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Abstract
Air foam flooding is an important technology to enhance oil recovery by improving the swept volume of the fluid and the efficiency of displacement of oil. This study uses a literature review, engineering analysis of reservoirs, laboratory tests, and the data on oil production to clarify the relationship among the efficiency of oil displacement, control of the profile of the mechanism of water blockage, and the permeability of the reservoir. The results show that a highly permeable reservoir has a good pore structure with a large pore throat that helps yield a large swept volume and low interfacial tension to improve the efficiency of oil displacement. It also contains large pores that generate more foam for a higher oil mobility ratio and greater oil displacement. A heterogeneous reservoir has a strong Jamin effect and efficient oil displacement when air foam flooding is applied. The results of experiments yielded similar conclusions. The displacement efficiency of highly permeable and heterogeneous reservoirs is higher, and their injection pressure is lower when air foam flooding is applied. The permeability of reservoirs in oil fields should be higher than 1.5 mD for injection using air foam flooding. The results here can be used in applications of air foam flooding.