Foam Generation by Capillary Snap-Off in Flow Across a Sharp Permeability Transition
- Authors
- Swej Y. Shah (Delft University of Technology) | Karl-Heinz Wolf (Delft University of Technology) | Rashidah M. Pilus (Universiti Teknologi Petronas) | William R. Rossen (Delft University of Technology)
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2118/190210-PA
- Document ID
- SPE-190210-PA
- Publisher
- Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Source
- SPE Journal
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 01
- Publication Date
- February 2019
- Document Type
- Journal Paper
- Pages
- 116 - 128
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1086-055X
- Copyright
- 2019.Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Disciplines
- Keywords
- foam enhanced oil recovery, core flooding, snap-off, layered porous media, foam generation
- Downloads
- 8 in the last 30 days
- 191 since 2007
- Show more detail
- View rights & permissions
Summary
Foam reduces gas mobility and can improve sweep efficiency in an enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) process. Previous studies show that foam can be generated in porous media by exceeding a critical velocity or pressure gradient. This requirement is typically met only near the wellbore, and it is uncertain whether foam can propagate several tens of meters away from wells as the local pressure gradient and superficial velocity decreases. Theoretical studies show that foam can be generated, independent of pressure gradient, during flow across an abrupt increase in permeability. In this study, we validate theoretical predictions through a variety of experimental evidence. Coreflood experiments involving simultaneous injection of gas and surfactant solution at field-like velocities are presented. We use model consolidated porous media made out of sintered glass, with a well-characterized permeability transition in each core. The change in permeability in these artificial cores is analogous to sharp, small-scale heterogeneities, such as laminations and cross laminations. Pressure gradient is measured across several sections of the core to identify foam-generation events and the subsequent propagation of foam. X-ray computed tomography (CT) provides dynamic images of the coreflood with an indication of foam presence through phase saturations. We investigate the effects of the magnitude of permeability contrast on foam generation and mobilization. Experiments demonstrate foam generation during simultaneous flow of gas and surfactant solution across a sharp increase in permeability, at field-like velocities. The experimental observations also validate theoretical predictions of the permeability contrast required for foam generation by “snap-off” to occur at a certain gas fractional flow. Pressure-gradient measurements across different sections of the core indicate the presence or absence of foam and the onset of foam generation at the permeability change. There is no foam present in the system before generation at the boundary. CT measurements help visualize foam generation and propagation in terms of a region of high gas saturation developing at the permeability transition and moving downstream. If coarse foam is formed upstream, then it is transformed into stronger foam at the transition. Significant fluctuations are observed in the pressure gradient across the permeability transition, suggesting intermittent plugging and mobilization of flow there. This is the first CT-assisted experimental study of foam generation by snap-off only, at a sharp permeability increase in a consolidated medium. The results of experiments reported in this paper have important consequences for a foam application in highly heterogeneous or layered formations. Not including the effect of heterogeneities on gas mobility reduction in the presence of surfactant could underestimate the efficiency of the displacement process.
| File Size | 1 MB | Number of Pages | 13 |
References
Ashoori, E., Marchesin, D., and Rossen, W. R. 2012. Multiple Foam States and Long-Distance Foam Propagation in Porous Media. SPE J. 17 (4): 1231–1245. SPE-15024-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/154024-PA.
Baghdikian, S. Y. and Handy, L. L. 1991. Transient Behavior of Simultaneous Flow of Gas and Surfactant Solution in Consolidated Porous Media. USDOE Report DOE/BC/14600-10 (DE91002249). https://doi.org/10.2172/5434448.
Bernard, G. G. and Holm, L. W. 1964. Effect of Foam on Permeability of Porous Media to Gas. SPE J. 4 (3): 267–274. SPE-983-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/983-PA.
Chang, J. and Yortsos, Y. C. 1992. Effect of Capillary Heterogeneity on Buckley-Leverett Displacement. SPE Res Eval & Eng 7 (2): 285–293. SPE-18798-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/18798-PA.
Chen, X., Kianinejad, A., and DiCarlo, D. A. 2016. An Extended JBN Method of Determining Unsteady-State Two-Phase Relative Permeability. Water Resources Research 52 (10): 8374–8383. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR019204.
Falls, A. H., Hirasaki, G. J., Patzek, T. W. et al. 1988. Development of a Mechanistic Foam Simulator: The Population Balance and Generation by Snap-Off. SPE Res Eval & Eng 3 (3): 884–892. SPE-14961-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/14961-PA.
Farajzadeh, R., Krastev, R., and Zitha, P. L. J. 2008. Foam Films Stabilized With Alpha Olefin Sulfonate (AOS). Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 324 (1–3): 35–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COLSURFA.2008.03.024.
Friedmann, F., Chen, W. H., and Gauglitz, P. A. 1991. Experimental and Simulation Study of High-Temperature Foam Displacement in Porous Media. SPE Res Eval & Eng 6 (1): 37–45. SPE-17357-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/17357-PA.
Friedmann, F., Smith, M. E., and Guice, W. R. 1994. Steam-Foam Mechanistic Field Trial in the Midway-Sunset Field. SPE Res Eval & Eng 9 (4): 297–304. SPE-21780-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/21780-PA.
