Laboratory experiment and field application of chemical assisted steam flooding

ABSTRACTThere are serious problems such as steam channeling and low oil-steam ratio when it comes to steam flooding. In order to improve its performance and to enhance oil recovery, foam agents and oil displacement agents are used to enhance the sweep efficiency and the displacement efficiency in steam flooding process. The design, development, and syntheses of high-performance low-cost foam agent and oil displacement agent were put forward in this paper. Evaluation experiment results showed excellent foaming performance and the high-temperature resistance of the foam agent. In addition, good interfacial performance and thermal stability of the oil displacement agent were also observed. The developed system was able to achieve ultra-low interfacial tension under steam flooding conditions. Laboratory experiments of chemical assisted steam flooding showed that the injection of the high-temperature foam agents and oil displacement agents totally enhanced oil recovery of 11.67%. Chemical assisted steam flooding field test has also been carried out in Gudao Zhongerbei Block of Shengli Oilfield. By June 2020, the cumulative oil production in the pilot area was 4.02 × 105 t with the reserve recovery percent of 54.6%, the enhanced oil production was 3.56 × 105 t and the enhanced oil recovery factor was 19.3%.KEYWORDS: Heavy oilchemical-assisted steam floodinghigh-temperature foam agenthigh-temperature oil displacement agentlaboratory experimentfield application Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.