Implications of pore-scale distribution of frozen water for the production of hydrocarbon reservoirs located in permafrost

• Main Author: Venepalli, Kiran Kumar
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Hydrocarbon reservoirs; Permafrost; Fairbanks; Ice; permafrost; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/7950

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2011 Frozen reservoirs are unique with the extra element of ice residing in them along with the conventional components of a reservoir. The sub-zero temperatures of these reservoirs make them complicated to explore. This study investigates reduction in relative permeability to oil with decrease in temperature and proposes a best-production technique for reservoirs occurring in sub zero conditions. Core flood experiments were performed on two clean Berea sandstone cores under permafrost conditions to determine the sensitivity of the relative permeability to oil (kro) over a temperature range of 23°C to -10°C and for connate water salinities ranging from 0 to 6467 ppm. Both cores showed maximum reduction in relative permeability to oil when saturated with deionized water; they showed minimum reduction when saturated with 6467 ppm of saline water. Theoretically, the radius of ice formed in the center of the pore can be determined using the Kozeny-Carman Equation by assuming the pores and pore throats as a cube with 'N' identical parallel pipes embedded in it. With obtained values of kro as input to the Kozeny-Carman Equation at -10°C, the radius of ice dropped from 0.145 [upsilon]rn to 0.069 [upsilon]rn when flooding, water salinity is increased to 6467 ppm. This analysis quantifies the reductions in relative permeability solely due to different formation salinities. Other parameters like fluid saturations and pore structure effects also are discussed. Fluids like deionized water, saline water, and antifreeze (a mixture of 60% ethylene or propylene glycol with 40% water) were tested to find the best flooding agent for frozen reservoirs. At 0°C, 9% greater recovery was observed with antifreeze than with saline water. Antifreeze showed 48% recovery even at -10°C, at which temperature the rest of the fluids failed to increase production. 1. Introduction -- 1.1. Conventional oils in unconventional reservoirs -- 1.2. Reservoirs in permafrost and related challenges -- ...