Enhanced recovery

Imbibition Oil Recovery From Tight Rocks With Dual-Wettability Networks in the Montney

Previous studies demonstrate that Montney rock samples present a dual-wettability pore network. Recovery of the oil retained in the small hydrophobic pores is uniquely challenging.

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Fig. 1—Recovered oil (yellow droplets lined up at the surface of the sample) is observed along the depositional laminations of an oil-saturated sample immersed in brine.

Previous studies demonstrate that Montney rock samples present a dual-wettability pore network. Recovery of the oil retained in the small hydrophobic pores is uniquely challenging. In this study, the authors applied dual-core-imbibition (DCI) methods on several Montney core plugs and introduced the imbibition-recovery (IR) trio to investigate the recovery mechanisms in rocks with dual-wettability pore networks.

Introduction

Spontaneous imbibition of aqueous phases (water, brine, or surfactant solutions) in fractured sandstone has been studied as a possible mechanism for enhanced oil recovery. Extensive experimental and mathematical investigations have been conducted for relating the imbibition rate and total oil recovery to the capillary and gravity forces and geometrical parameters.

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