Gauglitz, P. A., Friedmann, F., Kam, S. I. et al. 2002. Foam Generation in Homogeneous Porous Media. Chemical Engineering Science 57 (19): 4037–4052. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2509(02)00340-8.
Hartkamp-Bakker, C. A. 1993. Permeability Heterogeneity in Cross-Bedded Sandstones: Impact On Water/Oil Displacement in Fluvial Reservoirs. PhD Dissertation, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands (September 1993).
Hirasaki, G. J., Jackson, R. E., Jin, M. et al. 2000. Field Demonstration of the Surfactant/Foam Process for Remediation of a Heterogeneous Aquifer Contaminated with DNAPL. In NAPL Removal: Surfactants, Foams, and Microemulsions, ed. S. Fiorenza, C. A. Miller, C. L. Oubre et al., 3–163. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Huh, D. G. and Handy, L. L. 1989. Comparison of Steady and Unsteady-State Flow of Gas and Foaming Solution in Porous Media. SPE Res Eval & Eng 4 (1): 77–84. SPE-15078-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/15078-PA.
Jenkins, M. K. 1984. An Analytical Model for Water/Gas Miscible Displacements. Presented at the SPE Enhanced Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 15–18 April. SPE-12632-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/12632-MS.
Kahrobaei, S., Vincent-Bonnieu, S., and Farajzadeh, R. 2017. Experimental Study of Hysteresis Behavior of Foam Generation in Porous Media. Scientific Reports 7: 8986. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-09589-0.
Kam, S. I. 2008. Improved Mechanistic Foam Simulation With Foam Catastrophe Theory. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 318 (1–3): 62–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2007.12.017.
Kovscek, A. R. and Radke, C. J. 1994. Fundamentals of Foam Transport in Porous Media. In Foams: Fundamentals and Applications in the Petroleum Industry, L. L. Schramm (Ed.), Chap. 3, 115–163. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.
Li, Q. and Rossen, W. R. 2005. Injection Strategies for Foam Generation in Homogeneous and Layered Porous Media. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, Texas, 9–12 October. SPE-96116-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/96116-MS.
McCool, C. S., Parmeswar, R., and Willhite, G. P. 1983. Interpretation of Differential Pressure in Laboratory Surfactant/Polymer Displacements. SPE J. 23 (5): 791–803. SPE-10713-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/10713-PA.
Mees, F., Swennen, R., Geet, M. Van. et al. 2003. Applications of X-Ray Computed Tomography in the Geosciences. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 215 (1): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.2003.21.
Ransohoff, T. C. and Radke, C. J. 1988. Mechanisms of Foam Generation in Glass-Bead Packs. SPE Res Eval & Eng 3 (2): 573–585. SPE-15441-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/15441-PA.
Reineck, H. E. and Singh, J. B. 1980. Depositional Sedimentary Environments, second, revised and updated edition. Berlin: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-81498-3.
Rossen, W. R. 1996. Foams in Enhanced Oil Recovery. In Foams: Theory, Measurements and Applications, ed. R. K. Prud’homme and S. A. Khan, Chap. 11, 413–464. New York City: Marcel Dekker.
Rossen, W. R. 1999. Foam Generation at Layer Boundaries in Porous Media. SPE J. 4 (4): 409–412. SPE-59395-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/59395-PA.
Rossen, W. R. 2003. A Critical Review of Roof Snap-Off as a Mechanism of Steady-State Foam Generation in Homogeneous Porous Media. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 225 (1–3): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-7757(03)00309-1.
Rossen, W. R. and Gauglitz, P. A. 1990. Percolation Theory of Creation and Mobilization of Foams in Porous Media. AIChE Journal 36 (8): 1176–1188. https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.690360807.
Rossen, W. R. and van Duijn, C. J. 2004. Gravity Segregation in Steady-State Horizontal Flow in Homogeneous Reservoirs. J Petr Sci Eng 43 (1–2): 99–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PETROL.2004.01.004.
Schindelin, J., Arganda-Carreras, I., Frise, E. et al. 2012. Fiji: An Open-Source Platform for Biological-Image Analysis. Nature Methods 9 (7): 676. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2019.
Stone, H. L. 1982. Vertical, Conformance in an Alternating Water-Miscible Gas Flood. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, 26–29 September.SPE-11130-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/11130-MS.
Tanzil, D., Hirasaki, G. J., and Miller, C. A. 2002. Mobility of Foam in Heterogeneous Media: Flow Parallel and Perpendicular to Stratification. SPE J. 7 (2): 203–212. SPE-78601-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/78601-PA.
van Lingen, P. P. 1998. Quantification and Reduction of Capillary Entrapment in Cross-Laminated Oil Reservoirs. PhD Dissertation, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands (October 1998).
van Lingen, P. P., Bruining, J., and van Kruijsdijk, C. P. J. W. 1996. Capillary Entrapment Caused by Small-Scale Wettability Heterogeneities. SPE Res Eval & Eng 11 (2): 93–99. SPE-30782-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/30782-PA.
Yortsos, Y. C. and Chang, J. 1990. Capillary Effects in Steady-State Flow in Heterogeneous Cores. Transport in Porous Media 5 (4): 399–420. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01141993.
You may also be interested in…
7 downloads in the last 30 days
220 downloads since 2007
