Research on evaluating, selecting and manufacturing the VPI SP chemical product for conducting field test to enhance oil recovery coefficient of oil fields in Cuu Long basin, offshore Vietnam

The Vietnam Petroleum Institute (VPI) is implementing a multi-task national level project entitled “Research, evaluate, select and develop a pilot programme for industrial application of solutions to improve oil recovery coefficient for clastic oil bearing reservoirs of oil fields in the Cuu Long basin, on the continental shelf of Vietnam”. Specifically, detailed evaluation studies have been carried out from geological characteristics, reservoir engineering, production to EOR mechanism to develop technical criteria for the process of manufacturing and evaluating the efficiency of the chemical system to optimise the laboratory scale, propose the production and injection scenarios to optimize the development plan as well as evaluate the efficiency of increasing oil recovery coefficient on the reservoir simulation model; conduct production at pilot scale and implement industrial application testing on the field scale for clastic oil bearing reservoir, Cuu Long basin. The article presents the results of research, evaluation, selection and successful manufacture of a VPI SP chemical system based on the combined mechanism of anionic - non-ionic surfactants and polymers to ensure satisfying the harsh technical requirements of oil fields in Vietnam such as resistance to high temperature, high pressure, high mineralisation, very low surface tension, optimal micro-emulsion, low adsorption onto reservoir rocks, reducing residual oil saturation in the reservoir. Results of the evaluation of increased efficiency of oil recovery on actual samples of Miocene reservoir showed an increase of over 21%. The VPI SP chemical system has been included in the plan of industrial-scale testing by Vietsovpetro in Bach Ho and other producing fields in the clastic sections of the Cuu Long basin.