Mobility of Ethomeen C12 and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Foam at High Temperature/High Salinity and in Carbonate Cores Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Summary The low viscosity and density of carbon dioxide (CO2) usually result in the poor sweep efficiency in CO2-flooding processes, especially in heterogeneous formations. Foam is a promising method to control the mobility and thus reduce the CO2 bypass because of the gravity override and heterogeneity of formations. A switchable surfactant, Ethomeen C12, has been reported as an effective CO2-foaming agent in a sandpack with low adsorption on pure-carbonate minerals. Here, the low mobility of Ethomeen C12/CO2 foam at high temperature (120C), high pressure (3,400 psi), and high salinity [22 wt% of total dissolved solids (TDS)] was demonstrated in Silurian dolomite cores and in a wide range of foam qualities. The influence of various parameters, including aqueous solubility, thermal and chemical stability, flow rate, foam quality, salinity, temperature, and minimum-pressure gradient (MPG), on CO2 foam was discussed. A local-equilibrium foam model, the dry-out foam model, was used to fit the experimental data for reservoir simulation.

published proceedings

  • SPE JOURNAL

author list (cited authors)

  • Cui, L., Ma, K., Puerto, M., Abdala, A. A., Tanakov, I., Lu, L. J., ... Hirasaki, G.

complete list of authors

  • Cui, Leyu||Ma, Kun||Puerto, Maura||Abdala, Ahmed A||Tanakov, Ivan||Lu, Lucas J||Chen, Yunshen||Elhag, Amro||Johnston, Keith P||Biswal, Sibani L||Hirasaki, George

publication date

  • August 2016