Lyman L. Handy

The Effect of Interfacial Tensions on Relative Oil/Water Permeabilities of Consolidated Porous Media

This study presents results of an experimental investigation of the effect of low interfacial tensions (IFTs) on relative oil/water permeabilities of consolidated porous media. The experimental results show that the relative oil/water permeabilities at any given saturation are affected substantially by IFT values lower than 10/sup -1/ mN/m. Relative oil/water permeabilities increased with decreasing IFT (increasing N/sub c/). The results of this study can be used with simulators to predict process performance and efficiency for enhanced oil-recovery projects in which chemicals are considered for use either as waterflood or steamflood additives. 19 refs.

Flow of clay suspensions through porous media

This study was undertaken to investigate the transient behavior of particulate plugging of porous media. The objectives of the experiments were to study in detail a well-characterized system and to check the validity of theoretical predictions. Experiments included injection of clay suspensions under different conditions into sandpacks, measurement of pore-size distribution, and monitoring of permeability and effluent particle concentrations.

Correlation between capillary number and residual water saturation

Abstract Displacement of a wetting phase by a nonwetting phase is controlled by the viscous as well as the capillary forces. The ratio of viscous forces to that of the capillary is called the capillary number. It is found that the residual water saturation was affected by increasing the viscosity of the displacing phase and by reducing the interfacial tension between oil and water. However, the effect of these two parameters will be observed after certain values of the viscosity and the interfacial tension. These values will be functions of absolute permeability of the core sample. It is expected that, for a higher permeability core sample, the residual water saturation will be lower than that of a lower permeability for the same displacing phase. Correlation between the residual water saturation and the capillary number resulted in two different curves when including viscosity and the interfacial tension effects. A new dimensionless number resulted in a unique correlation with the residual water saturation.

Further investigation of high-temperature alkaline floods

Effectiveness of alkalies such as NaOH, Na/sub 2/SiO/sub 3/ and Na/sub 2/CO/sub 3/ to recover residual oil during hot waterfloods (180/sup 0/C) was investigated and compared. These alkalies with or without surfactants may be added to steam to enhance the oil recovery from that portion of the reservoir which is subjected to a hot waterflood during steam injection. Tertiary flood rate and concentration of the injected alkalies were changed and their corresponding effects on recovery efficiency, water-oil ratio, recovery mechanism and alkali consumption were studied. Some lower temperature floods were also performed using caustic. Dynamic interfacial tensions between the acidic crude oil and the alkaline solutions at different pH were measured at elevated temperatures up to 180/sup 0/C using a drop weight technique. For some alkalies (e.g. NaOH), effect of salt and surfactant addition were also investigated.

A Modified Spinning Drop Method for High-Temperature Applications

This paper describes experimentation with a constant-speed (3,600-rpm) spinning drop apparatus which allows the study of interfacial tension (IFT) properties of a given oil drop vs. a surfactant solution over a wide range of temperatures and for a prolonged period of time. Adding a temperature air bath and developing a method to seal the fluids in the capillary tube extends the application of the spinning drop to 302F (150/sup 0/C). IFT properties of 2 petroleum sulfonates and one nonionic system were measured against a crude oil with a gravity of 0.9 g/cm/sup 3/. Figures are presented showing schematic of modified spinning drop equipment, modified capillary tube for high temperature spinning drop apparatus, and comparison of IFTs measured by spinning drop and pendant drop methods.

Application of the x-Plot Technique to the Study of Water Influx in the Sidi El-Itayem Reservoir, Tunisia (includes associated paper 17548 )

The x-plot technique is extended and a relationship is developed between water throughput and water cut by use of field performance data. This relationship allows the estimation of water that has invaded the drainage area of a well, a group of wells, or a field under water injection or natural water influx. Applications to a simulated waterflood, an actual waterflood in Long Beach, CA, and the water influx int he Sidi El-Itayem reservoir in Tunisia are discussed.

A More Diversified Petroleum Engineering Education for New Energy Challenges

Although the most diversified petroleum engineering program possible should be provided for our undergraduates, such a program cannot be at the expense of our current core programs. An undergraduate curriculum emphasizing basic science and engineering is our best assurance that our graduates can contribute to society in spite of cyclic demand for petroleum engineers. Petroleum engineering departments and the profession should anticipate the need for engineers to develop alternative energy sources, but this is not expected to affect petroleum engineering programs significantly before the turn of the century. These changes, when they do come, most likely will and should occur first in graduate programs.