Reduction in IFT was associated with microbes being present at the oil–brine interphase. These findings suggest that stimulation of indigenous microbial growth by addition...

  3. Percutaneous penetration enhancement effect of essential oil of mint (Mentha haplocalyx Briq. on Chinese herbal components with different lipophilicity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingyan Wang

    2014-10-01

    Conclusions: Mint oil at proper concentration could effectively facilitate percutaneous penetration of both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs, and exhibit higher efficiency for moderate hydrophilic drugs. Mechanisms of penetration enhancement by mint oil could be explained with saturation solubility, SC/vehicle partition coefficient and the secondary structure change of SC.

  4. Biodegradation of isopropanol and acetone under denitrifying conditions by Thauera sp. TK001 for nitrate-mediated microbially enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fida, Tekle Tafese; Gassara, Fatma; Voordouw, Gerrit

    2017-07-15

    Amendment of reservoir fluid with injected substrates can enhance the growth and activity of microbes. The present study used isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or acetone to enhance the indigenous anaerobic nitrate-reducing bacterium Thauera sp. TK001. The strain was able to grow on IPA or acetone and nitrate. To monitor effects of strain TK001 on oil recovery, sand-packed columns containing heavy oil were flooded with minimal medium at atmospheric or high (400psi) pressure. Bioreactors were then inoculated with 0.5 pore volume (PV) of minimal medium containing Thauera sp. TK001 with 25mM of acetone or 22.2mM of IPA with or without 80mM nitrate. Incubation without flow for two weeks and subsequent injection with minimal medium gave an additional 17.0±6.7% of residual oil in place (ROIP) from low-pressure bioreactors and an additional 18.3% of ROIP from the high-pressure bioreactors. These results indicate that acetone or IPA, which are commonly used organic solvents, are good substrates for nitrate-mediated microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR), comparable to glucose, acetate or molasses, tested previously. This technology may be used for coupling biodegradation of IPA and/or acetone in waste streams to MEOR where these waste streams are generated in close proximity to an oil field. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery and Wettability Research Program. Annual report, FY 1991

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bala, G.A.; Barrett, K.B.; Eastman, S.L.; Herd, M.D.; Jackson, J.D.; Robertson, E.P.; Thomas, C.P.

    1993-09-01

    This report covers research results for fiscal year 1991 for the Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) and Wettability Research Program conducted by EG&G Idaho, Inc. at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory ONEL) for the US Department of Energy Idaho Field Office (DOE-ID). The program is funded by the Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy, and managed by DOE-ID and the Bartlesville Project Office (BPO). The objectives of this multi-year program are to develop MEOR systems for application to reservoirs containing medium to heavy crude oils and to design and implement an industry cost-shared field demonstration project of the developed technology. An understanding of the controlling mechanisms will first be developed through the use of laboratory scale testing to determine the ability of microbially mediated processes to recover oil under reservoir conditions and to develop the design criteria for scale-up to the field. Concurrently with this work, the isolation and characterization of microbial species collected from various locations including target oil field environments is underway to develop more effective oil recovery systems for specific applications. Research focus includes the study of biogenic product and formation souring processes including mitigation and prevention. Souring research performed in FY 1991 also included the development of microsensor probe technology for the detection of total sulfide in collaboration with the Montana State University Center for Interfacial Microbial Process Engineering (CIMPE). Wettability research is a multi-year collaborative effort with the New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center (NMPRRC) at the New Mexico institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM to evaluate reservoir wettability and its effects on oil recovery. Results from the wettability research will be applied to determine if alteration of wettability is a significant contributing mechanism for MEOR systems.

