Reservoir Fluids

Enhanced Oil Recovery - EOR

World demand for oil has been steadily increasing, currently at the rate of about 1.5% per year, and it is estimated to reach 100 MMSTB/day by 2014. In terms of global oil supply, there is about 3.2 trillion barrels of recoverable oil amenable to conventional and advanced technical recovery schemes. One trillion barrels of this amount has already been produced and consumed as of 2004 and the remaining 2.2 trillion barrels remains to be produced and it represent a significant opportunity for secondary or tertiary EOR recovery processes.

Gas injection has been used successfully in both oil and gas-condensate reservoirs. Hydrocarbon recoveries have increased over what could be obtained by primary drive mechanisms and waterflooding. It is recognized that the phase and volumetric behavior of gas/oil systems during gas injection has an important effect on recovery efficiency.

Fluid properties influence all three components of recovery efficiency.

• Viscosities are found in the definition of mobility ratio, which affects areal and vertical sweep efficiency, including viscous fingering
• Phase densities define the degree of gravity segregation, which in turn affects vertical sweep efficiency by gravity bypassing (tonguing) in gravity-dominated processes
• Interfacial tensions, viscosities, inter-phase mass transfer (i.e. vaporization and condensation), and miscibility affect the residual oil saturation (ROS) de fining microscopic displacement efficiency

Core Laboratories offer an extensive range of EOR services to enable operating companies understand the phase behavior and problems associated with miscible and immiscible gas injection processes.

• Backward Multi-Contact
• Equilibrium Contact
• Forward Multi-Contact
• Gas Revaporization
• Inter Facial Tension
• Minimum Miscibility - Rising Bubble
• Minimum Miscibility - Slim Tube
• Solubility Swelling