Effects of relative permeability change resulting from interfacial tension reduction on vertical sweep efficiency during the CO2-LPG hybrid EOR process

Abstract

The addition of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the CO2 stream reduces interfacial tension (IFT) between the injected gas and the reservoir oil, and it changes the gas-liquid relative permeability by making it more water-wet, which affects not only the oil mobility, but also the vertical sweep efficiency. The reduction of the IFT decreases vertical sweep efficiency because it enhances the relative permeability of the solvent, resulting in an increase in the viscous gravity number. For CO2-LPG enhanced oil recovery (EOR), oil recovery is enhanced by up to 47%, as compared to CO2 flooding, when the relative permeability change caused by the IFT is not considered. By taking the vertical sweep-out caused by IFT and relative permeability change into consideration, this increase is reduced to 40%. These results indicate the importance of considering the relative permeability and IFT change when predicting the performance of the CO2-LPG EOR process.