NANOCELLULOSE AS AN ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY AGENT FOR CARBONATE RESERVOIRS

Date

2023-9

Author

ÜNAL KIZILIRMAK, CANDAN

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Almost one third of the oil cannot be recovered from the reservoir. Along with being a solution to recover that amount of oil, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques have become vital in the life span of a mature field due to decrease in oil field explorations in the last decade. There are several conventional enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods, such as gas injection, thermal methods, and chemical injection methods including alkaline, surfactant flooding, and polymer flooding. In addition to these conventional techniques, novel and more environmentally friendly EOR models should be developed due to environmental concerns. There are several green agents and biopolymers contributing to additional oil recovery. This study introduces nanocellulose as one of these green agents to develop an alternative EOR technique for carbonate reservoirs. Being a sustainable material due to its biodegradable nature, availability and cost-effectiveness (abundant in the nature), and their convenience for a wide range of pore sizes make nanocellulose a favorable candidate for EOR. The injection of nanocrystalline cellulose as an EOR method for carbonate reservoirs is a new concept for the oil industry. This study presents an in-depth analysis of nanocellulose as an enhanced oil recovery agent for carbonate reservoirs, focusing on its potential to improve oil recovery, with a particular emphasis on its successful mechanism of wettability alteration, elucidated through laboratory-scale studies. Thus, this research investigated nanocellulose through material characterization studies including viscosity tests, solubility tests, and wettability tests to interpret better its oil recovery mechanism and convenience for carbonate reservoirs. The findings indicated that nanocellulose exhibits greater compatibility with low-salinity water, particularly when the water has a salinity level below 10,000 ppm of NaCl concentration. Contact angle measurements were employed to quantify the alterations in wettability towards a more water-wet state. The results revealed significant wettability modifications induced by nanocellulose, decreasing contact angle between rock surface and oil droplet from 135.1° to 67.3°, leading to improved oil mobilization and displacement within the carbonate matrix. Besides, several core flooding experiments were performed with carbonate core plug samples to mimic its possible applications in the field. The main objective of coreflood tests was to assess the effectiveness and stability of nanocellulose in improving oil recovery, considering variations in nanocellulose concentration (0.5 wt%, 1 wt%, and 2 wt%) and the API gravity of oil samples (16, 22, and 36). Results indicate that nanocellulose injection in carbonate reservoirs exhibits a significant increase in oil recovery efficiency with an additional oil recovery of up to 28.2%. As a sustainable and effective enhanced oil recovery agent, nanocellulose holds great potential for commercial applications in the oil and gas industry, offering an innovative approach to maximize oil production from carbonate reservoirs.

Subject Keywords

Enhanced oil recovery, Nanocellulose, Carbonate reservoirs, Coreflood experiments

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/105457

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis