Significant improvement in oil recovery and CO2 storage by carbonated water injection (CWI)

Mohsen Tavakolian, Mehran Sedah Sohrabi, Mahmoud Jamiolahmady, Shaun Ireland

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

CWI can alleviate many of the shortcomings of conventional CO2 floods. As a single phase (water and dissolved CO2), carbonated water (CW) does not exhibit fingering problem when injected into the reservoir since the mobility contrast between oil and CW is less than what it would be in the CO2-oil system. Consequently, a much better sweep efficiency (compared to CO2 flooding) can be obtained and hence CO2 would be distributed within a larger part of the reservoir. Furthermore, the higher density of carbonated water (compared to water) prevents CO2 gravity override eliminating the risk of leakage of CO2 through cap rock. In this paper, we present the results of a series of coreflood experiments using sandstone cores and real crude oil. The brine used in the coreflood experiments represented Seawater which is usually injected in oil reservoirs. The experiments were carried out to compare the performance of CWI with plain (conventional) water injection and CO2 flooding. The results of both secondary (pre-waterflood) CWI and tertiary (post-waterflood) CWI reveal that CWI is an efficient oil recovery method compared to conventional waterflooding and leads to safe storage of significant quantity of CO2 as a dissolved phase.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication3rd EAGE CO2 Geological Storage Workshop 2012
Subtitle of host publicationUnderstanding the Behavior of CO2 in Geological Storage Reservoirs
PublisherEAGE Publishing BV
Pages147-149
Number of pages3
ISBN (Print)9781629937854
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012
Event3rd EAGE CO2 Geological Storage Workshop 2012 - Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Duration: 26 Mar 201227 Mar 2012

Conference

Conference3rd EAGE CO2 Geological Storage Workshop 2012
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityEdinburgh
Period26/03/1227/03/12

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Significant improvement in oil recovery and CO2 storage by carbonated water injection (CWI)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this