Abstract
With around half the world's remaining conventional oil contained in fractured carbonate reservoirs, it is important that the fundamentals of the transfer of fluids from fracture to matrix are understood We present the results of an extensive series of spontaneous imbibition ambient-condition experiments on three carbonate cores of different length, designed to test recent theoretical models of imbibition We study the displacement dynamics, from an initial square-root-of-time recovery to an exponential relaxation to residual saturation as the wetting from reaches the end of the core We also quantify the effect of pore structure in highly heterogeneous systems The scaling models presented by Ma et al (1995), Li and Home (2004), and Schmid and Geiger (2012) were tested on the experimental data Schmid and Geiger's correlation was found to be the most reliable The recovery, as a function of dimensionless time, could be fitted with the mass transfer function proposed by Aronofsky et al (1958) and the analytical oil recovery solution presented by Tavassoli et al (2005) The work suggests that recent correlations for transfer rates in the literature, combined with benchmark experimental results, can be used as a reliable technique to help predict field-scale recovery rates in fractured reservoirs.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Saint Petersburg Russia - From Fundamental Science to Deployment: 17th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, IOR |
| Publisher | European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, EAGE |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 17th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, IOR 2013 - Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation Duration: 16 Apr 2013 → 18 Apr 2013 |
Other
| Other | 17th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, IOR 2013 |
|---|---|
| Country | Russian Federation |
| City | Saint Petersburg |
| Period | 16/4/13 → 18/4/13 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
Cite this
Experiments and analysis of imbibition in carbonates. / Anderson, R. A.; Al Yafei, Nayef; Blunt, M. J B.
Saint Petersburg Russia - From Fundamental Science to Deployment: 17th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, IOR. European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, EAGE, 2013.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
}
TY - GEN
T1 - Experiments and analysis of imbibition in carbonates
AU - Anderson, R. A.
AU - Al Yafei, Nayef
AU - Blunt, M. J B
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - With around half the world's remaining conventional oil contained in fractured carbonate reservoirs, it is important that the fundamentals of the transfer of fluids from fracture to matrix are understood We present the results of an extensive series of spontaneous imbibition ambient-condition experiments on three carbonate cores of different length, designed to test recent theoretical models of imbibition We study the displacement dynamics, from an initial square-root-of-time recovery to an exponential relaxation to residual saturation as the wetting from reaches the end of the core We also quantify the effect of pore structure in highly heterogeneous systems The scaling models presented by Ma et al (1995), Li and Home (2004), and Schmid and Geiger (2012) were tested on the experimental data Schmid and Geiger's correlation was found to be the most reliable The recovery, as a function of dimensionless time, could be fitted with the mass transfer function proposed by Aronofsky et al (1958) and the analytical oil recovery solution presented by Tavassoli et al (2005) The work suggests that recent correlations for transfer rates in the literature, combined with benchmark experimental results, can be used as a reliable technique to help predict field-scale recovery rates in fractured reservoirs.
AB - With around half the world's remaining conventional oil contained in fractured carbonate reservoirs, it is important that the fundamentals of the transfer of fluids from fracture to matrix are understood We present the results of an extensive series of spontaneous imbibition ambient-condition experiments on three carbonate cores of different length, designed to test recent theoretical models of imbibition We study the displacement dynamics, from an initial square-root-of-time recovery to an exponential relaxation to residual saturation as the wetting from reaches the end of the core We also quantify the effect of pore structure in highly heterogeneous systems The scaling models presented by Ma et al (1995), Li and Home (2004), and Schmid and Geiger (2012) were tested on the experimental data Schmid and Geiger's correlation was found to be the most reliable The recovery, as a function of dimensionless time, could be fitted with the mass transfer function proposed by Aronofsky et al (1958) and the analytical oil recovery solution presented by Tavassoli et al (2005) The work suggests that recent correlations for transfer rates in the literature, combined with benchmark experimental results, can be used as a reliable technique to help predict field-scale recovery rates in fractured reservoirs.
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M3 - Conference contribution
BT - Saint Petersburg Russia - From Fundamental Science to Deployment: 17th European Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, IOR
PB - European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, EAGE
ER -