TM- 4143 METODA ENHANCED

OIL RECOVERY (EOR)

Prepared by:

David Maurich, MT
 Technical Screening Guides
for Miscible Displacement EOR
 Hydrocarbon Miscible Flooding
 Hydrocarbon miscible flooding consists of injecting light
hydrocarbons through the reservoir to form a miscible
flood.
 Three different methods are used:
 One method uses about 5% PV slug of liquidified
petroleum gas (LPG) such as propane, followed by
natural gas or gas and water.
 Enriched (condensing) gas drive, consists of injecting
a 10%–20% PV slug of natural gas that is enriched with
ethane through hexane (C2 to C6), followed by lean gas
(dry, mostly methane) and possibly water. The
enriching components are transferred from the gas to
the oil.
 High pressure (vaporizing) gas drive, consists of
injecting lean gas at high pressure to vaporize C2−C6
components from the crude oil being displaced.
FACTOR AFFECTING MACROSCOPIC DISPLACEMENT
EFFICIENCY OF MISCIBLE PROCESSES

1. Mobility ratio:
2. Viscous fingering:
Koval Effective viscosity ratio:

1. Gravity segregation
2. Reservoir heterogeneity
Miscible Displacement in a Quarter of Five-Spot
Pattern at Mobility Ratio ≤ 1
Miscible Displacement in
a Quarter of Five-Spot
Pattern at Mobility Ratio
> 1 Viscous Fingering
Gravity Segregation in Displacement Process
Schematic of Piston –Like Displacement in a
Linear System
Relative Location of the Water Front at
Different Times
 Vertical Sweep Efficiency

Fwo = WOR

𝒌𝟓𝟎 − 𝒌𝟖𝟒.𝟏
𝑽=
𝒌𝟓𝟎
 ESTIMATED BREAKTHROUGH
RECOVERY AS A FUNCTION OF
VISCOSITY RATIO BY K-FACTOR
METHOD (FROM KOVAL)
Impact of Viscous Instability on Second CO2 Flood
Oil Recovery Efficiency (From Gardner & Ypma)

• FCM
• = 16
• MCM
• = 21
• Interaction or
synergism occurs
between viscous
fingering & phase
behavior to cause
liquid-phase dropout
and trapping.
 The Effect of Viscous Fingering on
Displacement Efficiency

• Residence time = core length divided by average pore velocity of the

displacing phase.
• ROS is independent of residence time up to about L/v = 0.35 days. Above this
value, ROS decreased, indicating improved displacement efficiency.
• Koval theory predicted a constant recovery that is independent of rate.
The Effect of Gravity on Displacement Efficiency
FLOW REGIMES IN MISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT OF
UNFAVORABLE MOBILITY RATIOS
FLOW REGIMES IN MISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT OF
UNFAVORABLE MOBILITY RATIOS
(VpD)
 Example
• Consider the displacement of an oil by CO2 in a
linear system. The effective length of the horizontal
reservoir is 500 ft & thickness is 40 ft. Determine the
effect of gravity segregation on the vertical sweep
efficiency. The other properties & conditions are
listed below:
Solution
VERTICAL SWEEP EFFICIENCY AT BREAKTHROUGH AS A FUNCTION
OF THE RATIOS OF VISCOUS/GRAVITY FORCES, LINEAR SYSTEM
(FROM CRAIG et.al.)
 RECOVERY BY MATERIAL BALANCE
• Cumulative Oil Recovery:

• Recovery Factor:

Where:
VpD = Displaceable Pore Volume Injected
VpDS = Displaceable Reservoir Volume of Solvent Injected
Vph = Hydrocarbon Pore Volume of Solvent Injected
Vsi = Volume of Solvent Injected
Vp = Pore Volume in the Pattern Area
Sorw = Average SOR at End of Waterflood
Sorm = Average SOR at End of Miscible flood
Scw = Connate Water Saturation
ERW = Vol. Sweep Efficiency in Waterflood
ERM = Vol. Sweep Efficiency in Miscible Displacement
EAs = Areal Sweep Efficiency after solvent injected
Example
Solution
Example
Solution
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