Application of foam assisted water-alternating-gas flooding and quantification of resistivity and water saturation by experiment and simulation to determine foam propagation in sandstone.

Foam flooding by Foam Assisted Water-Alternating-Gas (FAWAG) is an important enhanced oil recovery method that has proven successful in experimental and pilot studies. The present study is carried out to monitor the movement of the foam front once injected into the porous medium. This study aims to investigate applications of resistivity waves to monitor foam propagation in a sandstone formation. In the present lab-scale experiments and simulations, resistivity measurements were carried out to monitor the progression of foam in a sand pack, and the relationships between foam injection time and resistivity, as well as brine saturation, were studied. The brine saturation from foam simulation using CMG STAR is exported to COMSOL and calculated true formation resistivity. A diagram was produced summarizing the progression of foam through the sand pack in the function of time, which enabled us to establish how foam progressed through a porous medium. A surfactant and brine mixture was injected into the sand pack, followed by nitrogen gas to generate the foam in situ. As foam progressed through the sand pack, resistance measurements were taken in three zones of the sand pack. The resistance was then converted into resistivity and finally into brine saturation. As foam travels through the sand pack, it is predicted to displace the brine initially in place. This gradually increases each zone's resistivity (decreases the brine saturation) by displacing the brine. Also, an increase in the surfactant concentration results in higher resistivity. Finally, a comparison of three different surfactant concentrations was evaluated in terms of resistivity results, water saturation, and foam propagation monitoring to obtain the optimum surfactant concentration involved in foam flooding.

Fundamental investigation of foam flow in a liquid-filled Hele-Shaw cell.

The relative immobility of foam in porous media suppresses the formation of fingers during oil displacement leading to a more stable displacement which is desired in various processes such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) or soil remediation practices. Various parameters may influence the efficiency of foam-assisted oil displacement such as properties of oil, the permeability and heterogeneity of the porous medium and physical and chemical characteristics of foam. In the present work, we have conducted a comprehensive series of experiments using customised Hele-Shaw cells filled with either water or oil to describe the effects of foam quality, permeability of the cell as well as the injection rate on the apparent viscosity of foam which is required to investigate foam displacement. Our results reveal the significant impact of foam texture and bubble size on the foam apparent viscosity. Foams with smaller bubble sizes have a higher apparent viscosity. This statement only applies (strictly speaking) when the foam quality is constant. However, wet foams with smaller bubbles may have lower apparent viscosity compared to dry foams with larger bubbles. Furthermore, our results show the occurrence of more stable foam-water fronts as foam quality decreases. Besides, the complexity of oil displacement by foam as well as its destabilizing effects on foam displacement has been discussed. Our results extend the physical understanding of foam-assisted liquid displacement in Hele-Shaw cell which is a step towards understanding the foam flow behaviour in more complex systems such as porous media.