  6. DEVELOPMENT OF MICROORGANISMS WITH IMPROVED TRANSPORT AND BIOSURFACTANT ACTIVITY FOR ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    M.J. McInerney; N. Youssef; T. Fincher; S.K. Maudgalya; M.J. Folmsbee; R. Knapp; D. Nagle

    2004-05-31

    Diverse microorganisms were screened for biosurfactant production and anaerobic growth at elevated salt concentrations to obtain candidates most suitable for microbial oil recovery. Seventy percent of the 205 strains tested, mostly strains of Bacillus mojavensis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus sonorensis, produced biosurfactants aerobically and 41% of the strains had biosurfactant activity greater than Bacillus mojavensis JF-2, the current candidate for oil recovery. Biosurfactant activity varied with the percentage of the 3-hydroxy-tetradecanoate isomers in the fatty acid portion of the biosurfactant. Changing the medium composition by incorporation of different precursors of 3-hydroxy tetradecanoate increased the activity of biosurfactant. The surface tension and critical micelle concentration of 15 different, biosurfactant-producing Bacillus strains was determined individually and in combination with other biosurfactants. Some biosurfactant mixtures were found to have synergistic effect on surface tension (e.g. surface tension was lowered from 41 to 31 mN/m in some cases) while others had a synergistic effect on CMD-1 values. We compared the transport abilities of spores from three Bacillus strains using a model porous system to study spore recovery and transport. Sand-packed columns were used to select for spores or cells with the best transport abilities through brine-saturated sand. Spores of Bacillus mojavensis strains JF-2 and ROB-2 and a natural recombinant, strain C-9, transported through sand at very high efficiencies. The earliest cells/spores that emerged from the column were re-grown, allowed to sporulate, and applied to a second column. This procedure greatly enhanced the transport of strain C-9. Spores with enhanced transport abilities can be easily obtained and that the preparation of inocula for use in MEOR is feasible. Tertiary oil recovery experiments showed that 10 to 40 mg/l of JF-2 biosurfactant in the presence of 0

  7. Support of enhanced oil recovery to independent producers in Texas. Quarterly technical progress report, July 1, 1995--September 30, 1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fotouh, K.H.

    1995-09-30

    The main objective of this project is to support independent oil producers in Texas and to improve the productivity of marginal wells utilizing enhanced oil recovery techniques. The main task carried out this quarter was the generation of an electronic data base.

  8. Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Micron-Size Polyacrylamide Elastic Microspheres (MPEMs): Underlying Mechanisms and Displacement Experiments

    KAUST Repository

    Yao, Chuanjin; Lei, Guanglun; Hou, Jian; Xu, Xiaohong; Wang, Dan; Steenhuis, Tammo S.

    2015-01-01

    Micron-size polyacrylamide elastic microsphere (MPEM) is a newly developed profile control and oil displacement agent for enhanced oil recovery in heterogeneous reservoirs. In this study, laboratory experiments were performed to characterize the viscoelastic properties of MPEMs in brine water. A transparent sandpack micromodel was used to observe the microscopic flow and displacement mechanisms, and parallel-sandpack models were used to investigate the profile control and oil displacement performance using MPEMs in heterogeneous reservoirs. The results indicate that MPEMs almost do not increase the viscosity of injection water and can be conveniently injected using the original water injection pipelines. The microscopic profile control and oil displacement mechanisms of MPEMs in porous media mainly behave as selective-plugging in large pores, fluid diversion after MPEMs plugging, oil drainage caused by MPEMs breakthrough, and the mechanism of oil droplets converging into oil flow. MPEMs have a high plugging strength, which can tolerate a long-term water flushing. MPEMs can selectively enter and plug the large pores and pore-throats in high permeability sandpack, but almost do not damage the low permeability sandpack. MPEMs can effectively divert the water flow from the high permeability sandpack to the low permeability sandpack and improve the sweep efficiency of low permeability sandpack and low permeability area in the high permeability sandpack. The results also confirm the dynamic process of profile control and oil displacement using MPEMs in heterogeneous reservoirs.

  9. Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Micron-Size Polyacrylamide Elastic Microspheres (MPEMs): Underlying Mechanisms and Displacement Experiments

