Influence of Injection Rate and Oil Viscosity on Viscous Fingering – Simulation Prediction

Abdul Afiq Abdul Aziz; Nadiahnor Md Yusop; Noraishah Othman

doi:10.37934/cfdl.14.6.2442

Authors

Abdul Afiq Abdul Aziz School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Nadiahnor Md Yusop School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
Noraishah Othman Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37934/cfdl.14.6.2442

Keywords:

Waterflooding, injection rate, oil viscosity, viscous fingering

Abstract

Waterflooding is a secondary oil recovery process that commonly utilized. However, there are several factors affecting the efficiency of water-flooding. Current research focused on the effects of injection rate and oil viscosity on the waterflooding efficiency. Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) is utilized to predict the effect of the injection rate and oil viscosity towards waterflooding. Volume of fluid (VOF) and Realizable k- ɛ models are utilized in this research. Ergun’s equation also utilized in this research for estimation of permeability and inertial loss within the porous medium. The research found viscous fingering occurred when the mobility ratio is more than unity and instability number, N_i> 1000. The phenomenon of viscous fingering is directly affected by injection rate and viscosity ratio. The phenomenon directly affects directly sweep efficiency during waterflooding process thus affecting oil recovery process. The research found as injection rate and viscosity ratio increase; viscous fingering predominantly seen within the porous medium.

Author Biographies

Abdul Afiq Abdul Aziz, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

abdulafiq.abdulaziz@gmail.com

Nadiahnor Md Yusop, School of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

nadiahnor@uitm.edu.my

Noraishah Othman, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Malaysia

noraishah@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my

References

Rahman, Musfika, and Iskandar Dzulkarnain. "RSM for Modelling the CO2 Effect in the Interfacial Tension Between Brine and Waxy Dulang Crude Oil During LSW-WAG EOR." Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences 85, no. 2 (2021): 159-174. https://doi.org/10.37934/arfmts.85.2.159174

Nayan, Asmahani, Nur Izzatie Farhana Ahmad Fauzan, Mohd Rijal Ilias, Shahida Farhan Zakaria, and Noor Hafizah Zainal Aznam. "Aligned Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Flow of Hybrid Nanofluid Over a Vertical Plate Through Porous Medium." Journal of Advanced Research in Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences 92, no. 1 (2022): 51-64. https://doi.org/10.37934/arfmts.92.1.5164

Miller, Richard J. "Petroleum Economics." In Standard Handbook of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, pp. 985-1033. Gulf Professional Publishing, 1996. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-088415643-7/50011-X

Green, Don W., and G. Paul Willhite. Enhanced oil recovery. Vol. 6. Richardson, TX: Henry L. Doherty Memorial Fund of AIME, Society of Petroleum Engineers, 1998.

Eremin, Nikolai A., and Larisa N. Nazarova. Enhanced Oil Recovery Methods. Russian State University of Oil and Gas (2001).

Muggeridge, Ann, Andrew Cockin, Kevin Webb, Harry Frampton, Ian Collins, Tim Moulds, and Peter Salino. "Recovery rates, enhanced oil recovery and technological limits." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 372, no. 2006 (2014): 20120320. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2012.0320

Dugstad, Ø., S. Viig, B. Krognes, R. Kleven, and O. Huseby. "Tracer monitoring of enhanced oil recovery projects." In EPJ Web of Conferences, vol. 50, p. 02002. EDP Sciences, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20135002002

Pei, Haihua, Guicai Zhang, Jijiang Ge, Mingchao Ma, Lei Zhang, and Yueliang Liu. "Improvement of sweep efficiency by alkaline flooding for heavy oil reservoirs." Journal of Dispersion Science and Technology 34, no. 11 (2013): 1548-1556. https://doi.org/10.1080/01932691.2012.752331

Palsson, Bjarni, D. R. Davies, A. C. Todd, and J. M. Somerville. "The water injection process: a technical and economic integrated approach." Chemical Engineering Research and Design 81, no. 3 (2003): 333-341. https://doi.org/10.1205/02638760360596883

