CO

2
FOR ENHANCED OIL
RECOVERY
By Gary Wang
Outline
Introduction
Methods
Models
Steam-CO
2
Injection
Chemical gas absorption by
monoethanolamines (MEA)
Conclusion




Introduction
High oil prices and concerns about future oil supply
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is a group of
technologies that can increase recovery from
existing oil reservoirs
CO
2
is a good flooding agent
The CO
2
is currently discharged into the
atmosphere and could be a major contributor to the
greenhouse effect, which may lead to global
warming
Introduction Cont.
Methods
Thermal method
Chemical method
Miscible method
Thermal method
Injection of high temperature fluids into fractured
reservoirs to recover matrix oil
The major recovery mechanisms ( thermal method)
include capillary imbibition, thermal expansion, gas
generation, gravity drainage, in situ steam generation,
distillation, solution gas drive, and pressure depletion
Imbibition is defined as the displacement of one fluid
by another immiscible fluid
Thermal method Cont.
f(), Wettability index
K, Matrix permeability
L
c
, Characteristic
matrix size
t, Time
t
d
, Dimensionless
time
, Porosity

o
, Oil viscosity

w
, Water viscosity
, Interfacial tension

k
L
f
t t
c w o
d
2
) (

Thermal method Cont.

the reduction in oil viscosity due to high
temperature fluid injection accelerates the
imbibition recovery rate
heat injection are applied, IFT is reduced. This is
expected to reduce the capillary imbibition rate
Chemical method
Surfactant
The idea of injecting surfactant solution to
improve imbibition recovery
In general, the positive effect of lowered IFT
on the ultimate recovery due to surfactant
addition (heavy oil)
A negative effect of lowered IFT (surfactant
solution) on the recovery rate (light oil)
Chemical method Cont.
Polymer
Injection of polymer solution as aqueous
phase for matrix recovery
This can be attributed to the stronger
capillary imbibition drive by increasing
aqueous phase viscosity
Miscible method
Gas can also be injected in order for it to
penetrate into matrix and expel the oil out. As
gaseous phase is normally the nonwetting
phase, the oil is recovered by the process
called gas oil gravity drainage (GOGD), which
occurs due to gravity difference between the
fluid in fracture and matrix
Miscible method Cont.
Nitrogen is a commonly injected gas into
naturally fractured reservoirs for pressure
maintenance due to availability and lower cost
Carbon Dioxide (CO
2
) has been recognized as
a preferred miscible solvent for Enhanced Oil
Recovery (EOR) methods
Miscible flooding by CO
2
has proven its
positive effectiveness through numerous
laboratory and field projects


Miscible method Cont.
The minimum
miscibility pressure
(MMP) is
independent of
relative
permeabilities and
phases viscosities

Miscible method Cont.
Miscible flooding is a drive process by mixing
injection fluid (solvent) and oil. Its main
mechanism is to decrease the residual oil
saturation by eliminating interfacial tension
between phases
Miscible Flood Numerical Models
Three
different
development
schemes are
simulated:
waterdrive,
continuous
CO
2

injection,
and water
alternate gas
(WAG)
injection

Miscible Flood Numerical Models Cont.
The
solvent
slug size
directly
affects
the oil
recovery
Steam-CO
2
Injection
Steam-CO
2
injection schemes are based on
simple concepts and produce good results
Currently the cost of capturing and
transporting CO
2
for EOR applications is quite
high
One method of overcoming this economic
challenge is to produce CO
2
on site for
immediate injection into an oil reservoir
Steam-CO
2
Injection Cont.
The procedure
the injection of liquid CO
2
into the reservoir through
the deepest wellbore
After some time has passed, steam is injected into the
reservoir via the same deep wellbore
When the CO
2
is contacted by the steam it heats up and
expands into a gaseous state
The pressure from the steam injection causes the CO
2

gas to dissolve into the oil and the steam to condense
into water
Steam-CO
2
Injection Cont.
The procedure Cont.
The resulting mixture of oil and CO
2
is less viscous
and less dense than oil alone and the mixture flows
upward with greater ease
A second horizontal wellbore above this action
receives the less viscous mixture and channels it to the
surface
At the surface the CO
2
and water are separated from
the petroleum, which is then processed and sent for
sale


Chemical gas absorption by
monoethanolamines (MEA)
The absorption process using
monoethanolamines (MEA) as the scrubbing
solvent is used
The MEA solvent is a proven technology for
CO
2
separation and has been selected because
of its high reactivity with CO
2
under low
pressure conditions

Chemical gas absorption by
monoethanolamines (MEA) Cont.
Conclusion
Carbon dioxide production from coal-fired power
plants was modeled. It was found that the
production of CO
2
can become technically feasible,
economically feasible and environmentally friendly
Need optimization techniques were used to search
for optimal design and operating criteria for the
CO2 extraction plant, more economic feasible

Thank you