Enhanced oil recovery and carbon dioxide storage

• Describe classification of the methods of EOR, and necessity for their application
• Describe the underlying physical concepts and the derivation of the basic transport equations for multiphase flows in porous media, and in particular, the classical Buckley-Leverett (BL) theory of waterflooding
• Describe the methods of reservoir simulation
• Solve graphically the BL equation in one dimension and calculate basic parameters of waterflooding, like time of the water breakthrough, saturation at the breakthrough front etc.
• Evaluate criteria for physically reasonable laboratory studies of the waterflooding. Describe practical problems and new phenomena occurring under the visualization experiments with application of the X-ray computer tomography scanner
• Evaluate the effect of gravity on waterflooding and other methods of the EOR, in particular, on the stability of displacement
• Evaluate the effect of heterogeneity; classify the reservoirs according to the flow regimes (viscous-dominant, capillary-dominant etc.); apply analytical methods of upscaling
• Describe the principles of application of miscible and immiscible gas injection, their advantages and shortcomings; Predict the main parameter of the gas injection, the minimum miscibility pressure, with the help of a software
• Describe the principles of engineering application and underlying physical mechanisms of carbon dioxide injection and water-alternate-gas (WAG) injection
• Select a chemical (surfactant, polymer/micellar) etc. for chemical flooding, on the basis of their known properties
• Describe and evaluate the processes occurring under carbon dioxide injection in the aquifer or in a depleted oil reservoir.

Properties of reservoir fluids and porous rocks (repetition). Flow equations in porous media. Constituting dependencies: relative permeabilities, capillary pressure. Buckley-Leverett theory of waterflooding: fractional-flow function; Graphical solution of the Buckley-Leverett equation in one dimension; calculation of the basic parameters of oil recovery; systems of wells and streamlines; laboratory experiments on waterflooding, involving visualization with X-ray computer tomography; gravity; stability of waterflooding; effects of heterogeneity; miscible gas injection: minimum miscibility pressure, forward-, backward- and multicontact miscibility mechanisms, predictions and experiments; peculiarities of carbon dioxide injection and water-alternate-gas flooding; chemical flooding; carbon dioxide storage in aquifer.

Basic mathematical education on the level of bachelor program in chemical engineering or similar. Initial knowledge of partial differential equations and/or fluid flow. A course on fundamentals of oil and gas production.

Lectures, group assignments.