Mechanistic simulation of continuous gas injection period during surfactant-alternating-gas (SAG) processes using foam catastrophe theory

Chemical Engineering Science

Volumn 65, Issue 11, 2010, Pages 3615-3631

  Afsharpoor, A ^a   Lee, G S ^b   Kam, S I ^a  

^a Louisiana State University   (United States)

^b Korea Rural Community Corporation   (South Korea)

Author keywords

Enhanced oil recovery; Foam; Gas injection; Mechanistic simulation; Remediation

Indexed keywords

AQUIFER REMEDIATION; CATASTROPHE THEORY; CHANGING DYNAMICS; CONTINUOUS GAS INJECTIONS; COREFLOOD EXPERIMENTS; ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY; FOAM GENERATION; FOAM RHEOLOGY; FRACTIONAL FLOW; GAS INJECTION; GEOLOGICAL FORMATION; HIGH QUALITY; IMBIBITION PROCESS; IN-SITU; INITIAL CONDITIONS; INLET EFFECT; INPUT DATAS; INTERMEDIATE STATE; LEADING EDGE; LOW QUALITIES; MOBILITY CONTROL; MODEL PARAMETERS; NEGATIVE SLOPE; OIL RECOVERIES; POROUS MEDIA; REGIME MAP; S-SHAPED; SIMULATION PARAMETERS; SIMULATION TECHNIQUE; SURFACTANT SOLUTION; SWEEP EFFICIENCY;

AQUIFERS; COALESCENCE; DATA FLOW ANALYSIS; DISASTERS; ENHANCED RECOVERY; FLOW SIMULATION; GASES; INLET FLOW; POLLUTION; POROUS MATERIALS; PULSATILE FLOW; SURFACE ACTIVE AGENTS;

FOAM CONTROL;

EID: 77951125425     PISSN: 00092509     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2010.03.001     Document Type: Article

References (38)

