Modeling of Geochemical Reactions with Fluid Flow Simulation for Scale Precipitation and Alkaline/surfactant/polymer Flooding Processes

Modeling of Geochemical Reactions with Fluid Flow Simulation for Scale Precipitation and Alkaline/surfactant/polymer Flooding Processes PDF Author: Emre Ozen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 141

Get Book Here

Book Description
Precipitation of minerals is a very prevalent and crucial challenge that occurs once there are two different water phases (types), which consist of different concentration of elements, in a reservoir with changing environmental parameters such as temperature and pressure. Most operated oil and gas fields have been facing the problem of deposition of scales around and inside the wellbore since they have not only water injection but also water production. There is a lack of investigation about scale problem because of the uncomprehensive reservoir simulator considering scale precipitation during water injection and production. In this study, an in-house three-dimensional multi-phase reservoir simulator (UTCHEM) is used to model amount of scale precipitation for several cases. In this work, we neglect the effect of hydrocarbon (eg. CH4, CO2, and H2S) dissolutions during scale deposition. Kinetic reactions are coupled with the fluid flow simulator to consider efficiency of water flooding process affected by scale precipitation around the injection and production wells. Several scale deposition and remediation mechanisms are investigated to tune reaction parameters against experimental data at reservoir condition to study transportation, deposition, and remediation of scales near wells. Simulation results show that ignoring scale precipitation in modeling leads to poor prediction for productivity and injectivity of water flood or another enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Simulation study considering scale precipitation totally changes the performance of water flood and production scenarios. Results reveal that the composition of injected water, pH, and temperature of injected water are important factors that control the scale deposition. Meanwhile, these factors are essential to guide the scale remediation process near the wells. We also used the UTCHEM simulator to investigate the effect of temperature on geochemistry reactions during alkaline surfactant polymer (ASP) injection. Such process efficiency that rely on geochemistry reactions are depend on temperature. We also investigate two different relative permeability models in UTCHEM. A case of alkaline/surfactant polymer core flood is established to test this purpose as well as soap generation because of reaction between alkaline and acid components.

Modeling of Geochemical Reactions with Fluid Flow Simulation for Scale Precipitation and Alkaline/surfactant/polymer Flooding Processes

Modeling of Geochemical Reactions with Fluid Flow Simulation for Scale Precipitation and Alkaline/surfactant/polymer Flooding Processes PDF Author: Emre Ozen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 141

Get Book Here

Book Description
Precipitation of minerals is a very prevalent and crucial challenge that occurs once there are two different water phases (types), which consist of different concentration of elements, in a reservoir with changing environmental parameters such as temperature and pressure. Most operated oil and gas fields have been facing the problem of deposition of scales around and inside the wellbore since they have not only water injection but also water production. There is a lack of investigation about scale problem because of the uncomprehensive reservoir simulator considering scale precipitation during water injection and production. In this study, an in-house three-dimensional multi-phase reservoir simulator (UTCHEM) is used to model amount of scale precipitation for several cases. In this work, we neglect the effect of hydrocarbon (eg. CH4, CO2, and H2S) dissolutions during scale deposition. Kinetic reactions are coupled with the fluid flow simulator to consider efficiency of water flooding process affected by scale precipitation around the injection and production wells. Several scale deposition and remediation mechanisms are investigated to tune reaction parameters against experimental data at reservoir condition to study transportation, deposition, and remediation of scales near wells. Simulation results show that ignoring scale precipitation in modeling leads to poor prediction for productivity and injectivity of water flood or another enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Simulation study considering scale precipitation totally changes the performance of water flood and production scenarios. Results reveal that the composition of injected water, pH, and temperature of injected water are important factors that control the scale deposition. Meanwhile, these factors are essential to guide the scale remediation process near the wells. We also used the UTCHEM simulator to investigate the effect of temperature on geochemistry reactions during alkaline surfactant polymer (ASP) injection. Such process efficiency that rely on geochemistry reactions are depend on temperature. We also investigate two different relative permeability models in UTCHEM. A case of alkaline/surfactant polymer core flood is established to test this purpose as well as soap generation because of reaction between alkaline and acid components.

