UNIT-4

ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY OPERATIONS-2

GAS INJECTION:
Gas flooding is the injection of hydrocarbon or non hydrocarbon components into
oil reservoirs. Injected components are usually vapors (gas phase) at atmospheric
temperature and pressure and may include mixtures of hydrocarbons from
methane to propane, and non hydrocarbon components such as carbon dioxide,
nitrogen, and even hydrogen sulfide or other exotic gases such as SO2 . Gas
injection today often means CO2 or rich hydrocarbon gas injection to recovery
residual oil, and in some cases to also store or sequester CO2 from the atmosphere.
Gas injection can be applied in both sandstone and carbonate formations. The
primary mechanism for oil recovery by high pressure gas flooding is through mass
transfer of components in the oil between the flowing gas and oil phases, which
increases when the gas and oil become more miscible. Secondary recovery
mechanisms include swelling and viscosity reduction of oil as intermediate
components in the gas condense into the oil.

CH4 Injection
It is a method used in adjacent areas where gas contains.
N2 Injection
It is a method used in fields containing light oil found in very deep formations. It is
rarely used.
CO2 Injection
It is a widely used method. It is preferred because it increases the mobility of oil
more easily and it has environmental advantages.

Other important key technical factors are the average reservoir pressure, minimum
pressure for miscibility, and the oil viscosity. The reservoir pressure must usually be
near or above the minimum pressure for miscibility to achieve good displacement
efficiency. The MMP (minimum miscibility pressure) is typically smaller for low
viscosity oils. Rough “rules of thumb” for oils with bubble-point viscosities less than
about 10 cp and an API oil gravity of 25 or greater are that CO2 or enriched gases
become miscible with the oil when the reservoir pressure is above 1000 psia, while
methane can become miscible with light oils at pressures greater than about 3000
psia, and nitrogen at pressures greater than about 5000 psia. Of course, reservoir
temperature and oil composition play an important role in this assessment as well.
The miscible fluid chosen should be available and less costly than other alternatives

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History
Gas injection was first developed in the United States, where it is still largely
applied. Gas injection is one of the oldest fluid injection processes
implemented for pressure maintenance. The first gas injection project was
pressure maintenance job initiated in 1864, after drilling the Drake well in
Titusville, Pennsylvania. The project was aimed at boosting fast oil production.
In 1930, the earliest gas drive project was successfully performed in West
Texas. In the 1970s, another gas injection trial was performed at the Surry
County, Texas. In the past two decades, gas injection has gained significant
interest and recent projects are focused in combining hydrocarbon recovery
with CO2 geo‐storage. Geological storage of CO2 (CO2 ‐EOR) is one of the most
promising technologies for promoting ultimate oil recovery, while it
simultaneously alleviates the problem of greenhouse gas accumulation in the
atmosphere. CO2 ‐EOR has been extensively deployed since the mid‐1980s in
the Permian Basin of West Texas with high profit margins achieved
over the past three decades.

Field Applications
CO2 , N2 and hydrocarbon gases are used in GEOR. Technically, the injection of
carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and hydrocarbon gases achieve higher oil recovery
efficiencies. However, natural gas is expensive and there is growing concern
about its impact as greenhouse gas; thus, CO2 is considered the most
appropriate gas for injection, although oil recovery using CO2 is also a costly
venture. Certain costs are often associated with its deployment such as: (a)
cost of the CO2 itself which can add about $20–30 per barrel of oil produced;
(b) cost of surface facilities for separation of the CO2 from the production
streams and compressing it back into the oil reservoir; and (c) financial costs
for the time delay associated with the re‐pressurizing of old reservoirs. The
application of CO2 for EOR purposes appears to be dependent on oil prices

Technological Advancements
Advances in gas injection EOR include water alternate gas (WAG) injection;
the simultaneous water alternate gas injection (SWAG), polymer water
alternate gas (PWAG) injection, the development of CO2 gas membrane
separation technology and field applications of immiscible gas‐assisted gravity
drainage (GAGD).

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Gas can move upward in the formation away from the wells during the gas
injection cycle, while water can move downward in the water cycle. This
segregation of fluids will occur when there is a sufficient vertical permeability
and density difference between the gas and reservoir fluids. Channeling of gas
and water through high-permeability layers usually dominates over gravity
tonguing and becomes more significant as heterogeneity increase,
permeability and density differences decrease, and fluid velocities become
larger. If vertical permeability is higher than 200 md, the gravity effect will be
dominant and oil recovery will increase.

