Laboratory Study on Low Gas/Liquid Ratio Foam Flooding for Zhuangxi Heavy Oil

Abstract

Considering the high cost and injection pressure of conventional foam flooding, foam flooding with low gas/liquid ratio was proposed to enhance the heavy oil recovery. A foamer containing 0.2 wt% α -olefin sulfonate, 0.1 wt% HPAM and 0.5 wt% Na₂CO₃ was selected for Zhuangxi heavy oil. Then the foam stability and low gas/liquid ratio foam flooding were studied via micro model and sand pack experiments. The results indicate that the foam is much more stable in heavy oil than in diesel; in flooding tests, this foamer with gas/liquid ratio of 0.2:1 increases the oil recovery by 39.8%, which is nearly 11% higher than ASP solution in terms of the same injection volume (0.3PV) and agents.

Keywords:

• Foaming stability
• low GLR foam flooding
• microscopic model

Acknowledgements

Financial supports by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China and the New Century Excellent Talents Awards Program from the Ministry of Education of China are gratefully acknowledged.

Notes

*The viscosities are measured at 60°C and the speed is 6 r/min.