Core Column Filtration Testing Supplemented by Measurements of Oil Optical Properties

Abstract

The composition and properties of oil change during its flow through the reservoir, which is associated with the high molecular weight resins and asphaltenes retained in the pores. Oil is retained in the thinnest capillaries and narrow contacts of hydrophilic mineral grains (capillary-retained oil) and as a film on the surface of hydrophobic minerals (oil films). To confirm this, core analysis tests were performed on three pre-prepared core columns made up of standard core samples with different porosity ϕ, absolute permeability k, irreducible water saturation Swir and other properties. Oil was flowing through the column and displaced by water with pre-determined physical properties. The properties of the core specimens, oil and water, as well as the thermobaric conditions of flow experiments were selected so that they corresponded to the reservoir conditions of the Pashian horizon of the Romashkinskoye oilfield of the Republic of Tatarstan. In the case of the mature Romashkinskoye oilfield, the relevant objective is to quantify and localize the remaining reserves of capillary-retained oil and oil films and substantiate effective technologies for their extraction. To prove that the composition of oil change during flow through porous media, the light absorption coefficient of oil kla was investigated that depends on the relative content of resins and asphaltenes in the oil. Oil was studied using a photometer in a continuous mode during the entire period of oil displacement test. Oil samples were collected and subjected to preparation at the inlet and outlet of the core column, their optical density D, light absorption and transmission coefficients were measured in vitro, and statistical data were processed. It has been found that regular changes in the oil kla occur both at the stage of the core column saturation with oil (a regular decrease), and as oil is displaced from the core samples by water (a regular increase). The identified patterns are the function of the rock and oil properties, the established rate of the column saturation with oil and oil displacement by water, and the amount of residual and displaced oil. The obtained data have shown the promising outlook for continuing laboratory experiments to study not only changes in the properties of oil when it is displaced by water, simulating the development processes, but also those occurring in the column as it is saturated with oil, simulating the processes of primary migration and accumulation of oil in a natural reservoir.