Wettability Alteration
Description:
Surfactant-based wetting agents are used to modify wettability of reservoir rocks to enhance oil production. The wettability can be reversed toward oil-wet to release oil capillary trapping or toward water-wet to enhance water imbibition and oil counter-current production.
Application:
Near-wellbore treatment and Water imbibition in fractured oil-wet carbonates.
Results:
A dedicated workflow including both automated product screening (high throughput contact angle and imbibition measurements) and petrophysics measurements (Amott/USBM tests) has been set up. Performance of selected products has been demonstrated in a harsh application case of imbibition in Lavoux carbonate rendered oil-wet by an asphaltenic crude oil.
Issues
- Oil production can be hindered by capillary trapping effects in the near-wellbore area.
- Fractured oil-wet reservoirs have low primary and secondary recovery due to early water-breakthrough and limited water imbibition.
Need
- Reverse wettability toward a favorable state for oil expulsion, either by addressing capillary trapping or by favoring counter-current production by water-imbibition
Objective
- Select a fit for purpose wettability altering agent, depending on the application (oil-wetting or water-wetting agent)
- Formulate the wetting agent to adapt it to given conditions of salinity and temperature
- Characterize the wetting agent in petrophysics application test
- Deliver the agent for testing at pilot scale
