Lecture outline

What is miscible gas injection?

Three mechanisms of EOR

miscible displacement
oil swelling
oil viscosity reduction

Three types of miscible displacement and their prediction

FCM
MCM vaporizing gas drive
MCM condensing gas drive

Immiscible displacement

Design considerations: MMP and MME

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016
 What is miscible gas injection?

Injection of gas that are (a) directly miscible with the reservoir oil or
(b) that generate miscibility in the reservoir through mass transfer of
components between the injected fluid and the oil.
Fluids are miscible if they form a single phase in all proportions.

Injected fluids: hydrocarbon gas (CH4,, propane), CO2, N2, H2S,

flue gas (N2, CO, CO2),
Injected gas may be imported or produced.
Injected gas may be recycled.

Recognized in the 1950s.

Current status: ~1/3MBD hydrocarbon injection; ~1/3MBD CO2-EOR

Incremental recovery 5 to 15% OOIP.

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016

 Three mechanisms of EOR

Primary mechanism:
Reduction/removal of between the oil and the displacing fluid improve Ed.

Secondary mechanisms are associated with gas components

dissolving into the oil (prior to the development of miscibility).
oil swelling: volume of the oil phase increases oil is better connected (even
remobilized) increase ko
reduction of oil viscosity.
Both increase ko/o decrease M.

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016

 Lecture outline
What is miscible gas injection?

Three mechanisms of EOR

miscible displacement
oil swelling
oil viscosity reduction

Three types of miscible displacement and their prediction

FCM
MCM vaporizing gas drive
MCM condensing gas drive

Immiscible displacement

Design considerations: MMP and MME

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016
 First contact miscibility (FCM)

Injected fluid is miscible with the oil

at reservoir P and T, at all dilutions /
compositions.

How do we know if two fluids are

FCM?

1. Ternary diagram
Line connecting reservoir oil and the
injected gas does not intersect the 2-phase
region.
Mixtures of the oil and gas form a single
phase at all ratios.

There is a range of gas compositions that is

FCM with the reservoir oil at this (T, P).

Y. Tanino
[Lake 2010]
EG55Q1/HI spring 2016
FCM: how do we predict it?
contd
[Green & Willhite 1998]

100%
50%:50%
C2H6

90% C2H6 10% C2H6

100%
C7H16

2. P-T diagram
Find P-T diagram for a mixture of two
components, one representing the injection gas
and the other representing the oil.
If reservoir P exceeds the critical locus at the
reservoir T, then mixtures of the two components
form a single phase at all ratios.
Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016
 FCM displacement by LPG
(liquefied petroleum gas) slugs
Typical injection scheme:
i. 10 to 20% PV primary slug of hydrocarbon
(e.g., propane or butane).
ii. cheaper chase fluid (e.g., water or high-CH4
gas).

Designed to achieve FCM with oil at

leading end of primary (LPG) slug.

By definition, Sor = 0 for reservoir oil /

primary slug.
In contrast, primary slug may be capillary-
trapped by the chase fluid.

[Green & Willhite 1998]

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016

Example 1: Will FCM exist at the leading and
trailing edges of the primary slug?
[Green & Willhite 1998]

CH4 or
N2

C2 to C6

The line connecting the oil and the primary slug fluid does not intersect the 2-phase
region FCM.

Mixtures of primary slug and chase fluid form 2-phases over a wide range of
compositions.
Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016
 Lecture outline
What is miscible gas injection?

Three mechanisms of EOR

miscible displacement
oil swelling
oil viscosity reduction

Three types of miscible displacement and their prediction

FCM
MCM vaporizing gas drive
MCM condensing gas drive

Immiscible displacement

Design considerations: MMP and MME

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016
Multiple contact miscibility
(MCM)
injected fluid and oil become miscible as the injected fluid
propagates through the reservoir and exchanges components
with the oil.

2 categories
vaporizing gas drive
injected fluid is a lean gas low MW HC (CH4 or C2H6), N2, CO2
intermediate MW HC in the reservoir oil vaporize into injected gas to enrich it.
once leading edge of gas slug becomes sufficiently enriched, it becomes
miscible with oil.

condensing (rich) gas drive

injected fluid is a rich gas significant amounts of intermediate MW HC
intermediate components in the injected gas condense into the reservoir oil to
enrich it.
once oil becomes sufficiently enriched, it becomes miscible with injected gas.
Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016
 MCM - vaporising gas drive
[Lake 2010]
G0
Scenario
reservoir oil is rich in intermediates:
Oo.
injection gas is 100% C1: G0.
At the given (P, T), G0 is not FCM with
the Oo.
Will MCM be achieved?

Oo Model gas displacement as a sequence

of displacement-followed-by-
thermodynamic-equilibration events.
See scanned notes.
C7+ C2 to C6

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016

 MCM - vaporising gas drive

C1 Provided Oo falls on the high

[Lake 2010] intermediate-HC side of the critical tie
line,
after a number of iterations,

G4
the segment connecting the gas phase at
the leading edge (say, G4) and Oo will fall
outwith the 2-phase region.
miscibility achieved with reservoir oil!
MCM typically achieved within O(10)m
from the injection well.
For all subsequent steps, the mixture at
the leading edge will be on a straight line
between G4 and Oo.

C7+ C2 to C6
What is the spatial distribution of the
fluid composition at this stage?

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016

 MCM - vaporising gas drive: composition
distribution between the wells
C1
G0 to G4
[Lake 2010]
G0 G0 Oo
G4 to Oo

L* to L4

miscible
G4 bank

L* pure reservoir oil.

mixture of injected gas and oil forms
single phase whose composition
varies from G4 to Oo.
2-phase region:
saturated gaseous phase with
composition varying along arc G4-G0
and
C7+ C2 to C6 corresponding sat. liquid phase at
local thermodynamic equilibrium at
each x.

pure injection gas.

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016
 Criterion for MCM vaporizing
gas drive.
C1
injected fluid

CP

A B

C7+ C2 to C6

The injected fluid and the reservoir oil must be on opposite sides of
the critical tie line.
(MCM is possible for the reservoir oil B, but not A.)

Y. Tanino EG55Q1/HI spring 2016