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Updated: Oct 3, 2025
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Enhanced Oil Recovery using a Combination of Biosurfactants
Published on: June 3, 2022
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Recovery Observations from Alkali, Nanoparticles and Polymer Flooding as Combined Processes.
Rafael E Hincapie1, Ante Borovina1, Elisabeth Neubauer1
1OMV Exploration & Production GmbH, OMV Upstream Technology & Innovation, New Technology, TECH Center & Lab, 1020 Vienna, Austria.
Polymers
|February 15, 2022
Summary
This study reveals how oil acidity (total acid number) and chemical agents like alkalis, nanoparticles, and polymers affect reservoir wettability, interfacial tension, and oil recovery. Understanding these interactions is key to optimizing enhanced oil recovery processes.
Area of Science:
- Petroleum Engineering
- Reservoir Engineering
- Enhanced Oil Recovery
Background:
- Wettability alteration is crucial for enhanced oil recovery (EOR).
- Interfacial tension (IFT) and oil properties, like total acid number (TAN), significantly impact reservoir fluid behavior and recovery efficiency.
- The interplay between chemical agents (alkalis, nanoparticles, polymers) and reservoir conditions dictates EOR success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the synergistic effects of wettability alteration and interfacial tension (IFT) on oil recovery using alkalis, nanoparticles, and polymers.
- To determine how oil total acid number (TAN) influences reservoir wetting states, fluid-fluid, and rock-fluid interactions.
- To identify conditions that enhance oil recovery rates and ultimate recovery through chemical EOR.
Main Methods:
- Laboratory evaluation workflow combining spontaneous imbibition tests, IFT measurements, contact angle analysis, and core floods.
- Analysis of recovery dynamics using the inverse Bond number to track imbibition mechanisms.
- Utilizing three distinct sandstone types and oils with varying TANs, including a high-TAN oil from the Matzen field.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated how oil TAN (low and high), chemical agent type, and reservoir mineralogy influence fluid-fluid and rock-fluid interactions.
- Quantified wettability alteration, IFT changes, and recovery performance for alkali, nanoparticle, and polymer injections, individually and in combination.
- Identified specific conditions leading to improved oil recovery rates and ultimate recovery through chemical imbibition.
Conclusions:
- Oil TAN is a critical factor in determining reservoir wettability and its impact on EOR.
- Synergistic effects between IFT, wettability alteration (measured by Amott imbibition and contact angle), and core flood performance are significant for chemical EOR.
- The study provides novel data elucidating the mechanisms behind enhanced oil recovery using chemical agents in diverse reservoir conditions.
Keywords:
EOR nanoparticlesalkali–polymer floodinginterfacial tensionpolymer floodingwettability alterationMore Related Videos
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