Mechanistic Modeling of Low Salinity Water Injection

Mechanistic Modeling of Low Salinity Water Injection PDF Author: Aboulghasem Kazemi Nia Korrani
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1262

Get Book Here

Book Description
Low salinity waterflooding is an emerging enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique in which the salinity of the injected water is substantially reduced to improve oil recovery over conventional higher salinity waterflooding. Although there are many low salinity experimental results reported in the literature, publications on modeling this process are rare. While there remains some debate about the mechanisms of low salinity waterflooding, the geochemical reactions that control the wetting of crude oil on the rock are likely to be central to a detailed description of the process. Since no comprehensive geochemical-based modeling has been applied in this area, we decided to couple a state-of-the-art geochemical package, IPhreeqc, developed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) with UTCOMP, the compositional reservoir simulator developed at the Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering in The University of Texas at Austin. A step-by-step algorithm is presented for integrating IPhreeqc with UTCOMP. Through this coupling, we are able to simulate homogeneous and heterogeneous (mineral dissolution/precipitation), irreversible, and ion-exchange reactions under non-isothermal, non-isobaric and both local-equilibrium and kinetic conditions. Consistent with the literature, there are significant effects of water-soluble hydrocarbon components (e.g., CO2, CH4, and acidic/basic components of the crude) on buffering the aqueous pH and more generally, on the crude oil, brine, and rock reactions. Thermodynamic constrains are used to explicitly include the effect of these water-soluble hydrocarbon components. Hence, this combines the geochemical power of IPhreeqc with the important aspects of hydrocarbon flow and compositional effects to produce a robust, flexible, and accurate integrated tool capable of including the reactions needed to mechanistically model low salinity waterflooding. The geochemical module of UTCOMP-IPhreeqc is further parallelized to enable large scale reservoir simulation applications. We hypothesize that the total ionic strength of the solution is the controlling factor of the wettability alteration due to low salinity waterflooding in sandstone reservoirs. Hence, a model based on the interpolating relative permeability and capillary pressure as a function of total ionic strength is implemented in the UTCOMP-IPhreeqc simulator. We then use our integrated simulator to match and interpret a low salinity experiment published by Kozaki (2012) (conducted on the Berea sandstone core) and the field trial done by BP at the Endicott field (sandstone reservoir). On the other hand, we believe that during the modified salinity waterflooding in carbonate reservoirs, calcite is dissolved and it liberates the adsorbed oil from the surface; hence, fresh surface with the wettability towards more water-wet is created. Therefore, we model wettability to be dynamically altered as a function of calcite dissolution in UTCOMP-IPhreeqc. We then apply our integrated simulator to model not only the oil recovery but also the entire produced ion histories of a recently published coreflood by Chandrasekhar and Mohanty (2013) on a carbonate core. We also couple IPhreeqc with UTCHEM, an in-house research chemical flooding reservoir simulator developed at The University of Texas at Austin, for a mechanistic integrated simulator to model alkaline/surfactant/polymer (ASP) floods. UTCHEM has a comprehensive three phase (water, oil, microemulsion) flash calculation package for the mixture of surfactant and soap as a function of salinity, temperature, and co-solvent concentration. Similar to UTCOMP-IPhreeqc, we parallelize the geochemical module of UTCHEM-IPhreeqc. Finally, we show how apply the integrated tool, UTCHEM-IPhreeqc, to match three different reaction-related chemical flooding processes: ASP flooding in an acidic active crude oil, ASP flooding in a non-acidic crude oil, and alkaline/co-solvent/polymer (ACP) flooding.

Geochemical and Biogeochemical Reaction Modeling

Geochemical and Biogeochemical Reaction Modeling PDF Author: Craig M. Bethke
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139468324
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 564

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive overview of reaction processes in the Earth's crust and on its surface, both in the laboratory and in the field. A clear exposition of the underlying equations and calculation techniques is balanced by a large number of fully worked examples. The book uses The Geochemist's Workbench® modeling software, developed by the author and already installed at over 1000 universities and research facilities worldwide. Since publication of the first edition, the field of reaction modeling has continued to grow and find increasingly broad application. In particular, the description of microbial activity, surface chemistry, and redox chemistry within reaction models has become broader and more rigorous. These areas are covered in detail in this new edition, which was originally published in 2007. This text is written for graduate students and academic researchers in the fields of geochemistry, environmental engineering, contaminant hydrology, geomicrobiology, and numerical modeling.