Miscible and Immiscible Gas Injection

In miscible gas flooding, gas completely mixes with the crude oil through single
or multiple contacts between the gas phase and the crude oil phase. The gas
injected reaches miscibility with the crude oil at or above the minimum
miscibility pressure (MMP). MMP is the minimum pressure at which crude oil
becomes miscible with the injected gas at the reservoir temperature. MMP is a
determining factor during miscible gas (e.g. CO2 ) flooding, as displacement
efficiency is highly dependent on it. Immiscible gas flooding entails the
injection of gas below the MMP. Below the MMP, there is no miscibility
between CO2 and oil. Technically, immiscible flooding produces about half of
the recovery of miscible gas flooding. During immiscible flooding, incremental
oil recovery is mainly achieved through oil swelling, which improves the
macroscopic displacement

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Determination of MMP
The MMP is one of the most important design considerations for a gas flood.
There are several proven methods to determine the MMP:
1. Slim-tube and multicontact experiments
2. Mixing cell methods
3. Empirical correlations
4. Compositional simulation of slim-tube displacements
5. Analytical methods using Equation of State (EOS) and the method of
characteristics (MOC)
SLIM TUBE EXPERIMENT
Slim-tube experiments are very useful to define the minimum pressure for
miscibility using crude oil obtained from the field. It is a laboratory test used
to estimate the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP). The slim tube consists of
a very small internal diameter coiled tube filled with crushed core, sand, or
glass bead material. The tube can be quite long, typically between 40- and 60-
ft long, to allow miscibility to develop dynamically some distance from the
injection point. The tube is first saturated with a known volume of oil. The
temperature is then fixed at the reservoir temperature. Gas is injected through
the tube to displace the oil and the amounts of gas and oil are recorded with
time. The recovery is defined as the ratio of the volume of oil produced to the
initial oil volume, otherwise known as the pore volumes recovered, a
dimensionless number that quantifies the recovery in terms of initial
hydrocarbon volume in place.

Determination of MMP
After minimum miscibility pressure, the oil recovery is no
longer increased

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API Gravity vs MMP

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Minimum miscibility pressure:
The temperature effects on the MMP and maximum injection pressure may be
estimated by applying the VIT (Vanishing Interfacial Tension) technique. The
following correlations could be utilized for determination of MMP for cases
which the test temperature T is considered as-show below;
MMP = 0.116 * T - 27.1 for dead oil and pure CO2 system
MMP = 0.222 * T - 51.0 for dead oil and impure CO2 system
MMP = 0.168 * T - 42.7 for live oil and pure CO2 system
MMP = 0.194 * T - 42.2 for live oil and impure CO2 system
where
MMP = Minimum miscibility pressure, MPa

In addition, the maximum injection pressure can be determined by the

subsequent equations as follows;
Pmax =0.384 * T - 102.8 for dead oil and pure CO2 system
Pmax = 0.281 * T - 61.9 for dead oil and impure CO2 system
Pmax = 0.417 * T - 113.5 for live oil and pure CO2 system
Pmax = 0.247 * T - 50.8 for live oil and impure CO2 system
where Pmax = Maximum injection pressure, MPa
T = Reservoir temperature, K = Reservoir temperature, K

Nitrogen and Flue Gas Flooding

Description
Increased costs of natural gas and even carbon dioxide have prompted
operators to look at other methods to maintain the pressure in petroleum
reservoirs. Inert gases are not miscible with many crude oil at low pressures.
Also, the API gravity of the crude oil should e 35o or higher. Nitrogen and flue
gas are oil recovery methods that use these inexpensive non hydrocarbon
gases to displace oil in systems that may be either miscible or immiscible
depending on the pressure and oil composition. Because of their low cost,large
volumes of these gases may be injected. Nitrogen and flue gas are also
considered for use as chase gases in hydrocarbonmiscible and CO2 floods. The
advantages of nitrogen and flue gases include low cost and availability,low
compressibility (3 times less compared to carbon dioxide and 1.5 times less
compared to methane), which provides significantly lower costs
forcompression (2-3 times less). Nitrogen has further advantage as it does not
corrode, as opposed to flue gases, the metalwork. The disadvantages include

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the low solubility of nitrogen in oil (35-45 m3 /m3 for light oil and 15-25 m3
/m3 for heavy oil). The solubility of flue gases is not so different from nitrogen
as the gas consists by almost 90% percent of nitrogen. The minimum mixing
pressure for nitrogen exceeds 35 MPa, which is significantly higher than for
natural gas (25 MPa) and carbon dioxide (8 MPa)
Mechanism
Nitrogen and flue gas flooding recover oil by (1) vaporizing the lighter
components of the crude oil and generating miscibility if the pressure is high
enough; (2) providing a gas drive where a significant portion of the reservoir
volume is filled with low-cost gases, and (3) enhancing gravity drainage in
dipping reservoirs.