    KAUST Repository

    Yao, Chuanjin

    2015-10-12

    Micron-size polyacrylamide elastic microsphere (MPEM) is a newly developed profile control and oil displacement agent for enhanced oil recovery in heterogeneous reservoirs. In this study, laboratory experiments were performed to characterize the viscoelastic properties of MPEMs in brine water. A transparent sandpack micromodel was used to observe the microscopic flow and displacement mechanisms, and parallel-sandpack models were used to investigate the profile control and oil displacement performance using MPEMs in heterogeneous reservoirs. The results indicate that MPEMs almost do not increase the viscosity of injection water and can be conveniently injected using the original water injection pipelines. The microscopic profile control and oil displacement mechanisms of MPEMs in porous media mainly behave as selective-plugging in large pores, fluid diversion after MPEMs plugging, oil drainage caused by MPEMs breakthrough, and the mechanism of oil droplets converging into oil flow. MPEMs have a high plugging strength, which can tolerate a long-term water flushing. MPEMs can selectively enter and plug the large pores and pore-throats in high permeability sandpack, but almost do not damage the low permeability sandpack. MPEMs can effectively divert the water flow from the high permeability sandpack to the low permeability sandpack and improve the sweep efficiency of low permeability sandpack and low permeability area in the high permeability sandpack. The results also confirm the dynamic process of profile control and oil displacement using MPEMs in heterogeneous reservoirs.

  10. Nutrient-enhanced bioremediation of oil-contaminated shoreline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glaser, J.A.

    1991-01-01

    On March 24, 1989, the collision of the supertanker Exxon Valdez with a submerged reef in Prince William Sound AK, released 41.6 million L (11 million gal) of Prudhoe Bay crude oil. The oil spread with time to contaminate an estimated 565 km (350 miles) of shoreline. The degradation of oil components by biological mechanisms has been intensively studied during the last 20 years. The general outline of biodegradation pathways for aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons has been formulated and continues to be developed in greater detail. Consequently, the microbial decomposition of oil in aquatic environments is well understood to include descriptions of biodegradation kinetics; temperature effects for biodegradation can be described by an Arrhenius relationship. Even cold-water environments have been shown to support the biodegradation of oil components. This paper reports that a panel of experts was assembled to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in determining the best treatment strategy to accelerate the natural biodegradation process in Prince William Sound

  11. Preparation of organogel with tea polyphenols complex for enhancing the antioxidation properties of edible oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Rong; Zhang, Qiuyue; Vriesekoop, Frank; Yuan, Qipeng; Liang, Hao

    2014-08-20

    Food-grade organogels are semisolid systems with immobilized liquid edible oil in a three-dimensional network of self-assembled gelators, and they are supposed to have a broad range of potential applications in food industries. In this work, an edible organogel with tea polyphenols was developed, which possesses a highly effective antioxidative function. To enhance the dispersibility of the tea polyphenols in the oil phase, a solid lipid-surfactant-tea polyphenols complex (organogel complex) was first prepared according to a novel method. Then, a food-grade organogel was prepared by mixing this organogel complex with fresh peanut oil. Compared with adding free tea polyphenols, the organogel complex could be more homogeneously distributed in the prepared organogel system, especially under heating condition. Furthermore, the organogel loading of tea polyphenols performed a 2.5-fold higher antioxidation compared with other chemically synthesized antioxidants (butylated hydroxytoluene and propyl gallate) by evaluating the peroxide value of the fresh peanut oil based organogel in accelerated oxidation conditions.

  12. Production and characterisation of glycolipid biosurfactant by Halomonas sp. MB-30 for potential application in enhanced oil recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhasayan, Asha; Kiran, G Seghal; Selvin, Joseph

    2014-12-01

    Biosurfactant-producing Halomonas sp. MB-30 was isolated from a marine sponge Callyspongia diffusa, and its potency in crude oil recovery from sand pack column was investigated. The biosurfactant produced by the strain MB-30 reduced the surface tension to 30 mN m(-1) in both glucose and hydrocarbon-supplemented minimal media. The critical micelle concentration of biosurfactant obtained from glucose-based medium was at 0.25 mg ml(-1) at critical micelle dilution 1:10. The chemical structure of glycolipid biosurfactant was characterised by infrared spectroscopy and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The emulsification activity of MB-30 biosurfactant was tested with different hydrocarbons, and 93.1 % emulsification activity was exhibited with crude oil followed by kerosene (86.6 %). The formed emulsion was stable for up to 1 month. To identify the effectiveness of biosurfactant for enhanced oil recovery in extreme environments, the interactive effect of pH, temperature and salinity on emulsion stability with crude oil and kerosene was evaluated. The stable emulsion was formed at and above pH 7, temperature >80 °C and NaCl concentration up to 10 % in response surface central composite orthogonal design model. The partially purified biosurfactant recovered 62 % of residual crude oil from sand pack column. Thus, the stable emulsifying biosurfactant produced by Halomonas sp. MB-30 could be used for in situ biosurfactant-mediated enhanced oil recovery process and hydrocarbon bioremediation in extreme environments.

