ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY TECHNIQUES

UNIT-I
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
Oil Recovery Processes: Subdivided into
1) Primary 2) Secondary 3) Tertiary (Enhanced oil recovery)

1) Primary Oil Recovery:

Oil is forced out from the reservoir by existing natural pressure
of the trapped fluids. This pressure originated in the reservoir
from various forces:
a) Expanding force of natural gas
b) Gravitational force,
c) Buoyancy force of encroaching water and
d) An expulsive force due to compaction poorly consolidated
reservoir rocks.
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
a) Among these forces, the expanding force of high pr natural
gas contributes mainly to oil production.
b) The gravitational force is more effective in steeply inclined
reservoirs, where it facilitates drainage of oil.
c) Encroachment of water from the side or bottom of a reservoir
is also an effective displacement of oil. The ability of the edge
water to encroach depends on pr distribution & permeability.
d) Compaction of the reservoir as fluids are withdrawn also is a
mechanism for movement of oil to production wells.

2. Secondary oil recovery: The decrease of pr in the reservoir

during primary oil recovery may be restored partially by
injecting gas, air, water or aqueous solutions of caustic and
polymer into the reservoir to achieve a high pressure.
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
Gas injection methods can be 3 categories
• Pressure restoration: Gas is injected into productive
formation through one well while the other wells are kept
closed until the pr is restored throughout the reservoir which
may take a year or more. After achieving desired reservoir pr,
gas injection can be stopped and production can be started
from other wells through artificially developed pr.
• In the pr maintenance method gas from producing wells is
recompressed and injected into the selected wells before the
reservoir pr is totally exhausted.
• In the gas drive method, gas is injected into the reservoir
under pressure which drives the oil in the form of a film or
gas bubbles a head of the gas toward the producing wells.
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery

After primary oil recovery, the pr of the depleted reservoirs

can be restored by water injection or water flooding.
 In this process, water is injected into the reservoir through
selected injection wells which drives oil through reservoir
rocks toward the producing wells.
 The most common pattern of injection and production wells
is a five-spot configuration as shown in Fig.1.1
 Water is injected in the central well displacing oil to the four
surrounding production wells.
 To improve the efficiency of the water flooding, some
chemicals such as caustic or polymers are added to water to
lower the interfacial tension, making low viscosity emulsion
oil to move to producing wells easily.
INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
The efficiency of water flooding also can be improved by lowering
the water-oil mobility ratio.
M = kw µo/ ko µw Or M = (kw/µw)/(ko/µo)
Where kw = Effective water Permeability, mD
ko = Effective oil Permeability, mD
µw = Water viscosity, cP
µo = Oil viscosity, cP
 Mobility ratio > 1 , is unfavorable as water is more mobile than
oil. Water will finger through oil zone.
 Mobility ratio ˂ 1, is favorable as displacement of oil by water is
piston like in water flooding.
 Mobility ratio can be reduced by adding some chemicals like
alcohols, sugar, glycerin, polymers etc. to the injected water.
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
3. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR):
EOR processes have as their objective the increase of recovery
from depleted reservoirs by secondary recovery methods like
waterflooding or gas injection. EOR processes can be divided into
three major categories.
1. Chemical……. Used to recover mainly light oils
2. Thermal……… Used to recover mainly heavy oils
3. Miscible……… Used to recover mainly light oils
Various subdivisions of EOR methods are illustrated through line
diagram in Fig.1.2
 Thermal Processes: Least uncertainty, promising approach
for 70% of world’s EOR production
 Surfactant flooding is the most complex and high
uncertainty. If its formulation is properly controlled in the
reservoir, it can also achieve maximum oil recovery
INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
Chemical Flooding Processes: Fig. 1.3
1. Surfactant flooding
2. Polymer flooding
3. Caustic flooding
 Displacement mechanism in surfactant and caustic flooding is
based on the formation of ultra-low interfacial tension
 In polymer flooding, injection of surfactant followed by
polymer flooding, results in controlling mobility for EOR.
 Heavy oil means low sp gr ( ˂ 200 API ), i.e. high viscosity oil
needs thermal process to increase oil mobility for EOR.
(Viscosity may be more than 150 CP).
 Thermal Processes: 1) In-situ combustion 2) Steam injection 3)
Wet combustion.
INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
In-situ Combustion:
o The crude oil near the wellbore is ignited using chemicals,
downhole electric heaters or gas burners.
o Continuous air injection promotes movement in the burning
zone toward the producing wells.
o Propagation of a continuous burning zone results in almost
complete removal of all reservoir liquids
Steam Injection :
• Steam is injected into reservoir either continuously (steam
drive) or in cycles (steam stimulation or huff & puff method).
• Continuous steam injection involves both injection and
production wells, whereas cyclic injection involves one well
only which serves as both injection and production well.
• Steam floods are easier to control than in-situ combustion.
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery

Wet Combustion:
 In the in-situ combustion process, a large amount of heat is
left behind as waste heat.
 The heat utilization and efficiency of the process can be
improved by periodical water injection.
 Superheated steam forms in an evaporation front and travels
behind the combustion front.
 The important advantage of this process is that the amount of
residual oil left to be burned as fuel by the burning front is
considerably decreased which in turn displaces more oil and
less air is required to burn a unit volume of oil in the reservoir.
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
Miscible Displacement Process:
 The oil in the reservoir can be dissolved by the injection of a solvent
such as alcohol, refined Hc, condensed Hc gases, LPGs or CO2
 The injected solvent reduces the capillary forces that cause oil
retention in the pore spaces of the reservoir rocks.
 In this process, the injected solvent slug is followed by the injection
of a liquid or gas to force the solvent–oil mixture out.
 This miscible displacement process can be subdivided into
1. The Miscible slug processes.
2. The Enriched gas processes.
3. The High-Pressure, Lean gas processes
4. The Mutual solvent & CO2 processes
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery

Miscible Slug Process:

• It involves the injection of a slug of liquid HCs (50% of the
pore volume of the reservoir) followed by gas or water
injection to drive the slug through the reservoir.
Enriched Gas Process:
• The injected slug (10-20% pore volume) of enriched natural
gas is followed by lean gas or lean gas and water.
High-pressure lean Gas Process
• It consists of injecting a lean gas at a high pr in order to
cause retrograde evaporation of crude oil and formation of a
miscible phase between the reservoir oil and the gas.
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
The Mutual Solvent Process:
• It consists of injecting solvents ( e.g., alcohols) which are
miscible both in reservoir oil and water
• These solvents form a single phase in the reservoir & improve
oil recovery. A very high concentration of these solvents is
required to maintain the single phase.
• In the Carbon dioxide process, the mechanism of CO2
miscibility in oil is similar to that in high-pr. lean gas process.
• Under the right conditions of pressure, temp, reservoir oil
composition; CO2 can create a miscible front which moves as a
single liquid phase and efficiently displaces reservoir oil.
• CO2 miscibility can be achieved at pressures as low as 1500 psi.
 INTRODUCTION: Process Recovery
Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR)
 This technique involves the injection of selected microorganisms
into the reservoir and the subsequent stimulation and
transportation of their in-situ growth products.
 This unique process seems superior in many respects, however,
it has certain constraints.
 Populations of various types of microbes have been found in
subsurface reservoir down to a depth of about 2000 m.
 The prevalent theory is that the microbes were introduced by
drilling, well completion, and well WOR or by water injection.
 Petroleum reservoirs are not biologically sterile which
encourages for fundamental research to discover microbes,
technology that can lead to EOR.
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