A.

Background/Intro

A chemical flooding method called alkaline flooding is perceived as a potentially cost-effective .

Nonetheless, early field projects conducted with strong alkalis, such as sodium hydroxide or sodium
orthosilicate were normally baffling. disappointing. Issues experienced in the field were regularly
connected with high injection pressures and silicate scale which was precipitated in production wells.

In the mid-1980s, rock-alkali reactions were distinguished as the reason for most issues related with
alkaline flooding projects. It was discovered that the extent of rock-alkali reactions could be reduced by
using weaker alkalis such as sodium bicarbonate, and buffered mixtures. By 1989, it was also known that
the iFT properties of weak alkalis could be further enhanced by addition of small amounts of synthetic
surfactants.

B. Problem

Coreflood tests were conducted in a laboratory with relatively large chemical slugs, 0.25 to 0.75
pore volume in size. Many observations were derived from the said coreflood tests and another
perception was that, for the most part, oil recovery decreased when the sizes of the dilute chemical slugs
were decreased. Since large chemical slugs are costly to deal with in the oil field, infusion of very small
slugs could simplify the method.

C. Solution

They developed an injection strategy that will simplify field application of the ASP
(alkali/surfactant/polymer) process. Moreover, this methodology will be helpful for expanding the oil
recuperation from the progressing polymer surges. Process configuration was accomplished with
laboratory experiments. Small slugs of concentrated alkali and surfactant, which were diluted by in situ
mixing, produced suitable conditions for ultra-low IFT at the leading edge of a larger polymer slug.

The simulation of computer was utilized to determine diffusion/dispersion parameters so that the
degree of in situ reservoir mixing of small chemical slugs could be anticipated. A three-dimensional,
three-phase, reservoir simulator was used for simulation. The derived diffusion/dispersion coefficients
were used for chemical flooding simulations, and the simulation predictions were with the laboratory
core floods. Coreflood effluent compositions coordinated the computer simulation predictions.

When followed with polymer, injection of small, concentrated, slugs of alkali and surfactant
mobilized as much oil as injection of larger, more dilute, slugs of alkali/surfactant. This procedure should
be able to simplify field applications of ASP flooding because very small slugs of alkali and surfactant can
be easily dealt with and infused in an oil field. It was also shown that injection of small slugs of alkali and
surfactant during an ongoing polymer flood should improve oil recovery significantly. An additional 23%
PV of oil was recovered when small alkali and surfactant slugs were injected during polymer flooding.

D. Realization for Conclusion

 It was really prove that by using small slugs of alkali and surfactants, diluted by an in situ mixing,
suitable conditions for ultra-low IFT at the leading edge of a large polymer slug will be produced. Also,
the computer simulations were in a good agreement with the analytical results from the conducted
coreflood tests. Good thing about corefloods is that it was able to demostrate that the simplified ASP
procedure can possibly be economic in terms of chemical costs, as well as being easier to apply in an oil
field. Moreover, these corefloods also showed that injecting small alkali and surfactant slugs during an
ongoing polymer flood should greatly enhance the oil recovery from the polymer flood.