  13. Various oils and detergents enhance the microbial production of farnesol and related prenyl alcohols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muramatsu, Masayoshi; Ohto, Chikara; Obata, Shusei; Sakuradani, Eiji; Shimizu, Sakayu

    2008-09-01

    The object of this research was improvement of prenyl alcohol production with squalene synthase-deficient mutant Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 64031. On screening of many kinds of additives, we found that oils and detergents significantly enhanced the extracellular production of prenyl alcohols. Soybean oil showed the most prominent effect among the additives tested. Its effect was accelerated by a high concentration of glucose in the medium. The combination of these cultivation conditions led to the production of more than 28 mg/l of farnesol in the soluble fraction of the broth. The addition of these compounds to the medium was an effective method for large-scale production of prenyl alcohols with microorganisms.

  14. Enhanced bioremediation of soil contaminated with viscous oil through microbial consortium construction and ultraviolet mutation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jing; Yang, Qiuyan; Huang, Taipeng; Zhang, Yongkui; Ding, Ranfeng

    2011-06-01

    This study focused on enhancing the bioremediation of soil contaminated with viscous oil by microorganisms and evaluating two strategies. Construction of microbial consortium and ultraviolet mutation were both effective applications in the remediation of soil contaminated with viscous oil. Results demonstrated that an interaction among the microorganisms existed and affected the biodegradation rate. Strains inoculated equally into the test showed the best remediation, and an optimal microbial consortium was achieved with a 7 days' degradation rate of 49.22%. On the other hand, the use of ultraviolet mutation increased one strain's degrading ability from 41.83 to 52.42% in 7 days. Gas chromatography and mass spectrum analysis showed that microbial consortium could treat more organic fractions of viscous oil, while ultraviolet mutation could be more effect on increasing one strain's degrading ability.

  15. Water control for enhanced oil recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cole, R.C.; Mody, B.; Pace, J.

    1981-11-01

    Gains in recovery efficiency in W. Texas oil and gas fields have been realized as a result of applying 4 different chemical processes, either singly or in combination. Each of the 4 chemical processes has been tailored to meet specific reservoir requirements. Complete plugging of high flow capacity channels can be accomplished, and the high water production portion of a producing zone can be sealed by injection of gel-forming chemicals into the matrix. Both floodwater diversion and water-oil mobility ratio improvement can be attained by in situ polymerization of a one-stage polymer bank in the reservoir. In producing wells, the water-oil production ratio can be favorably changed by treating certain formulations with a nonplugging polymer which tends to restrict water flow but not oil. One feature which each of the 4 processes has in common is the ability to invade deeply into matrix which may produce long lasting results. A description of each process is presented with various placement techniques used to obtain optimum results. Data from fields which have benefited from these treatments are presented. The work describes what may be expected with each of these proven processes based on field results.

  16. Rhamnolipids Produced by Indigenous Acinetobacter junii from Petroleum Reservoir and its Potential in Enhanced Oil Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Hao; Xia, Wenjie; Dong, Honghong; She, Yuehui; Zhu, Panfeng; Liang, Kang; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Liang, Chuanfu; Song, Zhaozheng; Sun, Shanshan; Zhang, Guangqing

    2016-01-01

    Biosurfactant producers are crucial for incremental oil production in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) processes. The isolation of biosurfactant-producing bacteria from oil reservoirs is important because they are considered suitable for the extreme conditions of the reservoir. In this work, a novel biosurfactant-producing strain Acinetobacter junii BD was isolated from a reservoir to reduce surface tension and emulsify crude oil. The biosurfactants produced by the strain were purified and then identified via electrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR-MS). The biosurfactants generated by the strain were concluded to be rhamnolipids, the dominant rhamnolipids were C26H48O9, C28H52O9, and C32H58O13. The optimal carbon source and nitrogen source for biomass and biosurfactant production were NaNO3 and soybean oil. The results showed that the content of acid components increased with the progress of crude oil biodegradation. A glass micromodel test demonstrated that the strain significantly increased oil recovery through interfacial tension reduction, wettability alteration and the mobility of microorganisms. In summary, the findings of this study indicate that the newly developed BD strain and its metabolites have great potential in MEOR. PMID:27872613

