Numerical Simulation of Surfactant Flooding in Darcy Scale Flow

Abstract

One of the methods that is used nowadays in enhanced oil recovery is surfactant flooding. The main mechanisms of surfactant flooding in reservoir consist of reduction of interfacial tension between water and oil and modification of rock wettability. In this study, the authors simulate the surfactant injection process in Darcy scale and in one-dimensional, multicomponent, multiphase state, and effects of physical phenomena such as adsorption, dispersion, convection, and exchange between fluids and solids are considered. Wettability alteration of reservoir rock due to presence of surfactant in injected fluid is detected in relative permeability and capillary pressure curves. First, the authors express the governing flow equations in the system and then discretize them. The variables consist of water and oil saturations, surfactant concentration in water phase, water and oil pressures, and velocities in each block. Second, the discretized equations are solved by IMPES method and pressure and saturation variables are calculated and after that, the concentration of surfactant in water phase is calculated. Finally, results of simulation are shown.

Keywords:

• co-current imbibition
• enhanced oil recovery
• numerical simulation
• relative permeability
• surfactant flooding