Enhance Oil Recovery in Fracture-Cave Carbonate Reservoirs Using Zwitterion-Anionic Composite Surfactant System
The carbonate fracture-cave reservoir in the Tahe oilfield, China, encounters development challenges because of its substantial burial depth (exceeding 5000 m). Its characteristics are low permeability, pronounced heterogeneity, extensive karst cavern systems, diverse connection configurations, and...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Wei Peng Qing You Xiaoqiang Liu Bojie Zhou Xingxing Ding Yuechun Du Liangfei Xiao |
| author_facet | Wei Peng Qing You Xiaoqiang Liu Bojie Zhou Xingxing Ding Yuechun Du Liangfei Xiao |
| author_sort | Wei Peng |
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| description | The carbonate fracture-cave reservoir in the Tahe oilfield, China, encounters development challenges because of its substantial burial depth (exceeding 5000 m). Its characteristics are low permeability, pronounced heterogeneity, extensive karst cavern systems, diverse connection configurations, and intricate spatial distribution. Prolonged conventional water flooding leads to predominant water channels, resulting in water channeling and limited sweep efficiency. Surfactant flooding is usually adopted in these conditions because it can mitigate water channeling and enhance sweep efficiency by lowering the interfacial tension (it refers to the force that is generated due to the unbalanced molecular attraction on the liquid surface layer and causes the liquid surface to contract) between oil and water. Nonetheless, the Tahe oilfield is a carbonate reservoir where surfactant is prone to loss near the well, thereby limiting its application. High-pressure injection flooding technology is an innovative method that utilizes injection pressure higher than the formation rupture pressure to alter reservoir permeability, specifically in low-permeability oil fields. Because of the high fluid flow rate, the contact time with the interface is decreased, enabling the ability for surfactants to reach the deep reservoir. In this article, based on the mixed adsorption mechanism of two surfactants and the hydrophilic and lipophilic equilibrium mechanisms, a set of high-temperature and high-salinity resistance surfactant systems appropriate for the Tahe oilfield is developed and its associated performance is evaluated. An oil displacement experiment is carried out to examine the effect of surfactant flooding by high-pressure injection. The results demonstrate that the ideal surfactant system can lower the interfacial tension to 10<sup>−2</sup> mN/m and its capacity to reduce the interfacial tension to 10<sup>−2</sup> mN/m after different aging periods. Besides, the surfactant system possesses excellent wettability (wetting angle changed from 135° to 42°) and certain emulsifying abilities. The oil displacement experiment shows that the oil recovery rate of surfactant flooding by high pressure reaches 26%. The effect of surfactant flooding by high-pressure injection is better than that of high-pressure injection flooding. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eb96ea1382464ac2802129a2be7883cd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj-art-eb96ea1382464ac2802129a2be7883cd2025-01-24T13:31:18ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-01-0118238310.3390/en18020383Enhance Oil Recovery in Fracture-Cave Carbonate Reservoirs Using Zwitterion-Anionic Composite Surfactant SystemWei Peng0Qing You1Xiaoqiang Liu2Bojie Zhou3Xingxing Ding4Yuechun Du5Liangfei Xiao6School of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, ChinaThe carbonate fracture-cave reservoir in the Tahe oilfield, China, encounters development challenges because of its substantial burial depth (exceeding 5000 m). Its characteristics are low permeability, pronounced heterogeneity, extensive karst cavern systems, diverse connection configurations, and intricate spatial distribution. Prolonged conventional water flooding leads to predominant water channels, resulting in water channeling and limited sweep efficiency. Surfactant flooding is usually adopted in these conditions because it can mitigate water channeling and enhance sweep efficiency by lowering the interfacial tension (it refers to the force that is generated due to the unbalanced molecular attraction on the liquid surface layer and causes the liquid surface to contract) between oil and water. Nonetheless, the Tahe oilfield is a carbonate reservoir where surfactant is prone to loss near the well, thereby limiting its application. High-pressure injection flooding technology is an innovative method that utilizes injection pressure higher than the formation rupture pressure to alter reservoir permeability, specifically in low-permeability oil fields. Because of the high fluid flow rate, the contact time with the interface is decreased, enabling the ability for surfactants to reach the deep reservoir. In this article, based on the mixed adsorption mechanism of two surfactants and the hydrophilic and lipophilic equilibrium mechanisms, a set of high-temperature and high-salinity resistance surfactant systems appropriate for the Tahe oilfield is developed and its associated performance is evaluated. An oil displacement experiment is carried out to examine the effect of surfactant flooding by high-pressure injection. The results demonstrate that the ideal surfactant system can lower the interfacial tension to 10<sup>−2</sup> mN/m and its capacity to reduce the interfacial tension to 10<sup>−2</sup> mN/m after different aging periods. Besides, the surfactant system possesses excellent wettability (wetting angle changed from 135° to 42°) and certain emulsifying abilities. The oil displacement experiment shows that the oil recovery rate of surfactant flooding by high pressure reaches 26%. The effect of surfactant flooding by high-pressure injection is better than that of high-pressure injection flooding.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/2/383surfactant systemenhancing oil recoveryhigh-temperature and high-salinity resistancehigh-pressure injection |
| spellingShingle | Wei Peng Qing You Xiaoqiang Liu Bojie Zhou Xingxing Ding Yuechun Du Liangfei Xiao Enhance Oil Recovery in Fracture-Cave Carbonate Reservoirs Using Zwitterion-Anionic Composite Surfactant System Energies surfactant system enhancing oil recovery high-temperature and high-salinity resistance high-pressure injection |
| title | Enhance Oil Recovery in Fracture-Cave Carbonate Reservoirs Using Zwitterion-Anionic Composite Surfactant System |
| title_full | Enhance Oil Recovery in Fracture-Cave Carbonate Reservoirs Using Zwitterion-Anionic Composite Surfactant System |
| title_fullStr | Enhance Oil Recovery in Fracture-Cave Carbonate Reservoirs Using Zwitterion-Anionic Composite Surfactant System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhance Oil Recovery in Fracture-Cave Carbonate Reservoirs Using Zwitterion-Anionic Composite Surfactant System |
| title_short | Enhance Oil Recovery in Fracture-Cave Carbonate Reservoirs Using Zwitterion-Anionic Composite Surfactant System |
| title_sort | enhance oil recovery in fracture cave carbonate reservoirs using zwitterion anionic composite surfactant system |
| topic | surfactant system enhancing oil recovery high-temperature and high-salinity resistance high-pressure injection |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/2/383 |
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