1. Aarra, M.G., Skauge, A., 1994. A foam pilot in a North Sea oil reservoir: preparation for a production well treatment. SPE 28599 Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana.
2. Aarra, M.G., Skauge, A., Martinsen, H.A., 2002. FAWAG: a breakthrough for EOR in the North Sea. SPE 77695 Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas.
3. Alvarez J.M., Rivas H., and Rossen W.R. A unified model for steady-state foam behavior at high and low foam qualities. SPE Journal (2001) 325-333
4. Aronson A.S., Bergeron V., Fagan M.E., and Radke C.J. The influence of disjoining pressure on foam stability and flow in porous media. Colloids Surface A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 83 (1994) 109
5. Bertin H.J., Quintard M.Y., and Castanier L.M. Development of a bubble-population correlation for foam-flow modeling in porous media. SPE Journal (1998) 356-362
6. Blaker T., Morten G., Skauge A., Rasmussen L., Celius, Harald K., Martinsen H.A., and Vassenden F. Foam for gas mobility control in the Snorre Field: the FAWAG project. SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering (2002) 317-323
7. Buckley S.E., and Leverett M.C. Mechanism of fluid displacement in sands. Transactions of American Institute of Mechanical Engineering Journal 146 (1941) 107-116
8. Dholkawala Z.F., Sarma H.K., and Kam S.I. Application of fractional flow theory to foams in porous media. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 57 (2007) 152-165
9. Falls A.H., Hirasaki G.J., Patzek T.W., Gauglitz P.A., Miller D.D., and Ratulowski J. Development of a mechanistic foam simulator: the population balance and generation by snap-off. SPE Reservoir Engineering (1988) 884-892
10. Friedmann F., Chen W.H., and Gauglitz P.A. Experimental and simulation study of high-temperature foam displacement in porous media. SPE Reservoir Engineering (1991) 37-45
11. Gauglitz P.A., Friedmann F., Kam S.I., and Rossen W.R. Foam generation in homogeneous porous media. Chemical Engineering Science 57 (2002) 4037-4052
12. Hirasaki G.J., and Lawson J.B. Mechanisms of foam flow through porous media-apparent viscosity in smooth capillaries. SPE Journal (1985) 176-190
13. Hirasaki, G.J., 1989. Supplement to SPE 19505, the steam-foam process-review of steam-foam process mechanisms. SPE 19518.
14. Hirasaki G.J., Jackson R.E., Jin M., Lawson J.B., Londergan J., Meinardus H., Miller C.A., Pope G.A., Szafranski R., and Tanzil D. Field demonstration of the surfactant/foam process for remediation of a heterogeneous aquifer contaminated with DNAPL. In: Fiorenza S., Miller C.A., Oubre C.L., and Ward C.H. (Eds). In NAPL Removal: Surfactants, Foams, and Microemulsions (2000), Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton
15. 2 foam: results from four developmental field trials. SPE Reservoir Engineering Journal (1995) 273-281
16. Kam S.I., and Rossen W.R. A model for foam generation in homogeneous porous media. SPE Journal (2003) 417-425
17. Kam S.I., Nguyen Q.P., and Rossen W.R. Dynamic simulations with an improved model for foam generation. SPE Journal (2007) 35-48
18. Kam S.I. Improved mechanistic foam simulation with foam catastrophe theory. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical Engineering Aspects 318 (2008) 62-77
19. Khatib Z.I., Hirasaki G.J., and Falls A.H. Effects of capillary pressure on coalescence and phase mobilities in foams flowing through porous media. SPE Reservoir Engineering (1988) 919-926
20. Kibodeaux, K.R., Rossen, W.R., 1997. Coreflood study of surfactant-alternating-gas foam processes. SPE 38318 Presented at the SPE Western Regional Meeting, Long Beach, California.
21. Kovscek A.R., and Radke C.J. Fundamentals of foam transport in porous media, in foams: fundamentals and applications in the petroleum industry. In: Schramm L.L. (Ed). ACS Advances in Chemistry Series vol. 242 (1994), American Chemistry Society, Washington, DC
22. Kovscek A.R., Patzek T.W., and Radke C.J. A mechanistic population balance model for transient and steady-state foam flow in Boise sandstone. Chemical Engineering Science 50 (1995) 3783-3799
23. Lake L. Enhanced Oil Recovery (1989), Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
24. Mamun, C.K., Rong, J.G., Kam, S.I., Liljestrand, H.M., Rossen, W.R., 2002. Extending foam technology from improved oil recovery to environmental remediation. SPE 77557 Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference, San Antonio, Texas.
25. Martinsen, H.A., Vassenden, F., 1999. Foam-assisted water alternating gas (FAWAG) process on Snorre, Presented at the 10th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, Brighton, UK (August).
26. Mayberry D.J., Afsharpoor A., and Kam S.I. The use of fractional-flow theory for foam displacement in presence of oil. SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering (2008) 707-718
27. Osterloh, W.T., Jante, M.J., 1992. Effects of gas and liquid velocity on steady-state foam flow at high temperature. SPE 24179 Presented at the SPE/DOE Symposium on Enhanced Oil Recovery, Tulsa, Oklahoma (April).
28. Rong, J.G., 2002. Experimental result of foam in environmental remediation. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
29. Rossen W.R., and Gauglitz P.A. Percolation theory of creation and mobilization of foam in porous media. American Institute of Chemical Engineering Journal 36 (1990) 1176-1188
30. Rossen W.R., and Zhou Z.H. Modeling foam mobility at the limiting capillary pressure. SPE Advanced Technology 3 (1995) 146-153
31. Rossen W.R., and Zhou Z.H. Applying fractional-flow theory to foam processes at the limiting capillary pressure. SPE Advanced Technology 3 (1995) 154-162
32. Rossen W.R. Foams in enhanced oil recovery. In: Prud'homme R.K., and Khan S. (Eds). Foams: Theory, Measurements and Applications (1996), Marcel Dekker, New York
33. Rossen W.R., and Wang M.W. Modeling foams for acid diversion. SPE Journal (1999) 92-100
34. Rossen W.R. A critical review of roof snap-off as a mechanism of steady-state foam generation in homogeneous porous media. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical Engineering Aspects 225 (2003) 1-24
35. Rossen W.R., and Bruining J. Foam displacements with multiple steady states. SPE Journal (2007) 5-18
36. Tanzil, D., Hirasaki, G.J., Miller, C.A., 2002. Conditions for foam generation in homogeneous porous media. SPE 75176 Presented at the SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, 13-17 April.
37. Wassmuth F.R., Green K.A., and Randall L. Details of in-situ foam propagation exposed with magnetic resonance imaging. SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering (2001) 135-145
38. Xu Q., and Rossen W.R. Experimental study of gas injection in a surfactant-alternating-gas foam process. SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering (2004) 438-448