Examining Thermal and Salinity Impact on Flow of Crude Oil through Porous Media for Enhancing Recovery
Keywords:
Low salinity, Oil recovery, Reservoir temperature, Water flooding, Wettability alterationAbstract
The objective of this study is to examine the influence of reservoir temperature and injected formation brine salinity on oil recovery enhancement in brown oil fields. The study employed core flooding experiments using actual crude oil-producing porous media represented by core plugs, with recovery efficiency used as the main evaluation parameter. Flooding tests were conducted at 65°C, 75°C, 85°C, 95°C, and 105°C, representing reservoir temperatures of selected oil wells in the Upper Assam Basin. Initial water flooding was performed using low-salinity injection water of 897 ppm, followed by subsequent flooding using higher-salinity brine of 8000 ppm under the same temperature conditions. SARA analysis was also conducted to characterize the crude oil composition in terms of saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. The results show that low-salinity flooding at 897 ppm produced oil recovery efficiencies of 51.47%, 44.21%, 89.89%, 36.33%, and 16.22% at 65°C, 75°C, 85°C, 95°C, and 105°C, respectively. When salinity was increased to 8000 ppm, the corresponding recovery efficiencies were 22.22%, 38.73%, 59.48%, 43.33%, and 4.98%. The highest oil recovery was achieved at 85°C for both salinity levels, with 89.89% recovery at 897 ppm and 59.48% at 8000 ppm. These findings indicate that reservoir temperature strongly affects crude oil recovery, while injection brine salinity also plays an important role. The study concludes that thermal and salinity-induced wettability alteration occurs during low-salinity water flooding, contributing to improved oil recovery in brown oilfields.Downloads
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