UC Berkeley

To establish and improve recovery efficiencies of acidic crude oils with alkaline agents this project includes studies on displacement dynamics, chemical transport, emulsion flow, and interfacial tensions. Displacement tests to date of Wilmington oil-field cores with alkali at reservoir temperature and rate show low tertiarY oil recoveries. Application of a simplified chemical oil displacement model for the caustic process reveals the importance of establishing mobility control. Caustic movement in Wilmington reservoir sands is influenced by a reversible adsorption component and an irreversible dissolution contribution. The importance of each of these transport mechanisms for slug design is outlined. New cation exchange capacity data are presented for the Wilmington sands, and the use of these data to design effective preflush slugs is enunciated. Progress to date on modeling dilute stable emulsions flow in porous media with filtration theory is summarized. Extension of this theory to describe secondary emulsion flooding is described.