Pore Level Observation of Surfactant Flooding in Fractured Heavy Oil Systems

This work concerns to observe microscopic displacements during surfactant floods to heavy oil in fractured five spot system. A series of water/surfactant floods were performed on a micromodel which are initially saturated with heavy crude oil, and the role of surfactant type on oil displacement efficiency were investigated. Surfactants with different polar head properties were tested, and various mechanisms of displacement of surfactant flooding were surveyed in fractured model. Microscopic observations revealed that, surfactant enhances transmission of the injected fluid from fracture to matrix due to decrease in capillary pressure. In addition, surfactant solution displaces residual oil with the mechanism of emulsification

Keywords:

Displacement mechanisms , Fractured five-spot systems , Heavy oil , Surfactant flooding