Laboratory data for oil recovery by injecting low salinity water into sandstones from Brazilian Campos Basin reservoir

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Mechanical Engineering School, University of Campinas, Brazil

2 Center for Energy and Petroleum Studies, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

3 REPSOL SINOPEC BRASIL

10.22078/jpst.2025.5516.1949

Abstract

The enhanced oil recovery method by low salinity water flooding in sandstone has had promising results. When two immiscible phases are put in contact with a solid surface, one is generally more strongly attracted by the solid than the other, being called the wetting phase. The ability of different polar compounds to change the rock wettability depends on the rock type. In sandstone reservoirs, the electrostatic attraction between the positively charged surface of the oil and the negatively charged basal plans of the rock control the oil adhesion on the rock surface. It is well known that typically lowering the injection brine salinity can enhance oil recovery, however, the effects of low salinity water injection in sandstone are probably the result of several mechanisms acting in conjunction, which highlights the need for execution of experimental tests. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of brines with different composition and salinity on the oil recovery factor of reservoir sandstone cores by carrying out core flooding experiments. Reservoir cores were very friable, so sand packs were produced in order to facilitate manipulation. They were used in four core flooding tests. Results indicated a potential low salinity water effect observing an average incremental oil recovery of around 5%. The injectivity was analyzed by the differential pressure during the experiments and did not show significant alterations. It is necessary more experiments for further investigation of the impact of the injected brine, the mineralogical composition of the rocks and the acting mechanisms

Keywords

Journal of Petroleum Science and Technology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 18 January 2025

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