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A comparative study on WAS, SWAS, and solvent-soak scenarios applied to heavy-oil reservoirs using five-spot glass micromodels

Farzaneh, S. A ; Sharif University of Technology

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/158376-PA
  3. Abstract:
  4. In this work, a series of solvent- and water-injection scenarios were conducted on horizontal five-spot glass micromodels that were saturated initially with heavy oil. Sandstone and limestone rock look-alike and network patterns with different pore structures were used in the experiments. The results show that the ultimate oil recovery of a water-alternating-solvent (WAS) scheme was greater than that of a simultaneously water-alternating-solvent (SWAS) scheme, and the efficiency of a solvent-soak scheme also offers a greater recovery. Likewise, the WAS scheme resulted in greater oil recovery when compared with continuous solvent injection (CSI), with the same amount of solvent consumption. Furthermore, some pore-scale phenomena, such as viscous fingering, diffusion of solvents into heavy oil, and localized entrapment of oil and solvent because of heterogeneity and/or water blockage, are also illustrated. The results of this work can be helpful for better understanding and verification of flow transport and pore-scale events during different solvent-based-injection scenarios in heavyoil reservoirs
  5. Keywords:
  6. Comparative studies ; Five-spot ; Flow transport ; Glass micromodels ; Heavy oil ; Heavy oil reservoirs ; Limestone rocks ; Network pattern ; Oil recoveries ; Pore-scale phenomenon ; Solvent consumption ; Solvent injection ; Viscous fingering ; Glass ; Heavy oil production ; Petroleum reservoirs ; Solvents ; Water injection
  7. Source: Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology ; Volume 51, Issue 5 , 2012 , Pages 383-392 ; 00219487 (ISSN)
  8. URL: https://www.onepetro.org/journal-paper/SPE-158376-PA