Comparative analysis of pure CO2 and CO2 enhanced polymer flooding: a numerical modelling approach

Authors

  • Surajo Muhammed Gwio
    Department of Petroleum Engineering Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi, Nigeria
  • Ousmane Soumah
    Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, Near East University Nicosia, North Cyprus

Keywords:

CO2 enhanced polymer flooding, CO2 sequestration, Numerical reservoir modeling and simulation, Oil recovery factor, Chemical flooding

Abstract

In this research, the mechanism of pure CO2 flooding and that of CO2 enhanced polymer flooding were studied, and their efficiencies as they relate to recovery efficiency, displacement sweep e ciency, oil cumulative recovery, etc., were compared. CMG software was used for the modelling of the EOR techniques herein and STARS simulator was the platform of choice. The results obtained from the simulation studies have shown the CO2 enhanced polymer flooding to have superior overall oil recovery efficiency of 53% as against the 33% obtained from the pure CO2 flooding model, thanks to the mobility improvement from the polymer addition. Moreover, the pure CO2 flooding has less oil displacement sweep efficiency ranging between (40-45%), on the other hand, the CO2 enhanced polymer showed a significant improvement (70-75%). In the aspect of cumulative oil production, we were able to achieve 1.6 million barrels of oil from the CO2 enhanced polymer, greater than the 930 thousand barrels recorded from the pure CO2 flooding. Judging from the results of our analysis, it can be concluded that CO2 enhanced polymer flooding should be deployed on a larger scale for medium to low viscosity oil reservoirs, as against the use of pure CO2 flooding. Furthermore, CMG software has been shown to be effective and efficient software for modeling EOR processes.

Dimensions

[1] V. Alvarado & E. Manrique, “Enhanced oil recovery: an updated review”, Energies 3 (2020) 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en3091529.

[2] F. Ameli, A. Alashkar & A. Hemmati-Sarapardeh, “Thermal recovery processes”, in Fundamentals of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery from Conventional and Unconventional Reservoirs, Alireza Bahadori, ScienceDirect, 2018, pp. 139–186. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813027-8.00005-9.

[3] X. Chen, Y. Li, X. Sun, Z. Liu, J. Liu & S. Liu, “Investigation of polymer-assisted CO2 flooding to enhance oil recovery in low-permeability reservoirs”, Polymers 15 (2023) 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15193886.

[4] P. Druetta & F. Picchioni, “Polymer and nanoparticles flooding as a new method for enhanced oil recovery”, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 177 (2019) 479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2019.02.070.

[5] Y. Zhao, G. Fan, K. Song, Y. Li, H. Chen & H. Sun, “The experimental research for reducing the minimum miscibility pressure of carbon dioxide miscible flooding”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 145 (2021) 111091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111091.

[6] S. Kokal & A. Al-kaabi, “Enhanced oil recovery: challenges & opportunities”, Global Energy Solutions Saudi Aramco 69 (2010) 64. https://firstforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Publication_00466.pdf.

[7] S. Thomas, “Enhanced oil recovery - an overview”, Oil and Gas Science and Technology 63 (2008) 9. https://doi.org/10.2516/ogst:2007060.

[8] M. F. Hamza, C. M. Sinnathambi & Z. M. A. Merican, “Recent advancement of hybrid materials used in chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR): a review”, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 206 (2017) 1. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757899X/206/1/012007.

[9] H. Zhou & A. Davarpanah, “Hybrid chemical enhanced oil recovery techniques: a simulation study”, Symmetry 12 (2020) 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/SYM12071086.

[10] Y. Hu, Q. Cheng, J. Yang, L. Zhang & A. Davarpanah, “A laboratory approach on the hybrid-enhanced oil recovery techniques with different saline brines in sandstone reservoirs”, Processes 8 (2020) 9. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8091051.

[11] S. Aziz, M. J. Khan, M. Asad, F. Ud, D. Kirmani, H. Aziz, A. H. Saif & M. Jawad-Khan, “Enhanced oil recovery in heavy oil reservoirs: analyzing the Impact of water and polymer flooding Techniques on Performance [Preprint]”, Research Square (2023). http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2835939/v1.

