Green enhanced oil recovery (GEOR)*
Bashirul Haq A D , Jishan Liu B and Keyu Liu CA Department of Petroleum Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
B School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, WA 6009.
C School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, Shandong 266580, China.
D Corresponding author. Email: bhaq@kfupm.edu.sa
The APPEA Journal 57(1) 150-170 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ16116
Accepted: 3 April 2017 Published: 29 May 2017
Abstract
Green enhanced oil recovery (GEOR) is a chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method involving the injection of specific green chemicals (surfactants/alcohols/polymers) that effectively displace oil because of their phase-behaviour properties, which decrease the interfacial tension (IFT) between the displacing liquid and the oil. In this process, the primary displacing liquid slug is a complex chemical system called a micellar solution, containing green surfactants, co-surfactants, oil, electrolytes and water. The surfactant slug is relatively small, typically 10% pore volume (PV). It may be followed by a mobility buffer such as polymer. The total volume of the polymer solution is typically ~1 PV.
This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of the combination of microbial by-products Bacillus subtilise strain JF-2 bio-surfactant and alcohol in recovering residual oil. It also considered whether bio-surfactant capability could be improved by blending it with non-ionic green surfactant. The study consisted of a phase behaviour study, IFT measurement and core-flooding experiments.
In the phase behaviour study, it was found that 0.5% alkyl polyglycosides (APG) and 0.5–1.00% of butanol at 2% NaCl gave stable middle phase micro-emulsion. Non-ionic (APG 264) and anionic (bio-surfactant) mixtures are able to form stable middle phase micro-emulsion. Based on IFT reduction, two low concentrations (40 and 60 mg/l) of JF-2 bio-surfactant were identified where IFT values were low. The bio-surfactant and butanol formulation produced a total ~39.3% of oil initially in place (OIIP).
Keywords: enhanced oil recovery (EOR), interfacial tension (IFT), microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR).
Bashirul Haq is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arab. He has 15 years of experience in research, teaching, consultancy and testing in reservoir, production and drilling engineering, and has an MSc in Petroleum Engineering. He received a PhD in MEOR from The University of Western Australia (UWA). Dr Haq rendered consulting services to Chevron (USA), Helix RDS, Unocal, Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Co. Ltd. He has worked in the UWA, CSIRO, Curtin University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Dr Haq was the founding member and treasurer of the Society of Petroleum Engineer (SPE), Bangladesh Section, in 2006. He is a member Engineers Australia and SPE. |
Jishan Liu is currently a professor at The University of Western Australia. He has authored or co-authored about 100 technical papers in a wide range of areas from coal mine dewatering to coalbed methane extraction to CO2 sequestration. His current interests include CO2 enhanced gas recovery and CO2 sequestration in coal seam. |
Keyu Liu is a professor at China University of Petroleum (East China) and an adjunct fellow at Curtin University and CSIRO. He has a BSc from Ocean University of China, an MSc from the University of Sydney, and a PhD from the Australian National University. Keyu previously worked at PetroChina and CSIRO on petroleum system analysis and basin modelling, reservoir characterisation, stratigraphic modelling, oil migration, and enhanced oil recovery for 25 years. He is a member of AAPG, Society of Petroleum Engineers, International Association of Sedimentologists and American Geophysical Union. |
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