Maximal Oil Recovery by Simultaneous Condensation of Alkane and Steam

Johannes Bruining | Marchesin, Dan

Keywords: Porous Medium | steamdrive | distillation | multiphase flow

This papes deals with the application of steam to enhance the recovery from petroleum reservoirs. We formulate a mathematical and numerical model that simulates co-injection of volatile oil with steam into a porous rock in one dimensional setting. We utilize the mathematical theory of conservation laws to validate the numerical simulations. This combined numerical and analytical approach reveals the detailed mechanism for thermal displacement of oil mixtures discovered in laboratory experiments. We study the structure of the solution and the recovery as a function of the boiling point of the volatile oil, which is the most crucial parameter. The most stricking result is that when the boiling point of the volatile oil is such that it condenses and stays at the location where the steam condenses also, the oil recovey is virtually complete.

Anexos:

• maximal.pdf