Limitations
Developed miscibility can only be achieved with light oils and at very high
pressures; therefore, deep reservoirs are needed. A steeply dipping reservoir
is desired to permit gravity stabilization of the displacement, which has an
unfavorable mobility ratio. For miscible or immiscible enhanced gravity
drainage, a dipping reservoir may be crucial to the success of the project
LIMITATIONS
Viscous fingering results in poor vertical and horizontal sweep efficiency. The
non hydrocarbon gases must be separated from the saleable produced gas.
Injection of flue gas has caused corrosion problems in the past. At present,

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nitrogen is being injected into large successful projects that formerly used flue
gas.

Hydrocarbon Injection
Description
Hydrocarbon-miscible flooding consists of injecting light hydrocarbons through
the reservoir to form a miscible flood. Three different methods have been
used. The first-contact miscible method uses about 5% PV slug of liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG), such as propane, followed by natural gas or gas and
water. A second method, called enriched (condensing) gas drive, consists of
injecting a 10 to 20% PV slug of natural gas that is enriched with ethane
through hexane, followed by lean gas (dry, mostly methane) and possibly
water. The enriching components are transferred from the gas to the oil. The
third and most common method, called high-pressure (vaporizing) gas drive,
consists of injecting lean gas at high pressure to vaporize C2 through C6
components from the crude oil being displaced. A combination of
condensing/vaporizing mechanisms also occurs at many reservoir conditions,
even though we usually think that one process is dominant.
Mechanism
Hydrocarbon miscible flooding recovers crude oil by (1) generating miscibility
(in the condensing and vaporizing gas drive); (2) increasing the oil volume
(swelling); (3) decreasing the oil viscosity; and (4) immiscible gas displacement,
especially enhanced gravity drainage with the right reservoir conditions.

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Limitations
The minimum depth is set by the pressure needed to maintain the generated
miscibility. The required pressure ranges from about 1,200 psi for the LPG
process to 4,000 to 5,000 psi for the high-pressure gas drive, depending on the
oil. A steeply dipping formation is very desirable of permit some gravity
stabilization of the displacement, which normally has an unfavorable mobility
ratio
Problems
Viscous fingering results in poor vertical and horizontal sweep efficiency. Large
quantities of valuable hydrocarbons are required. Solvent may be trapped and
not recovered in the LPG method

CO2 Injection
Description
CO2 flooding is carried out by injecting large quantities of CO2 (30% or more
ofthe hydrocarbon PV into the reservoir).Although CO2 is not firstcontact
miscible with the crude oil, the CO2extracts the light-to-intermediate
components from the oil and, if the pressure is high enough, develops
miscibility to displace the crude oil from the reservoir (MMP). Immiscible
displacements are less effective, but they recover oil better than
waterflooding.
It can be performed in miscible or immiscible way. Immiscible CO2 -EOR is less
efficient compared to miscible.
Mechanisms

