Research on CO2 flooding mechanism in tight oil reservoirs
Author of the article:XU Rui1,2,3, SHEN Rui1,2,3, ZHOU Tiyao2,3, LI Haibo1,2,3, SUN Yingying2,3, ZOU Xinyuan2,3, LUO Yan4
Author's Workplace:1. College of Engineering Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; 2. Institute of Flow and Fluid Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Langfang, Hebei, 065007, China; 3. PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing, 100083, China; 4. Process Research Institute of No.1 Oil Production Plant of Daqing Oilfield, Daqing, Heilongjiang, 163000, China
Key Words: Sandstone reservoir; CO2; Ultra-low permeability and dense; Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); Component analysis
Abstract:
Based on
sandstone reservoir samples from Songliao Basin, we conducted carbon dioxide
displacement experiments on saturated crude oil cores. These experiments were
combined with nuclear magnetic resonance and oil component analysis to study
the mechanism of carbon dioxide oil recovery. We selected rock samples with
varying permeability, including medium, low, ultra-low, and tight permeability in Songliao Basin, to
analyze the effect of permeability on carbon dioxide displacement. The
displacement experiment was divided into three stages to analyze the effect of
injected volume on CO2 displacement. Our research focused on high CO2 injection
carbon dioxide flooding of ultra-low and
tight permeability rock samples. The mechanism of high CO2 injection flooding
of ultra-low permeability and
dense reservoirs in Songliao Basin is studied using the method of controlling
variables. Experiments show that high CO2 injection flooding can result in good
recovery for ultra-low
permeability and dense reservoirs. After low injection volume displacement, the
average harvesting degree of low-permeability
and medium-permeability samples
was 30.56%, and that of ultra-low-permeability and dense samples was 26.21%. After
high injection displacement, the average recovery degree of low-permeability and medium-permeability samples was 55.92%, while the average
recovery degree of ultra-low-permeability and dense samples increased to 67.00%.
This indicates that high CO2 injection flooding can effectively improve
reservoir recovery, particularly for ultra-low
permeability and dense reservoirs. In fact, high injection complete miscible
CO2 displacement can achieve a final recovery degree up to 67.49%. Complete
miscible displacement can well displace various components of crude oil
including heavy components. While there is little difference in the oil family
components in different displacement stages, there is still an obvious effect
on extracting light components. The peak value of oil components gradually
shifts from near C12 in the early stage to near C17 in the late stage. The
carbon dioxide extraction leads to the deposition of heavy components on the
pore throat surface. The deposition phenomenon is more pronounced in ultra-low permeability and dense reservoirs when injected
with low injection volume, but it is weaker in medium and low permeability oil
reservoirs. After high CO2 injection flooding, heavy components in ultra-low permeability and dense reservoirs are well
recovered, and the final recovery degree of heavy components is similar to that
of medium and low permeability oil reservoirs. This indicates that high CO2
injection flooding is more suitable for ultra-low
permeability and dense reservoirs. The research results complement the theory
of CO2 flooding in ultra-low
permeability and dense reservoirs and provide theoretical reference for the
subsequent construction of CO2 flooding projects in Songliao Basin.