Geochemical Reaction Modeling

Geochemical Reaction Modeling PDF Author: Craig M. Bethke
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198025505
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 417

Get Book Here

Book Description
Geochemical reaction modeling plays an increasingly vital role in several areas of geoscience, from environmental geochemistry and petroleum geology to the study of geothermal and hydrothermal fluids. This book provides an up-to-date overview of the use of numerical methods to model reaction processes in the Earth's crust and on its surface. Early chapters develop the theoretical foundations of the field, derive a set of governing equations, and show how numerical methods can be used to solve these equations. Other chapters discuss the distribution of species in natural waters; methods for computing activity coefficients in dilute solutions and in brines; the complexation of ions into mineral surfaces; the kinetics of precipitation and dissolution reactions; and the fractionation of stable isotopes. Later chapters provide a large number of fully worked calculation examples and case studies demonstrating the modeling techniques that can be applied to scientific and practical problems. Students in a variety of specialties from low-temperature geochemistry to groundwater hydrology will benefit from the wealth of information and practical applications this book has to offer.

Geochemical and Biogeochemical Reaction Modeling

Geochemical and Biogeochemical Reaction Modeling PDF Author: Craig M. Bethke
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108848370
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 526

Get Book Here

Book Description
An indispensable primer and reference textbook, the third edition of Geochemical and Biogeochemical Reaction Modeling carries the reader from the field's origins and theoretical underpinnings through to a collection of fully worked examples. A clear exposition of the underlying equations and calculation techniques is balanced by real-world example calculations. The book depicts geochemical reaction modeling as a vibrant field of study applicable to a wide spectrum of issues of scientific, practical, and societal concern. The new edition offers a thorough description of surface complexation modeling, including two- and three-layer methods; broader treatment of kinetic rate laws; the effect of stagnant zones on transport; and techniques for determining gas partial pressures. This handbook demystifies and makes broadly accessible an elegant technique for portraying chemical processes in the geosphere. It will again prove to be invaluable for geochemists, environmental scientists and engineers, aqueous and surface chemists, microbiologists, university teachers, and government regulators.

Compositional Reactive-transport Modeling of Engineered Waterflooding

Compositional Reactive-transport Modeling of Engineered Waterflooding PDF Author: Alireza Sanaei
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 457