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CO2 recovers crude oil by (1) swelling the crude oil (CO2 is very soluble in high
gravity oils); (2) lowering the viscosity of the oil (much more effectively than
N2 or CH4 ); (3) lowering the interfacial tension between the oil and the
CO2 /oil phase in the near-miscible regions; and (4) generation of miscibility
when pressure is high enough. residual oil.
Limitations
A good source of low-cost CO2 is required.
Problems
Corrosion can cause problems, especially if there is early breakthrough of CO2
in producing wells.
CO2 Flooding Advantage
 It promotes swelling
 It reduces oil viscosity
 It increases oil density
 It is soluble in water
 It can vaporize and extract portions of the oil
 It achieves miscibility at pressures of only 100 to 300 bar
 It reduces the difference between oil and water density, and then reduce the
change for gravity segregation
 It reduces the surface tension of oil and water, and result in a more effective
displacement
CO2 Flooding Disadvantage
Asphaltene precipitation,Corrosion problems,Finding an economical CO2
source ,The relative low density and viscosity of CO2 compared to reservoir oil
are responsible for gravity tonguing and viscous fingering.
CO2 Source, Transportation and Recycling
A reliable source of supply for CO2 is very important because the gas must be
available on a continuous basis in large volumes for long periods of time
between 5 to 10 years or more. The CO2 gas used must have a purity of 90 %
or more. If other gases such as methane or nitrogen are present with the CO2 ,
a higher injection pressure is needed to render the gas miscible with the oil.
The best CO2 sources are naturally occurring high-pressure gas reservoirs with
high-purity CO2 , mostly found while exploring for oil and gas. The economics
of a CO2 injection project are improved if CO2 wells are located in the same
geologic basins as those that produce oil, since the CO2 transportation and
injection pressure can then be partially supplied by the CO2 reservoir pressure.
For example, in the US, 25% of the CO2 injected today for CO2 -EOR is from
industrial sources. The CO2 necessary for large long-term projects is
transported most economically through a pipeline as vapour at pressures
between 1400 to 2000 psi so that two-phase flow does not occur. CO2

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recycling is important application to prevent the depletion of CO2 in the EOR
Project. However, about 5% of the CO2 during injection may be lost due to the
leakage and solution in crude oil.

INSITU COMBUSTION TECNOLOGY:

Description
In-situ combustion or fireflooding involves starting a fire in the reservoir and
injecting air to sustain the burning of some of the crude oil. The most common
technique is forward combustion in which the reservoir is ignited in an
injection well, and air is injected to propagate the combustion front away
from the well. One of the variations of this technique is a combination of
forward combustion and waterflooding. A second technique is reverse
combustion in which a fire is started in a well that will eventually become a
producing well, and air injection is then switched to adjacent wells; however,
no successful field trials have been completed for

Mechanisms
In-situ combustion recovers crude oil by (1) the application of heat which is
transferred downstream by conduction and convection, thus lowering the
viscosity of the oil; (2) the products of steam distillation and thermal cracking
that are carried forward to mix with and upgrade the crude; (3) burning coke
that is produced from the heavy ends of the oil; and (4) the pressure supplied
to the reservoir by injected air reverse combustion

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Limitations
If sufficient coke is not deposited from the oil being burned, the combustion
process will not be sustained; this prevents the application for high-gravity
paraffinic oils. If excessive coke is deposited, the rate of advance of the
combustion zone will be slow and the quantity of air required to sustain
combustion will be high. Oil saturation and porosity must be high to minimize
heat loss to rock. Process tends to sweep through upper part of reservoir so
that sweep efficiency is poor in thick formations.

Problems
Adverse mobility ratio. Early breakthrough of the combustion front. Complex
process that requires large capital investment and is difficult to control.
Produced flue gases can present environmental problems. Operational
problems, such as severe corrosion caused by low-pH hot water, serious
oil/water emulsions, increased sand production, deposition of carbon or wax,

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and pipe failures in the producing wells as a result of the very high
temperatures.

MICROBIAL METHOD:
Description
In MEOR, indigenous or exogenous bacteria can be activated or injected into
the reservoir to generate metabolic chemicals that interact with the crude oil
and increase oil production. For these applications, bacteria should be small,
spherical and less than 20% of the size of the pore throats in the formation.
Small cell size (between 0.5 and 5.0 μm) penetrates easily through the
reservoir porous medium.

Process Benefits
MEOR is environmentally friendly as the MEOR bioproducts are biodegradable,
low oil production costs, MEOR is not dependent on oil price like the
conventional CEOR processes and MEOR consumes less energy than the TEOR
processes. MEOR is economically attractive for application in marginally
producing oil fields because the injected bacteria and nutrients are low priced.

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Process Limitations
The MEOR process is complex because it depends on the reservoir chemistry
for bacteria functionality and isolation. MEOR renders low incremental oil
recovery.

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MECHANISM
MEOR involves the application of bacteria in oil reservoir for recovery
purposes. The bacteria are mostly naturally occurring bacteria in reservoir
rocks, hydrocarbon utilising or nonpathogenic. These bacteria produce desired
EOR chemicals in situ through metabolic reactions, that results from multiple
biochemical process steps to generate the EOR chemicals. Nutrients (e.g.
fermentable carbohydrates) are injected to provide favourable conditions for
microbial metabolism, which results in the production of biosurfactants,
biopolymers and gases.

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