CARBON DIOXIDE FLOODING---FUNDAMENTALS

N. MUNGAN

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JCPT81-01-03 RESERVOIR ENGINEERING Carbon dioxide flooding-fundamentals NECMETTIN MUNGAN Mungan Petroleum Consultants Ltd. Calgary, Alberta ABSTRACT This is the first of two papers dealing with the fundamentals and application of carbon dioxide flooding. First, the basic mechanism involved is discussed. Then, a laboratory experimental pro- gram as well as predictive techniques to determine the minimum miscibility pressure, swelling of oil, viscosity reduc- tion, PVTproperties, solution gas drive effect and increased injectivity are presented. Finally, laboratory tests directed toward the
determination of residual oil saturation and the an- ticipated incremental oil recovery are discussed. Introduction Since 1950, the petroleum industry has been carrying out considerable research into the use of carbon dioxide to in- crease the recovery of oil from under- ground hydrocarbon reservoirs(22). In the last few years, about a dozen new field applications have been initiated and more could come if economically priced C02 supplies are found. Most petroleum research centers have projects relating to C02 flooding, indicating the N. Mungan current interest in C02 flooding and
pro- mising further innovations in the pro- cess. This paper deals with the fundamen- tals and the research aspects of carbon dioxide flooding. The basic mechanisms which may lead to an increased oil recovery, the data required to evaluate a potential application in the field, certain basic properties Of C02 and carbonated fluids, and the all-important considera- tions of residual oil and incremental oil recovery are described and discussed. A second paper covers the reservoir eng- ineering aspects of field applications, such as selecting a reservoir suitable for _ C02 flooding,
determining the C02 re- quirements, injection/production stra- tegies and certain recommendations regarding pilot testing the process ii the field. Basic Mechanisms Carbon dioxide flooding may be applied in the field as a secondary or tertiary process and would normally involve the injection of C02 and some other fluids, either sequentially or in an alternating fashion. Generally, in reservoir in Dr. N. Mungan received his university education at the Univer- sity of T"as, Austin, earning honours degrees in mathematics and petroleum engineering. He worked in the U.S. for six years before
moving to Alberta. For more than 20 years, he has been active in enhanced oil recovery processes, formation damage and clay problems, and the teaching of specialized courses for the petroleum industry. He is widely known for his publica- tions and presentations. He has worked or given petroleum engineering courses in 18 countries, including Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, Peru, the Peo- ple's Republic of China, the U.S., the U.S.S.R., Turkey, Venezuela and Yugoslavia. He has published some 40 papers, has been honoured by a number of scientific and technical societies, and is listed in
many international biographical dictionaries. Dr. Mungan is the president of his consulting company and lives in Calgary, Alberta. Keywords: Reservoir engineering, Flooding, Carbon dioxide, Recovery, Miscibility pressure, Viscosity reduction, Asphaltene precipitation, PVT data. Technology, January-March, 1981, Montreal which the displacement is horizontal or nearly so, the C02 flooding process would involve altemating injection of C02 and water to attempt to control the mobility of the fluids, whereas in vertical floods the various fluids would be in- jected sequentially. For example, in
ver- tical downward displacement, the C02 may be followed by a lighter gas to max- imize the advantage of gravity segrega- tion and minimize viscous and gravity fingering; in vertical upward displace- ment, C02 would be followed by water, again taking advantage of the gravity segregation. Regardless of how C02 flooding is ap- plied in the field, the following factors may contribute to increasing the oil recovery: - reduction of crude oil viscosity; - swelling of crude oil; _ - miscibility effects; - increase of injectivity; - internal solution gas drive. The effects
of the foregoing on oil recovery have been discussed in the literature (12,22). Therefore, only the new and hitherto unrecognized aspects will be discussed here. With regard to swell- ing of crude oil, the additional oil recovery has generally been considered to be due to an increase in the oil forma- tion volume factor so that the residual oil is smaller in volume at surface separator conditions. A favorable conse- quence of oil swelling is the effect it might have on relative permeabilities. To start with, if miscibility is achieved, a more favorable set of relative perme- abilities
applies. However, even without miscibility, where oil swells within pore spaces water will be displaced out of these pores and such displacement is a drainage process. For water-wet porous media, the drainage oil relative Permeabilities are higher than imbibition values, which would favour additional oil recovery. Generally, carbon dioxide is not miscible with most crude oils, but may develop miscibility through multiple 87