Tight Oil EOR
Tight oil reservoirs, characterized by extremely low permeability and complex pore structures, pose significant challenges to conventional recovery methods. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques, such as gas injection, chemical flooding, and thermal methods, have emerged as promising solutions to improve oil recovery in these unconventional resources. Tight oil EOR not only enhances hydrocarbon production but also contributes to long-term energy sustainability and the efficient utilization of unconventional resources.
Our research group has conducted diverse studies on tight oil EOR, exploring advanced methods to enhance oil recovery. We have modeled the impact of permeability heterogeneity and relative permeability hysteresis on cyclic CO鈧 injection efficiency, demonstrating its potential for both oil recovery and CO鈧 storage. Our work also includes developing digital core analysis methods using CT scanning and SEM imaging for pore-scale characterization, enabling accurate modeling of fluid transport properties in tight reservoirs. Additionally, we have studied gas slippage and condensation effects on permeability in nano-porous media, as well as applying nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques for permeability estimation鈥. Experimental projects include evaluating cyclic gas injection processes and simulating fluid dynamics in hydraulic fractures using compositional reservoir models.
Our findings contribute to improved understanding and optimization of EOR strategies in tight oil reservoirs. By integrating experimental data with advanced simulations, we aim to refine EOR methodologies and reduce uncertainties associated with reservoir heterogeneity and phase behavior. Future efforts will focus on scaling up successful methods for field applications and developing hybrid EOR techniques tailored to the unique challenges of tight oil formations.
Sample Publications and Presentations
- Solatpour, R., Babak, P. and Kantzas, A., 鈥淟og-Exponential Transformation Function for Interpreting NMR Relaxation Measurements of Hydrocarbon in Organic Porous Media for Enhancing Absolute Adsorption Estimation鈥, Chemical Engineering Science, 286, 119607, 2024.
- R. Solatpour and A. Kantzas, 鈥淎pplication of nuclear magnetic resonance permeability models in tight reservoirs,鈥濃The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, vol. 97, no. 5, pp. 1191鈥1207, Oct. 2018, doi:鈥10.1002/cjce.23354.
- Santiago, C. J. S. and Kantzas, A., 鈥淎 Comparison between Maxwell-Stefan and Klinkerberg models for Simulation in Tight Condensate Formations鈥, SPE-209589-PA, SPE Journal, 27(4),2015-2032, 2022.
- Santiago, C.J. and Kantzas, A., 鈥淥n the Role of Molecular Diffusion in Modelling Enhanced Recovery in Unconventional Condensate Reservoirs鈥 SPE-200596-MS, Presented in SPE EUROPEC 82 EAGE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 8-11 June, 2020.
- Santiago, C.J. and Kantzas, A., 鈥淚nvestigation of Cyclic Gas Injection in the Gas Condensate Window of Unconventional Reservoirs鈥 SPE-199999-MS, presented at the SPE Unconventional Resources Conference, held in Calgary, Alberta 18-19 March 2020.