Visualization and Measurement of Gas Evolution and Flow of Heavy and Light Oil in Porous Media

Abstract

Summary In a number of experiments, the efficiency of solution-gas drive for both light and heavy oils was studied. In these experiments a special coreholder was used to visually observe the formation of gas bubbles on the rock surface of a Berea core and the production from the core outlet. The results from all the experiments reveal that the critical gas saturation for three hydrocarbon liquids; 1. a light model oil, 2. an 11-API gravity oil, and 3. a 35-API gravity oil, does not exceed 3%. However, the gas mobility for the heavy oil is very low and for the light model oil very high. Consequently, solution-gas drive for a heavy oil of 11-API gravity is more efficient than for a light oil.