Fundamentals of Reservoir Surface Energy as Related to Surface Properties, Wettability, Capillary Action, and Oil Recovery from Fractured Reservoirs by Spontaneous Imbibition. Quarterly Report, July 1, 2004-September 30, 2004.

[摘要] The objective of this project is to increase oil recovery from fractured reservoirs through improved fundamental understanding of the process of spontaneous imbibition by which oil is displaced from the rock matrix into the fractures. Spontaneous imbibition is fundamentally dependent on the reservoir surface free energy but this has never been investigated for rocks. In this project, the surface free energy of rocks will be determined by using liquids that can be solidified within the rock pore space at selected saturations. Thin sections of the rock then provide a two-dimensional view of the rock minerals and the occupant phases. Saturations and oil/rock, water/rock, and oil/water surface areas will be determined by advanced petrographic analysis and the surface free energy which drives spontaneous imbibition will be determined as a function of increase in wetting phase saturation. The inherent loss in surface free energy resulting from capillary instabilities at the microscopic (pore level) scale will be distinguished from the decrease in surface free energy that drives spontaneous imbibition.

[发布机构] Technical Information Center Oak Ridge Tennessee

[学科分类] 工程和技术（综合）

[关键词] Fractured reservoirs;Enhanced recovery;Oil recovery;Saturation;Computeried simulation