TY - JOUR
T1 - Wettability alteration of carbonate reservoir cores—laboratory evaluation using complementary techniques
AU - Khaleel, Omar
AU - Teklu, Tadesse W.
AU - Alameri, Waleed
AU - Abass, Hazim
AU - Kazemi, Hossein
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for providing carbonate core samples from a Middle East reservoir. We thank James Ranville and his student, Logan Rand, at the Department of Chemistry, Colorado School of Mines (CSM), for permission to use their f-potential equipment and for laboratory training. We thank Surtek for allowing us to use their spinning-drop-tensiometer equipment for the IFT study. We also thank Younki Cho for his laboratory training with respect to the contact-angle-measuring equipment. We would also like to acknowledge the reviewers of the manuscript for their constructive suggestions.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright VC 2019 Society of Petroleum Engineers
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - The objective of this paper was to assess the applicability of relatively low-salinity brine and different surfactants for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East. Phase behavior, interfacial tension (IFT), contact angle, spontaneous imbibition, and f-potential experiments were performed. The experimental work flow included a phase-behavior study followed by IFT, contact-angle measurements, spontaneous-imbibition measurements, and f-potential measurements at varying salinities and surfactant concentrations. Contact-angle-measurement results indicated that surfactant solutions, in addition to lowering IFT, tend to change the core wettability from oil-wet or neutral-wet to more water-wet. Furthermore, the best results were achieved by adding an anionic surfactant. Moreover, spontaneous imbibition and f-potential measurements provided additional supporting data that diluted seawater (DSW), in a dilute anionic or nonionic surfactant solution, alters the wettability of carbonates to a favorable wetting state for improving oil recovery. This research presents a set of diverse experimental data that confirms adding low concentrations of anionic and nonionic surfactants to DSW improves oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs.
AB - The objective of this paper was to assess the applicability of relatively low-salinity brine and different surfactants for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East. Phase behavior, interfacial tension (IFT), contact angle, spontaneous imbibition, and f-potential experiments were performed. The experimental work flow included a phase-behavior study followed by IFT, contact-angle measurements, spontaneous-imbibition measurements, and f-potential measurements at varying salinities and surfactant concentrations. Contact-angle-measurement results indicated that surfactant solutions, in addition to lowering IFT, tend to change the core wettability from oil-wet or neutral-wet to more water-wet. Furthermore, the best results were achieved by adding an anionic surfactant. Moreover, spontaneous imbibition and f-potential measurements provided additional supporting data that diluted seawater (DSW), in a dilute anionic or nonionic surfactant solution, alters the wettability of carbonates to a favorable wetting state for improving oil recovery. This research presents a set of diverse experimental data that confirms adding low concentrations of anionic and nonionic surfactants to DSW improves oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075440308&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85075440308
SN - 1094-6470
VL - 22
SP - 911
EP - 922
JO - SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering
JF - SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering
IS - 3
ER -