Coreflooding and Pore-Scale Visualization of Foamed Gel Flowed in Porous Network Media

Abstract

To investigate the mechanisms of enhancing oil recovery and the flow behaviors of foamed gel in porous media, foamed gels with characteristics of excellent strength and viscosity were prepared with polymer, crosslinking agent, foam agent, and formation water. The breakthrough-vacuum method and a rotary viscometer were used to evaluate the strength and viscosity of foamed gel. Coreflooding and pore-level visualization experiments were performed in heterogeneous reservoir models. Laboratory results illustrate that high strength and viscosity of foamed gel can be prepared by 0.15% NJ-8, 0.2% polyacrylamide solution, and 1.5% foaming agent. The strength and viscosity of the foamed gel reached 0.06 MPa and 10,000 MPa · s, respectively. The results of coreflooding experiments in heterogeneous cores show that oil recovery can be improved by approximately 36.9% after injecting 0.3 pore volume of the foamed gel, and enhanced oil recovery is mainly attributed to the improving sweep efficiency of mid- to low-permeability layers. Images of visualization flooding demonstrate that foamed gel exhibits good oil resistance and elasticity when used with crude oil. Furthermore, the new amoeba effect, Jamin effect, fluid-diverting effect, and extruding effect between foamed gel and oil in porous media can enhance oil recovery by improving sweep efficiency.

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Foamed Gel; Jamin Effect; New Amoeba Effect; Strength; Sweep Efficiency; Viscosity; Crosslinking; Crude Oil; Efficiency; Oil Well Flooding; Petroleum Reservoirs; Porous Materials; Protozoa; Visualization; Well Flooding; Enhance Oil Recoveries; Enhanced Oil Recovery; Heterogeneous Reservoirs; Jamin Effect; New Amoeba Effect; Visualization Experiment

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0193-2691

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2016 Taylor & Francis Inc., All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Oct 2016

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