MISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT

PROCESSES

TM-6012
ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY

OUTLINE
Introduction
General Description
Principle of Phase Behavior
First-Contact Miscible Process
Multiple Contact Miscible Process
Fluid Properties
Factors Affecting Displacement
Efficiency Of Miscible Process

INTRODUCTION
Definition
Processes where the effectiveness of
the displacement results primarily from
miscibility between the oil in place and
the injected fluid
Displacement processes:
First-Contact Miscible (FCM)
Multiple-Contact Miscible (MCM)

PRINCIPLES OF PHASE
BEHAVIOR

Pressure/ Temperature Diagrams

PRINCIPLES OF PHASE
BEHAVIOR

Pressure/ Composition Diagram Illustrating

Isothermal Compression

PRINCIPLES OF PHASE
BEHAVIOR

Pressure/ Composition Diagram Illustrating

Isothermal Compression

FIRST CONTACT MISCIBLE

PROCESS
FCM process normally consists of injecting a
relatively small primary slug that is miscible
with the crude oil, followed by injection of a
larger, less expensive secondary slug
Ideally, the secondary slug should be
miscible with the primary slug. In contrary,
then a residual saturation of the primary slug
material will be trapped in the displacement
process

FIRST CONTACT MISCIBLE

PROCESS

FIRST CONTACT MISCIBLE

PROCESS
A basic concern in the design of a process is the
phase behavior between the primary slug and the
crude oil and between the primary slug and the
secondary slug fluid that displaces the primary slug
When the reservoir temperature is above the critical
temperature of the primary-slug solvent, the
pressure required for complete miscibility between
the slug solvent and the reservoir oil becomes more
difficult to estimate
Under these conditions, the solvent cannot be
liquefied and pressure must be above the
cricondenbar

MULTIPLE CONTACT MISCIBLE

PROCESS
The condition of miscibility is generated in
the reservoir through in-situ composition
changes resulting from multiple contacts and
mass transfer between reservoir oil and
injected fluid
MCM processes are classified as vaporizinggas (lean-gas) displacement, condensing and
condensing/vaporizing-gas (enriched-gas)
displacements, and CO2 displacements.

MULTIPLE CONTACT MISCIBLE

PROCESS
Vaporizing-gas process
The injected fluid is generally a relatively
lean gas ( it contains mostly methane and
other low molecular-weight hydrocarbons)
The composition of the injected gas is
modified as it moves through the reservoir
so that it becomes miscible with the original
reservoir oil.

MULTIPLE CONTACT MISCIBLE

PROCESS

Development of
miscibility

Miscibility does not

develop

MULTIPLE CONTACT MISCIBLE

PROCESS
Condensing and Condensing/Vaporizing-Gas
(Enriched-Gas) Displacement Process
The injected fluid contains significant
amounts of intermediate components (C2
through C6) rather than being a dry gas.
The process depends on the condensation of
these components into the reservoir oil,
thereby modifying the oil composition
The modified oil then becomes miscible with
the injected fluid

FLUID PROPERTIES
The performance of a miscible displacement
process depends on fluid physical properties
that affect flow behavior in a reservoir
The properties influence the performance are:
Fluid Density
Fluid Viscosity

FLUID PROPERTIES
Fluid Density
Knowledge of the relative densities of the fluids
and fluid mixture is important for the process
design
The result in displacement process can be
gravity override, underride, or fingering
Fluid Viscosity
Mobility ratio in a displacement process is a
direct function of the viscosities and relative
permeabilities of displaced and displacing fluids

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
Displacement Efficiency in a miscible process is less
than 100%
The magnitudes of the efficiencies depend on a
number of factors, including whether a displacement
is conducted as a secondary or tertiary process
In Secondary recovery, it is assumed that there is no
mobile water unless water is injected as a part of the
process
In Tertiary recovery, both oil and water will be
displaced and will be mobile

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
Microscopic Displacement Efficiency (No Mobile Water)
The Interfacial Tension (IFT) between displacing
(solvent) and displaced (oil) phases. If IFT is zero,
then residual saturation in portions of the rock
contacted by the displacing phase would be
essentially zero
Dispersion and mixing at the microscopic level,
combined with the associated phase behavior, are the
major reasons that microscopic displacement
efficiencies in MCM process in the absence of water
are not 100%
Efficiency typically ranges from 90% to 97%

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
Macroscopic Displacement Efficiency
(No Mobile Water)
Four major factors affect recovery efficiency at
the macroscopic level in a miscible process
Mobility ratio
Viscous fingering
Gravity segregation
Reservoir heterogeneity

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
Effect of Mobility Ratio

The viscosity of miscible solvents are

typically small ( <0.1 cp) and thus the
mobility ratios are unfavorable
Viscosity ratio, or mobility ratios, range
from 4 to 86 in the different MCM process,
whilst from 4 to 40 in the FCM process

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
Effect of Viscous Fingering
An adverse viscosity ratio in a miscible
process results in viscous fingering, which
leads to reduced volumetric sweep
Effective viscosity ratio, E, that characterizes
the effect of viscous fingering:

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
In the FCM process, the oil recovery was
delayed because of the adverse mobility ratio
(early breakthrough of injecting fluid)The
ultimate recovery approached 100%
In the MCM process, the recovery leveled off,
the final recovery would not approach 100%.
The viscous fingering not only delay the oil
recovery but also reduce total recovery.

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
Effect of Gravity
A dimensionless group used to characterize
gravity effects is the viscous/gravity ratio, Rv/g

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
Vertical sweep efficiency
at breakthrough as a
function of the ratios of
viscous/gravity forces,
linear system

FACTORS AFFECTING DISPLACEMENT

EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESS
Displacement Efficiency When Mobile Water is Present
The presence of a water phase, flowing or stagnant,
has no significant effect on phase behavior in either
an FCM process or an MCM process
Miscibility is developed in basically the same
manner whether water is present or not
The presence of flowing water has relatively small
negative effect on displacement efficiency, but it
blocks part of the oil away from the solvent, so it
reduce the ability of the solvent to contact and
mobilize the oil
It both occurs in FCM and MCM processes