  17. Rhamnolipids produced by indigenous Acinetobacter junii from petroleum reservoir and its potential in enhanced oil recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao Dong

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Biosurfactant producers are crucial for incremental oil production in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR processes. The isolation of biosurfactant-producing bacteria from oil reservoirs is important because they are considered suitable for the extreme conditions of the reservoir. In this work, a novel biosurfactant-producing strain Acinetobacter junii BD was isolated from a reservoir to reduce surface tension and emulsify crude oil. The biosurfactants produced by the strain were purified and then identified via electrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR-MS. The biosurfactants generated by the strain were concluded to be rhamnolipids, the dominant rhamnolipids were C26H48O9, C28H52O9 and C32H58O13. The optimal carbon source and nitrogen source for biomass and biosurfactant production were NaNO3 and soybean oil. The results showed that the content of acid components increased with the progress of crude oil biodegradation. A glass micromodel test demonstrated that the strain significantly increased oil recovery through interfacial tension reduction, wettability alteration and the mobility of microorganisms. In summary, the findings of this study indicate that the newly developed BD strain and its metabolites have great potential in MEOR.

  18. Rhamnolipids Produced by Indigenous Acinetobacter junii from Petroleum Reservoir and its Potential in Enhanced Oil Recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Hao; Xia, Wenjie; Dong, Honghong; She, Yuehui; Zhu, Panfeng; Liang, Kang; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Liang, Chuanfu; Song, Zhaozheng; Sun, Shanshan; Zhang, Guangqing

    2016-01-01

    Biosurfactant producers are crucial for incremental oil production in microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) processes. The isolation of biosurfactant-producing bacteria from oil reservoirs is important because they are considered suitable for the extreme conditions of the reservoir. In this work, a novel biosurfactant-producing strain Acinetobacter junii BD was isolated from a reservoir to reduce surface tension and emulsify crude oil. The biosurfactants produced by the strain were purified and then identified via electrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR-MS). The biosurfactants generated by the strain were concluded to be rhamnolipids, the dominant rhamnolipids were C 26 H 48 O 9 , C 28 H 52 O 9 , and C 32 H 58 O 13 . The optimal carbon source and nitrogen source for biomass and biosurfactant production were NaNO 3 and soybean oil. The results showed that the content of acid components increased with the progress of crude oil biodegradation. A glass micromodel test demonstrated that the strain significantly increased oil recovery through interfacial tension reduction, wettability alteration and the mobility of microorganisms. In summary, the findings of this study indicate that the newly developed BD strain and its metabolites have great potential in MEOR.

  19. On the stabilizing role of species diffusion in chemical enhanced oil recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daripa, Prabir; Gin, Craig

    2015-11-01

    In this talk, the speaker will discuss a problem on the stability analysis related to the effect of species diffusion on stabilization of fingering in a Hele-Shaw model of chemical enhanced oil recovery. The formulation of the problem is motivated by a specific design principle of the immiscible interfaces in the hope that this will lead to significant stabilization of interfacial instabilities, there by improving oil recovery in the context of porous media flow. Testing the merits of this hypothesis poses some challenges which will be discussed along with some numerical results based on current formulation of this problem. Several open problems in this context will be discussed. This work is currently under progress. Supported by the grant NPRP 08-777-1-141 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation).

  20. Self-microemulsifying drug delivery system and nanoemulsion for enhancing aqueous miscibility of Alpinia galanga oil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khumpirapang, Nattakanwadee; Pikulkaew, Surachai; Müllertz, Anette

    2017-01-01

    Alpinia galanga oil (AGO) possesses various activities but low aqueous solubility limits its application particularly in aquatic animals. AGO has powerful activity on fish anesthesia. Ethanol used for enhancing water miscible of AGO always shows severe side effects on fish. The present study expl...