Synergistic Effects of Dimethyl Ether and LSW in a CO2 WAG Process for Enhanced Oil Recovery and CO2 Sequestration

Abstract

The integrated injection of low-salinity water (LSW) and carbon dioxide (CO2) into the water-alternating-gas (WAG) process offers advantages, primarily increasing oil recovery and reducing operating costs. However, CO2 has challenges in sweep efficiency due to significant differences in density and viscosity compared with oil. While LSW and dimethyl ether (DME) have shown promise in improving recovery through wettability alteration and reducing minimum miscible pressure, interfacial tension (IFT), and CO2 mobility, their synergistic integration with CO2-WAG remains poorly understood. Existing DME-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) studies have not explored low-salinity water injection as a cost-effective alternative to mitigate high DME operating costs. This study introduces the CO2/DME-LSWAG method, systematically evaluating the effect of DME concentrations (0%, 10%, 25%) and LSWs (seawater, twice-diluted seawater, ten-times-diluted seawater) on sweep and displacement efficiencies, oil recovery, and CO2 storage in a 2D cross-sectional carbonate reservoir model. Results showed that DME dramatically reduces IFT (67% and 95% at 10% and 25% DME solvent, respectively) while salinity effects are relatively small. Compared with CO2-LSWAG, the oil recovery factor improved by 5.2–13.1% depending on DME concentration and water salinity, with DME performance maximized at higher salinity water. CO2 storage efficiency showed opposing trends. Structural trapping decreased, while solubility trapping increased with lower salinity. The sensitivity analysis identified DME concentration as the dominant factor for CO2 storage. The composition modeling and simulation of the CO2/DME-LSWAG process provide critical engineering guidance for the design of future EOR and CO2 storage projects that utilize DME in carbonate reservoirs.