Get Book Here

Book Description
It is widely accepted that oil recovery during waterflooding can be improved by modifying the composition of the injected brine in a process known as low salinity/ engineered waterflooding. In recent years, several studies, ranging from laboratory corefloods to field trials, have shown the positive effect of engineered waterflooding on oil recovery; however, a few studies have shown no benefit gain from this approach. The inconsistency in responses is because the main mechanism underpinning this recovery method is not fully understood. Several mechanisms have been proposed as the dominant mechanism of engineered waterflooding. Although wettability alteration is believed to be the principal mechanism of engineered waterflooding, the main mechanism leading to wettability alteration is not yet agreed upon. In this research, we follow a systematic approach to develop a model that can be used to evaluate the efficiency of the engineered waterflooding process at different length-scales. We hypothesize that wettability alteration, as a consequence of changes in surface charges at oil/brine and brine/rock interfaces, is the underlying mechanism of engineered waterflooding. We perform surface complexation modeling and contact angle calculation to explain the mechanism of the process at small length-scales. We then implement the developed model into UTCOMP-IPhreeqc, a compositional reactive-transport simulator, developed at The University of Texas at Austin. We conduct coreflood history-matching on carbonate and sandstone cores to validate the model and interpret the underlying mechanism of the process. Finally, we employ the model to assess the applicability and efficiency of engineered waterflooding in field-scale scenarios. Most of the experimental and modeling studies performed in the area of engineered waterflooding neglect the effect of CO2 dissolution in the aqueous phase. However, the presence of CO2 in the reservoir can alter the geochemical equilibrium state and the performance of engineered waterflooding. To address this problem, we implement four-phase flash equilibrium calculations into UTCOMP-IPhreeqc. We use the developed model to investigate the effect of CO2 dissolution in the aqueous phase on the performance of engineered waterflooding. To reduce the computational time of reactive-transport simulations, we implement the geochemical modules of UTCOMP-IPhreeqc into a parallel reservoir simulator framework. Moreover, we develop a new speedup scheme which can reduce the computational time of geochemical equilibrium calculations up to 80%. Carbonated Water Injection (CWI) is another promising enhanced oil recovery technique that takes advantage of both CO2 and water flooding processes. In this method, CO2 is added to the injected brine and transported in the reservoir by flood water. While there are several laboratory experiments reported on this process, simulation studies in this area are scarce. In this research, we use UTCOMP-IPhreeqc to understand the mechanisms of the CWI process and investigate the effect of carbonated brine injection on petrophysical properties of the reservoir. We verify the developed model against an analytical model and apply our simulation approach to match carbonate and sandstone corefloods. Finally, we design a synthetic field-scale case study and evaluate the efficiency of CWI on oil recovery. Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding is another EOR method that usually yields significant incremental oil recovery compared to waterflooding. One major concern for high pH ASP flooding is the possibility of inorganic scale formation near the wellbore and in the production facility. To address this problem, we perform batch and 1D single phase geochemical calculations to identify the possibility and extent of scale formation during ASP flooding. Moreover, we use UTCHEM-IPhreeqc, a coupled chemical flooding simulator and geochemical tool, and design a synthetic field-scale model to study scale formation due to ASP injection in a carbonate reservoir

Alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) Flooding - Potential and Simulation for Alaskan North Slope Reservoir

Alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) Flooding - Potential and Simulation for Alaskan North Slope Reservoir PDF Author: Tejas S. Ghorpade
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Enhanced oil recovery
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Get Book Here

Book Description
Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is essential to recover bypassed oil and improve recovery factor. Alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding is a chemical EOR method that can be used to recover heavy oil containing organic acids from sandstone formations. It involves injection of alkali to generate in situ surfactants, improve sweep efficiency, and reduce interfacial tension (IFT) between displacing and displaced phase, and injection of a polymer to improve mobility ratio; typically, it is followed by extended waterflooding. The concentration of alkali, surfactant, and polymer used in the process depends on oil type, salinity of solution, pressure, temperature of the reservoir, and injection water quality. This project evaluates the effect of waterflooding on recovery, calculates the recovery factor for ASP flooding, and optimum concentration of alkali, surfactant, and polymer for an Alaskan reservoir. Also, the effects of waterflooding and improvement with ASP flooding are evaluated and compared. Studies of these effects on oil recovery were analyzed with a Computer Modeling Group (CMG)-generated model for the Alaskan North Slope (ANS) reservoir. Based on a literature review and screening criteria, the Western North Slope (WNS) 1 reservoir was selected for the ASP process. A CMG - WinProp simulator was used to create a fluid model and regression was carried out with the help of actual field data. The CMG - WinProp model was prepared with a 5 spot well injection pattern using the CMG STARS simulator. Simulation runs conducted for primary and waterflooding processes showed that the recovery factor increased from 3% due to primary recovery to 45% due to waterflooding at 500 psi drawdown for 60 years with a constant producing gas oil ratio (GOR). ASP flooding was conducted to increase recovery further, and optimum ASP parameters were calculated for maximum recovery. Also, effect of alkali, surfactant and polymer on recovery was observed and compared with ASP flood. If proved effective, the use of ASP chemicals for ANS reservoirs to increase the recovery factor could replace current miscible gas injection with chemical EOR. It will help to develop chemical flooding processes for heavier crude oil produced in harsh environments and create new horizons for chemical industries in Alaska.