[12] X. Hu, M. Li, C. Peng & A. Davarpanah, “Hybrid thermal-chemical enhanced oil recovery methods: an experimental study for tight reservoirs”, Symmetry 12 (2020) 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/SYM12060947.

[13] B. Ren & I. J. Duncan, “Reservoir simulation of carbon storage associated with CO2 EOR in residual oil zones, San Andres formation of West Texas, Permian Basin, USA”, Energy 167 (2018) 391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.11.007.

[14] K. Aziz & A. Settari, Petroleum reservoir simulation, Applied Science Publishers Ltd. London, 1979, pp. 135-139. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Petroleum-Reservoir-Simulation-Aziz-Settari/e188df94dd3ff488c06e80f6537f1eea43599021.

[15] S. G. Muhammed & A. Cavit, “Modelling of hybrid steam-CO2 Eor in a heavy oil reservoir and CO2 sequestration”, TN 871 (2023) 1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/384017241_Modelling_of_Hybrid_Steam-CO2_EOR_in_a_Heavy_oil_Reservoir_and_CO2_Sequestration.

[16] Heriot-watt University, Reservoir simulation, 1997. https://www.scribd.com/document/245716139/Reservoir-Simulation.

[17] C. Dang, L. Nghiem, N. Nguyen, C. Yang, Z. Chen & W. Bae, “Modeling and optimization of alkaline-surfactant-polymer flooding and hybrid enhanced oil recovery processes”, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 169 (2018) 578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2018.06.017.

[18] F. A. Mohsenatabar & H. R. Saghafi, “Review on chemical enhanced oil recovery using polymer flooding: fundamentals, experimental and numerical simulation”, Petroleum KeAi Communications Co 6 (2019) 115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petlm.2019.09.003.

[19] M. G. Rezk, J. Foroozesh, D. Zivar & M. Mumtaz, “CO2 storage potential during CO2 enhanced oil recovery in sandstone reservoirs”, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 66 (2019) 233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2019.04.002.

[20] N. Zhang, M. Yin, M. Wei & B. Bai, “Identification of CO2 sequestration opportunities: CO2 miscible flooding guidelines”, Fuel 241 (2018) 459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.12.072.

[21] X. Li, F. Zhang & G. Liu, “Review of polymer flooding technology”, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 675 (2021) 1. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/675/1/012199.

[22] W. Zhou, C. Xin, S. Chen, Q. Yu & K. Wang, “Polymer-enhanced foam flooding for improving heavy oil recovery in thin reservoirs”, Energy and Fuels 34 (2020) 4116. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.9b04298.

[23] A. H. Abbas, D. S. Abdullah, M. Z. Jaafar, W. R. Wan-Sulaiman & A. Agi, “Comparative numerical study for polymer alternating gas (PAG) flooding in high permeability conditions”, SN Applied Sciences 2 (2020) 5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2673-8.

[24] O. Massarweh & A. S. Abushaikha, “A review of recent developments in CO2 mobility control in enhanced oil recovery”, Petroleum KeAi Communications Co 8 (2021) 291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petlm.2021.05.002.

Published

2025-03-03

How to Cite

Comparative analysis of pure CO2 and CO2 enhanced polymer flooding: a numerical modelling approach. (2025). African Scientific Reports, 4(1), 235. https://doi.org/10.46481/asr.2025.4.1.235

Issue

Volume 4, Issue 1, April 2025

Section

ENGINEERING SECTION
Copyright & Licensing

Copyright (c) 2025 Surajo Muhammed Gwio, Ousmane Soumah

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Comparative analysis of pure CO2 and CO2 enhanced polymer flooding: a numerical modelling approach. (2025). African Scientific Reports, 4(1), 235. https://doi.org/10.46481/asr.2025.4.1.235

Similar Articles

41-50 of 77

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)