Kargozarfard, Zahra, Masoud Riazi, and Shahab Ayatollahi. "Viscous fingering and its effect on areal sweep efficiency during waterflooding: an experimental study." Petroleum Science 16, no. 1 (2019): 105-116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12182-018-0258-6

Satter, Abdus, and Ghulam M. Iqbal. "16-Waterflooding and waterflood surveillance." Reservoir Engineering (2016): 289-312. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800219-3.00016-4

Groenenboom, Jeroen, Sau-Wai Wong, Tor Meling, Robert Zschuppe, and Brett Davidson. "Pulsed water injection during waterflooding." In SPE International Improved Oil Recovery Conference in Asia Pacific. OnePetro, 2003. https://doi.org/10.2118/84856-MS

Fu-qing, Yuan, and Li Zhen-quan. "An Easy Calculation Method on Sweep efficiency of Chemical Flooding." Applied Mechanics and Materials 275-277 (2013): 496-501. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.275-277.496

Gang, H. U. "A new method for calculating volumetric sweep efficiency in a water-flooding oilfield." Petroleum Exploration and Development 40, no. 1 (2013): 111-114. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1876-3804(13)60011-7

Ahmed, Tarek. Reservoir engineering handbook. Gulf Professional Publishing, 2018.

Mamudu, Abbas, Olafuyi Olalekan, and Giegbefumwen Peter Uyi. "Analytical study of viscosity effects on waterflooding performance to predict oil recovery in a linear system." Journal of Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology 6, no. 3 (2015): 221. https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7463.1000221

Schön, J. H. "Pore space properties." In Handbook of Petroleum Exploration and Production, vol. 8, pp. 17-73. Elsevier, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1567-8032(11)08002-5

Jin, Fa-Yang, Song Wang, Wan-Fen Pu, Xue-Li Liu, Cheng-Dong Yuan, Shuai Zhao, Yan-Li Tang, and Lian Dou. "The effects of interfacial tension, injection rate, and permeability on oil recovery in dilute surfactant flooding." Petroleum Science and Technology 34, no. 16 (2016): 1490-1495. https://doi.org/10.1080/10916466.2016.1208228

Suekane, Tetsuya, Tomotaka Koe, and Pablo Marin Barbancho. "Three-dimensional interaction of viscous fingering and gravitational segregation in porous media." Fluids 4, no. 3 (2019): 130. https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids4030130

Jafari, Arezou, Mohammadreza Hasani, Mostafa Hosseini, and Reza Gharibshahi. "Application of CFD technique to simulate enhanced oil recovery processes: current status and future opportunities." Petroleum Science 17, no. 2 (2020): 434-456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12182-019-00363-7

Homsy, George M. "Viscous fingering in porous media." Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics 19, no. 1 (1987): 271-311. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.fl.19.010187.001415

Archer, J. S., and C. G. Wall. "Relative Permeability and Multiphase Flow in Porous Media." In Petroleum Engineering, pp. 102-121. Springer, Dordrecht, 1986. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-9601-0_7

Domínguez, L. G., and R. B. Z. L. Moreno. "Flow Rate Influence in Relative Permeability Curves: Dependence with Oil Viscosity." International Journal of Engineering & Technology IJET-IJENS 16, no. 1 (2016).

Mai, A., and A. Kantzas. "Heavy oil waterflooding: effects of flow rate and oil viscosity." Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology 48, no. 03 (2009): 42-51. https://doi.org/10.2118/09-03-42

Doorwar, Shashvat, and Kishore K. Mohanty. "Viscous-fingering function for unstable immiscible flows." SPE Journal 22, no. 01 (2017): 19-31. https://doi.org/10.2118/173290-PA

Sorbie, K. S., A. Y. Al Ghafri, Arne Skauge, and E. J. Mackay. "On the modelling of immiscible viscous fingering in two-phase flow in porous media." Transport in Porous Media 135, no. 2 (2020): 331-359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-020-01479-w