Journal of Porous Media

ISSN for PRINT: 1091-028X

For Online Access

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2008, Volume11

Issue 1

122 pages

DOI: 10.1615/JPorMedia.v11.i1

Issue price - $107.00

Mariela Araujo
Shell Oil Company, Houston, TX 77002, USA

Denis Ivanov
Earth Science and Engineering Department, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, U. K.

Oneida Leon
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas 1065A, Venezuela

Richard Marquez
Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas 1065A, Venezuela

We report experimental findings comparing the dynamics of two-phase flow under continuous and pulsed injection in porous media. Visualization experiments are performed in homogeneous and layered bead packs, and additional tests on selected core plugs are used to study the displacement process. The effect of oil viscosity, bead size, wettability, and pulsing period is addressed. It is found that the pulsed injection method is able to displace more efficiently the resident fluids in the porous formation, leading to higher fluid recovery with a more stable displacement front. Wettability condition and pulsing period are key parameters in the process. The method is more beneficial in water wet formations. The pulsed method also allows reaching residual oil saturation conditions faster than with the conventional continuous approach, an interesting result for oil production and hydrological applications.

DOI: 10.1615/JPorMedia.v11.i1.10 Download article, 1-17 pages

Article price - $35.00

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