Chemical enhanced oil recovery under Harsh conditions: Investigation of rock permeability and insights from NMR measurements

Injecting surfactant into a hydrocarbon reservoir stands out as a highly effective method for EOR due to its ability to reduce water/oil IFT and alter rock wettability in certain cases. However, the efficiency of this process is compromised in heterogeneous reservoirs, especially carbonates, characterized by significant permeability variations. This study presents findings from three core flooding experiments on heterogeneous carbonate core samples with different permeabilities. The experiments were conducted under representative reservoir conditions of 100 °C, pressures higher than 3000 psi, and seawater salinities and formation water of 57,745 ppm and 213,768 ppm, respectively. In each experiment, seawater was continuously injected followed by continuously injecting a 2500-ppm solution of in-house synthesized Gemini surfactant. Results revealed that the recovery factor was highest in low-permeability rocks and lowest in high-permeability rocks for both seawater and surfactant floods. Surfactant floods yielded additional recoveries of 31%, 23%, and 19% for low, medium, and high-permeability samples, respectively. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis on short analogous core plugs at different flooding stages confirmed these results. Effluent analysis on the produced aqueous phase indicated that dynamic retention was highest (0.467 mg/gm-rock) in the lowest permeability and lowest (0.146 mg/gm-rock) in the highest permeability rock. NMR analysis suggested that the surfactant's recovery performance and dynamic retention were influenced by the larger surface area of low-permeability rocks, facilitating increased contact with the surfactant. Utilizing NMR monitoring in this work enhances EOR insights through integrated studies and coreflooding experiments and establishes a novel framework for complex reservoir conditions.