Experimental Study on Foamy Oil Flow in Porous Media with Orinoco Belt Heavy Oil

Abstract

Foamy oil flow has been successfully demonstrated in laboratory experiments and site application. On the basis of microscopic visualization experiments of the heavy oil from Orinoco Belt in Venezuela, effects of the pressure depletion rate and temperature on foamy oil microflow characteristics were researched. Through physical simulation experiments for solution gas drive, effects of the pressure depletion rate, temperature, and permeability on foamy oil drive were investigated. In comparison to solution gas drive for light oil, gas disperses in heavy oil forming a stable foam state for foamy oil. There are bubble division, bubble merging, and bubble deformation during foamy oil flow in porous media. As the pressure depletion rate increases, bubbles in foamy oil are more dispersed and foamy oil is more stable. As the temperature increases, bubble move velocity increases obviously. The increase of the pressure depletion speed is beneficial to improve the oil recovery efficiency of foamy oil. The oil recovery efficiency of foamy oil first increases and then decreases with the temperature. The best temperature for the foamy oil in the MPE3 block is about 110 °C. Oil recovery efficiency of foamy oil increases with the sandpack permeability, and foamy oil is adapted to high-permeability reservoirs. The experimental results can provide theoretical support for foamy oil production.