JoVE - Journal of Visualized Experiments
JoVE Visualize
Contact Us

Study of Different Gas Floodings on Minimum Miscibility Pressure and Oil Recovery in a Low-Permeability Reservoir with Medium Viscous Oil

  • 0School of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, School of Energy, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu 213164, China.
Acs Omega +

|

March 17, 2025

|

March 17, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Hydrocarbon gas flooding is most effective for low-permeability, medium viscous oil reservoirs, showing superior oil viscosity reduction and swelling compared to CO2, CH4, and N2. This method achieved the highest oil recovery at the lowest minimum miscibility pressure.

Area Of Science

  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Enhanced Oil Recovery
  • Reservoir Engineering

Background

  • Gas flooding is widely used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in light oil reservoirs.
  • Applications in low-permeability reservoirs with medium viscous oil are less common, with limited development experience.

Purpose Of The Study

  • To evaluate gas-oil interactions and optimize gas flooding strategies for low-permeability reservoirs with medium viscous oil.
  • To compare the effectiveness of different gases (hydrocarbons, CO2, CH4, N2) for enhanced oil recovery in such reservoirs.

Main Methods

  • Pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) analysis to study gas-oil interactions.
  • Slim tube experiments and numerical simulations to determine minimum miscibility pressure (MMP).
  • Core flooding experiments to assess oil recovery and analyze produced oil composition.

Main Results

  • Hydrocarbon gas exhibited the strongest interaction with medium viscous oil, significantly reducing viscosity and increasing oil swelling.
  • Hydrocarbon flooding demonstrated the lowest MMP (28.5 MPa) compared to CO2, CH4, and N2.
  • Core flooding experiments yielded the highest oil recovery (57.02%) with hydrocarbon flooding, followed by CO2 (51.11%), CH4 (36.88%), and N2 (21.35%).

Conclusions

  • Hydrocarbon gas flooding is the most effective EOR method for low-permeability reservoirs containing medium viscous oil.
  • The study provides crucial technical insights for developing similar challenging oil reservoirs.

Related Concept Videos

Behavior of Gas Molecules: Molecular Diffusion, Mean Free Path, and Effusion 03:48

28.4K

Although gaseous molecules travel at tremendous speeds (hundreds of meters per second), they collide with other gaseous molecules and travel in many different directions before reaching the desired target. At room temperature, a gaseous molecule will experience billions of collisions per second. The mean free path is the average distance a molecule travels between collisions. The mean free path increases with decreasing pressure; in general, the mean free path for a gaseous molecule will be...

Design Example: Flow of Oil Through Circular Pipes 01:25

97

Understanding fluid flow behavior through pipes is critical in fluid mechanics, especially in applications like oil transportation through pipelines. Hagen-Poiseuille's law provides an exact solution derived from the Navier-Stokes equations for steady, incompressible, and laminar flow within a circular pipe. Hagen-Poiseuille's law helps determine the necessary pressure drop across a pipeline section by determining parameters like pipe length, radius, oil viscosity, and the desired...

Entropy and Solvation 02:05

6.9K

The process of surrounding a solute with solvent is called solvation. It involves evenly distributing the solute within the solvent. The rule of thumb for determining a solvent for a given compound is that like dissolves like. A good solvent has molecular characteristics similar to those of the compound to be dissolved. For example, polar solutions dissolve polar solutes, and apolar solvents dissolve apolar solutes. A polar solvent is a solvent that has a high dielectric constant (ϵ...