Nanoemulsion flooding for enhanced oil recovery: Theoretical concepts, numerical simulation and history match

In current scenario of depleting oil reserves, chemical flooding is a vital enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique. Present study discusses laboratory flooding experiments of surfactant/nanoparticle nanoemulsions on sand-pack system, with bulk approach to model and simulate the flooding strategies portraying the potential of nanoemulsion assisted EOR. Physicochemical properties of nanoemulsions were characterized in terms of droplets size, interfacial tension, wetting behavior, viscosity improvement and crude oil displacement. A numerical methodological simulation is performed on porous media through CMG-STARS simulator. Cartesian single porosity model equipped with well pattern, injection fluid flow-rate and rock-fluid properties was developed via simulation tool during compositional investigation. Tuning of relative permeability values to successfully fit with cumulative oil production and water cut was extremely challenging role during model development. Oil saturation profiles and relative permeability curves displayed the alteration in wetting behavior of sand-pack system to strongly water-wet from oil/intermediate-wet condition. 23–28% tertiary recoveries were achieved, contingent to composition of surfactant/nanoparticle in injected nanoemulsion. History match (HM) of production data via CMOST for experimental and simulation outcomes exhibited a good match with global HM error