Assessing the application of miscible CO2 flooding in oil reservoirs: a case study from Pakistan

Miscible carbon dioxide (CO2) flooding has been recognized as a promising approach to enhance the recovery of oil reservoirs. However, depending on the injection strategy and rock/fluid characteristics, efficiency of the miscible CO2flooding varies from reservoir to reservoir. Although, many studies have been carried out to evaluate the performance of the miscible CO2flooding, a specific strategy which can be strictly followed for a hydrocarbon reservoir has not been established yet. The aim of this study is to assess one of Pakistan’s oil reservoirs for miscible CO2flooding by applying a modified screening criterion and numerical modeling. As such, the most recent miscible CO2screening criteria were modified, and a numerical modeling was applied on the prospective reservoir. Based on the results obtained, South oil reservoir (S3) is chosen for a detailed assessment of miscible CO2flooding. It was also found that implementation of CO2water-alternating gas (CO2-WAG) injection at early stages of production can increase the production life of the reservoir

From Mineral Surfaces and Coreflood Experiments to Reservoir Implementations: Comprehensive Review of Low-Salinity Water Flooding (LSWF)

Low-salinity water flooding (LSWF) is an emerging and inexpensive enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method. The technique hinges on the following concept: as salinity of injected water reduces, additional oil is recovered. However, LSWF remains emerging because its underlying mechanisms have been largely elusive, and the identified ones have been controversial. If properly investigated, smart water injection may contribute to harnessing both heavy-oil reservoirs, which account for nearly 80% of world\u27s petroleum reserves, and conventional light-to-medium oil reservoirs. This report presents a comprehensive review of low-salinity water injection as an EOR method, with a specific focus on consistencies or lack of them, that occurs primarily due to inadequate understanding of oil-brine and rock-oil-brine interactions. In presenting well-documented scientific information, we expect to apprise industry and academic researchers that LSWF warrants more-advanced research based on interdisciplinary approach (bridging the gap between science and engineering) and the integration of knowledge from R&D efforts and observations from the atomic to the field scales