Flue gas injection into light oil reservoirs could be a cost-effective gas displacement method for enhanced oil recovery, especially in low porosity and low permeability reservoirs. The flue gas could be generated in situ as obtained from the spontaneous ignition of oil when air is injected into a high temperature reservoir, or injected directly into the reservoir from some surface source. When operating at high pressures commonly found in deep light oil reservoirs, the flue gas may become miscible or near–miscible with the reservoir oil, thereby displacing it more efficiently than an immiscible gas flood. Some successful high pressure air injection (HPAI) projects have been reported in low permeability and low porosity light oil reservoirs. Spontaneous oil ignition was reported in some of these projects, at least from laboratory experiments; however, the mechanism by which the generated flue gas displaces the oil has not been discussed in clear terms in the literature. An experimental investigation was carried out to study the mechanism by which flue gases displace light oil at a reservoir temperature of 116°C and typical reservoir pressures ranging from 27.63 MPa to 46.06 MPa. The results showed that the flue gases displaced the oil in a forward contacting process resembling a combined vaporizing and condensing multi-contact gas drive mechanism. The flue gases also became near-miscible with the oil at elevated pressures, an indication that high pressure flue gas (or air) injection is a cost-effective process for enhanced recovery of light oils, compared to rich gas or water injection, with the potential of sequestering carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
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June 2004
Technical Papers
The Mechanism of Flue Gas Injection for Enhanced Light Oil Recovery
O. S. Shokoya,
O. S. Shokoya
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
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S. A. (Raj) Mehta,
S. A. (Raj) Mehta
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
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R. G. Moore,
R. G. Moore
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
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B. B. Maini,
B. B. Maini
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
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M. Pooladi-Darvish,
M. Pooladi-Darvish
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
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A. Chakma
A. Chakma
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
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O. S. Shokoya
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
S. A. (Raj) Mehta
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
R. G. Moore
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
B. B. Maini
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
M. Pooladi-Darvish
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
A. Chakma
University of Calgary, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
Contributed by the Petroleum Division and presented at the ETCE 2002, Houston, Texas, February 4–6 2002 of THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. Manuscript received by the Petroleum Division May 13, 2002; revised manuscript received January 16, 2004. Associate Editor: E. Ozkan
J. Energy Resour. Technol. Jun 2004, 126(2): 119-124 (6 pages)
Published Online: June 22, 2004
Article history
Received:
May 13, 2002
Revised:
January 16, 2004
Online:
June 22, 2004
Citation
Shokoya , O. S., (Raj) Mehta , S. A., Moore , R. G., Maini , B. B., Pooladi-Darvish , M., and Chakma, A. (June 22, 2004). "The Mechanism of Flue Gas Injection for Enhanced Light Oil Recovery ." ASME. J. Energy Resour. Technol. June 2004; 126(2): 119–124. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1725170
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