Groundwater Geochemistry

Groundwater Geochemistry PDF Author: Broder J. Merkel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540746684
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Get Book Here

Book Description
To understand hydrochemistry and to analyze natural as well as man-made impacts on aquatic systems, hydrogeochemical models have been used since the 1960’s and more frequently in recent times. Numerical groundwater flow, transport, and geochemical models are important tools besides classical deterministic and analytical approaches. Solving complex linear or non-linear systems of equations, commonly with hundreds of unknown parameters, is a routine task for a PC. Modeling hydrogeochemical processes requires a detailed and accurate water analysis, as well as thermodynamic and kinetic data as input. Thermodynamic data, such as complex formation constants and solubility-products, are often provided as databases within the respective programs. However, the description of surface-controlled reactions (sorption, cation exchange, surface complexation) and kinetically controlled reactions requires additional input data. Unlike groundwater flow and transport models, thermodynamic models, in principal, do not need any calibration. However, considering surface-controlled or kinetically controlled reaction models might be subject to calibration. Typical problems for the application of geochemical models are: • speciation • determination of saturation indices • adjustment of equilibria/disequilibria for minerals or gases • mixing of different waters • modeling the effects of temperature • stoichiometric reactions (e.g. titration) • reactions with solids, fluids, and gaseous phases (in open and closed systems) • sorption (cation exchange, surface complexation) • inverse modeling • kinetically controlled reactions • reactive transport Hydrogeochemical models depend on the quality of the chemical analysis, the boundary conditions presumed by the program, theoretical concepts (e.g.

Molecular Modeling of Geochemical Reactions

Molecular Modeling of Geochemical Reactions PDF Author: James D. Kubicki
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 9781118845172
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 440

Get Book Here

Book Description
Molecular processes in nature affect human health, the availability of resources and the Earth's climate. Molecular modelling is a powerful and versatile toolbox that complements experimental data and provides insights where direct observation is not currently possible. Molecular Modeling of Geochemical Reactions: An Introduction applies computational chemistry to geochemical problems. Chapters focus on geochemical applications in aqueous, petroleum, organic, environmental, bio- and isotope geochemistry, covering the fundamental theory, practical guidance on applying techniques, and extensive literature reviews in numerous geochemical sub-disciplines. Topics covered include:- Theory and Methods of Computational Chemistry- Force Field Application and Development - Computational Spectroscopy - Thermodynamics- Structure Determination - Geochemical Kinetics This book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers looking to understand geochemical processes on a molecular level. Novice practitioners of molecular modelling, experienced computational chemists, and experimentalists seeking to understand this field will all find information and knowledge of use in their research.

Geochemical Modeling of Groundwater, Vadose and Geothermal Systems

Geochemical Modeling of Groundwater, Vadose and Geothermal Systems PDF Author: Jochen Bundschuh
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 0415668107
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book Here

Book Description
Geochemical modeling is an important tool in environmental studies, and in the areas of subsurface and surface hydrology, pedology, water resources management, mining geology, geothermal resources, hydrocarbon geology, and related areas dealing with the exploration and extraction of natural resources. The book fills a gap in the literature through its discussion of geochemical modeling, which simulates the chemical and physical processes affecting the distribution of chemical species in liquid, gas, and solid phases. Geochemical modeling applies to a diversity of subsurface environments, from the vadose zone close to the Earth’s surface, down to deep-seated geothermal reservoirs. This book provides the fundamental thermodynamic concepts of liquid-gas-solid phase systems. It introduces the principal types of geochemical models, such as speciation, reaction-path or forward, inverse- and reactive-transport models, together with examples of the most common codes and the best-practices for constructing geochemical models. The physical laws describing homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical reactions, their kinetics, and the transport of reactive solutes are presented. The partial differential or algebraic equations representing these laws, and the principal numerical methods that allow approximate solutions of these equations that can provide useful solutions to model different geochemical processes, are discussed in detail. Case studies applying geochemical models in different scientific areas and environmental settings, conclude the book. The book is addressed to students, teachers, other professionals, and to the institutions involved in water, geothermal and hydrocarbon resources, mining, and environmental management. The book should prove useful to undergraduate and graduate students, postgraduates, professional geologists and geophysicists, engineers, environmental scientists, soil scientists, hydrochemists, and others interested in water and geochemistry.