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Numerical Simulation of the Combined Effects of Low Salinity Water and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Flooding

Received: 17 July 2021     Accepted: 26 July 2021     Published: 2 August 2021
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Abstract

Low Salinity Water (LSW) and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding are emerging enhanced oil recovery methods that help recover oil from the reservoir after primary and secondary recovery processes. Experimental studies on LSW and ASP flooding have indicated potential in additional oil recovery. In this paper, numerical simulation was performed to study the combined effects of LSW and ASP flooding. A heterogenous reservoir initially saturated with oil and water was modelled using Eclipse. The wells were completed with an inverse five-spot pattern and the production life of the reservoir was taken to be five years. The results showed that LSW flooding using a salt concentration of 1 000 ppm achieved a higher oil recovery than conventional (high salinity) water flooding with a salt concentration of 35 000 ppm. The oil recovery for conventional water flooding was 59.5% and that of low salinity flooding was 64.1%. The overall oil recovery for LSW combined with alkaline, surfactant and polymer flooding were 64.1%, 70.5% and 62.6%, respectively. The model indicated an increase in overall oil recovery of 91% when alkaline, surfactant and polymer were combined and injected as the same slug as opposed to the injection of the chemicals individually. This was attributed to the synergy of the chemicals. The alkaline and the surfactant reduce the interfacial tension between the oil and water and the polymer improves the mobility ratio thereby increasing sweep efficiency.

Published in International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering (Volume 9, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11
Page(s) 46-58
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Alkaline, Low Salinity, Polymer, Surfactant

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Eric Broni-Bediako, Eric Thompson Brantson, Kwabena Antwi Asante. (2021). Numerical Simulation of the Combined Effects of Low Salinity Water and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Flooding. International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering, 9(4), 46-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11

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    ACS Style

    Eric Broni-Bediako; Eric Thompson Brantson; Kwabena Antwi Asante. Numerical Simulation of the Combined Effects of Low Salinity Water and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Flooding. Int. J. Oil Gas Coal Eng. 2021, 9(4), 46-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11

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    AMA Style

    Eric Broni-Bediako, Eric Thompson Brantson, Kwabena Antwi Asante. Numerical Simulation of the Combined Effects of Low Salinity Water and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Flooding. Int J Oil Gas Coal Eng. 2021;9(4):46-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11,
      author = {Eric Broni-Bediako and Eric Thompson Brantson and Kwabena Antwi Asante},
      title = {Numerical Simulation of the Combined Effects of Low Salinity Water and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Flooding},
      journal = {International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering},
      volume = {9},
      number = {4},
      pages = {46-58},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ogce.20210904.11},
      abstract = {Low Salinity Water (LSW) and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding are emerging enhanced oil recovery methods that help recover oil from the reservoir after primary and secondary recovery processes. Experimental studies on LSW and ASP flooding have indicated potential in additional oil recovery. In this paper, numerical simulation was performed to study the combined effects of LSW and ASP flooding. A heterogenous reservoir initially saturated with oil and water was modelled using Eclipse. The wells were completed with an inverse five-spot pattern and the production life of the reservoir was taken to be five years. The results showed that LSW flooding using a salt concentration of 1 000 ppm achieved a higher oil recovery than conventional (high salinity) water flooding with a salt concentration of 35 000 ppm. The oil recovery for conventional water flooding was 59.5% and that of low salinity flooding was 64.1%. The overall oil recovery for LSW combined with alkaline, surfactant and polymer flooding were 64.1%, 70.5% and 62.6%, respectively. The model indicated an increase in overall oil recovery of 91% when alkaline, surfactant and polymer were combined and injected as the same slug as opposed to the injection of the chemicals individually. This was attributed to the synergy of the chemicals. The alkaline and the surfactant reduce the interfacial tension between the oil and water and the polymer improves the mobility ratio thereby increasing sweep efficiency.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Numerical Simulation of the Combined Effects of Low Salinity Water and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer Flooding
    AU  - Eric Broni-Bediako
    AU  - Eric Thompson Brantson
    AU  - Kwabena Antwi Asante
    Y1  - 2021/08/02
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11
    T2  - International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering
    JF  - International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering
    JO  - International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Engineering
    SP  - 46
    EP  - 58
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2376-7677
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ogce.20210904.11
    AB  - Low Salinity Water (LSW) and Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding are emerging enhanced oil recovery methods that help recover oil from the reservoir after primary and secondary recovery processes. Experimental studies on LSW and ASP flooding have indicated potential in additional oil recovery. In this paper, numerical simulation was performed to study the combined effects of LSW and ASP flooding. A heterogenous reservoir initially saturated with oil and water was modelled using Eclipse. The wells were completed with an inverse five-spot pattern and the production life of the reservoir was taken to be five years. The results showed that LSW flooding using a salt concentration of 1 000 ppm achieved a higher oil recovery than conventional (high salinity) water flooding with a salt concentration of 35 000 ppm. The oil recovery for conventional water flooding was 59.5% and that of low salinity flooding was 64.1%. The overall oil recovery for LSW combined with alkaline, surfactant and polymer flooding were 64.1%, 70.5% and 62.6%, respectively. The model indicated an increase in overall oil recovery of 91% when alkaline, surfactant and polymer were combined and injected as the same slug as opposed to the injection of the chemicals individually. This was attributed to the synergy of the chemicals. The alkaline and the surfactant reduce the interfacial tension between the oil and water and the polymer improves the mobility ratio thereby increasing sweep efficiency.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, School of Petroleum Studies, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

  • Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, School of Petroleum Studies, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

  • Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, School of Petroleum Studies, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

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