Simulating thermal processes is usually computationally expensive because of the complexity of the problem and strong nonlinearities encountered. In this work, we explore novel and efficient simulation techniques to solve thermal enhanced oil recovery problems. We focus on two major topics: the extension of streamline simulation for thermal enhanced oil recovery and the efficient simulation of chemical reaction kinetics as applied to the in-situ combustion process. For thermal streamline simulation, we first study the extension to hot water flood processes, in which we have temperature induced viscosity changes and thermal volume changes. We first compute the pressure field on an Eulerian grid. We then solve for the advective parts of the mass balance and energy equations along the individual streamlines, accounting for the compressibility effects. At the end of each global time step, we account for the nonadvective terms on the Eulerian grid along with gravity using operator splitting. We test our streamline simulator and compare the results with a commercial thermal simulator. Sensitivity studies for compressibility, gravity and thermal conduction effects are presented. We further extended our thermal streamline simulation to steam flooding. Steam flooding exhibits large volume changes and compressibility associated with the phase behavior of steam, strong gravity segregation and override, and highly coupled energy and mass transport. To overcome these challenges we implement a novel pressure update along the streamlines, a Glowinski scheme operator splitting and a preliminary streamline/finite volume hybrid approach. We tested our streamline simulator on a series of test cases. We compared our thermal streamline results with those computed by a commercial thermal simulator for both accuracy and efficiency. For the cases investigated, we are able to retain solution accuracy, while reducing computational cost and gaining connectivity information from the streamlines. These aspects are useful for reservoir engineering purposes. In traditional thermal reactive reservoir simulation, mass and energy balance equations are solved numerically on discretized reservoir grid blocks. The reaction terms are calculated through Arrhenius kinetics using cell-averaged properties, such as averaged temperature and reactant concentrations. For the in-situ combustion process, the chemical reaction front is physically very narrow, typically a few inches thick. To capture accurately this front, centimeter-sized grids are required that are orders of magnitude smaller than the affordable grid block sizes for full field reservoir models. To solve this grid size effect problem, we propose a new method based on a non-Arrhenius reaction upscaling approach. We do not resolve the combustion front on the grid, but instead use a subgrid-scale model that captures the overall effects of the combustion reactions on flow and transport, i.e. the amount of heat released, the amount of oil burned and the reaction products generated. The subgrid-scale model is calibrated using fine-scale highly accurate numerical simulation and laboratory experiments. This approach significantly improves the computational speed of in-situ combustion simulation as compared to traditional methods. We propose the detailed procedures to implement this methodology in a field-scale simulator. Test cases illustrate the solution consistency when scaling up the grid sizes in multidimensional heterogeneous problems. The methodology is also applicable to other subsurface reactive flow modeling problems with fast chemical reactions and sharp fronts. Displacement front stability is a major concern in the design of all the enhanced oil recovery processes. Historically, premature combustion front break through has been an issue for field operations of in-situ combustion. In this work, we perform detailed analysis based on both analytical methods and numerical simulation. We identify the different flow regimes and several driving fronts in a typical 1D ISC process. For the ISC process in a conventional mobile heavy oil reservoir, we identify the most critical front as the front of steam plateau driving the cold oil bank. We discuss the five main contributors for this front stability/instability: viscous force, condensation, heat conduction, coke plugging and gravity. Detailed numerical tests are performed to test and rank the relative importance of all these different effects.

This book aims at presenting, describing, and summarizing the latest advances in polymer flooding regarding the chemical synthesis of the EOR agents and the numerical simulation of compositional models in porous media, including a description of the possible applications of nanotechnology acting as a booster of traditional chemical EOR processes. A large part of the world economy depends nowadays on non-renewable energy sources, most of them of fossil origin. Though the search for and the development of newer, greener, and more sustainable sources have been going on for the last decades, humanity is still fossil-fuel dependent. Primary and secondary oil recovery techniques merely produce up to a half of the Original Oil In Place. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes are aimed at further increasing this value. Among these, chemical EOR techniques (including polymer flooding) present a great potential in low- and medium-viscosity oilfields. • Describes recent advances in chemical enhanced oil recovery. • Contains detailed description of polymer flooding and nanotechnology as promising boosting tools for EOR. • Includes both experimental and theoretical studies. About the Authors Patrizio Raffa is Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen. He focuses on design and synthesis of new polymeric materials optimized for industrial applications such as EOR, coatings and smart materials. He (co)authored about 40 articles in peer reviewed journals. Pablo Druetta works as lecturer at the University of Groningen (RUG) and as engineering consultant. He received his Ph.D. from RUG in 2018 and has been teaching at a graduate level for 15 years. His research focus lies on computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Hybrid Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes for Heavy Oil Reservoirs, Volume 73 systematically introduces these technologies. As the development of heavy oil reservoirs is emphasized, the petroleum industry is faced with the challenges of selecting cost-effective and environmentally friendly recovery processes. This book tackles these challenges with the introduction and investigation of a variety of hybrid EOR processes. In addition, it addresses the application of these hybrid EOR processes in onshore and offshore heavy oil reservoirs, including theoretical, experimental and simulation approaches. This book will be very useful for petroleum engineers, technicians, academics and students who need to study the hybrid EOR processes, In addition, it will provide an excellent reference for field operations by the petroleum industry. - Introduces emerging hybrid EOR processes and their technical details - Includes case studies to help readers understand the application potential of hybrid EOR processes from different points-of-view - Features theoretical, experimental and simulation studies to help readers understand the advantages and challenges of each process

Primer on Enhanced Oil Recovery gives the oil and gas market the introductory information it needs to cover the physical and chemical properties of hydrocarbon reservoir fluids and rock, drilling operations, rock-fluid interactions, recovery methods, and the economy of enhanced oil recovery projects. Beginning with introductory materials on basic physics and oil-rock interaction, the book then progresses into well-known types of EOR, such as gas injection and microbial EOR. Other sections cover hybrid EOR, smart water/low salinity and solar EOR. Worldwide case study examples give engineers the go-to starting point they need to understand the fundamentals of EOR techniques and data.

Oil Recovery in Shale and Tight Reservoirs delivers a current, state-of-the-art resource for engineers trying to manage unconventional hydrocarbon resources. Going beyond the traditional EOR methods, this book helps readers solve key challenges on the proper methods, technologies and options available. Engineers and researchers will find a systematic list of methods and applications, including gas and water injection, methods to improve liquid recovery, as well as spontaneous and forced imbibition. Rounding out with additional methods, such as air foam drive and energized fluids, this book gives engineers the knowledge they need to tackle the most complex oil and gas assets. - Helps readers understand the methods and mechanisms for enhanced oil recovery technology, specifically for shale and tight oil reservoirs - Includes available EOR methods, along with recent practical case studies that cover topics like fracturing fluid flow back - Teaches additional methods, such as soaking after fracturing, thermal recovery and microbial EOR

Simulate reservoirs effectively to extract the maximum oil, gas and profit, with this book and free simlation software on companion web site.