Objective
Development of an electrical process applied to enhanced oil recovery.
The research done by syminex has shown that the injection of pulsed electricity in reservoir samples increases the recovery of oil. The movability of oil appears to be enhanced by the process of electrosmosis at the capillary level. The oil is moved from areas which are not normally flooded, towards channels with a better permeability.
A survey was made by the "Ecole Centrale de Paris", to verify that the process is genuine and not the result of secondary effects which might interfere at the laboratory level (electrode polarisation, action of alkaline ions...).
Tests on rock samples helped to define the values of the electric field and energy levels at which the process is economical. Using these values to study electric field distribution in a reservoir, we find that the area submitted to effective electric treatment is as large as the area which is produced around the well. To generate this effective electric field, the power to be delivered at the reservoir level is 1 megawatt.
A feasibility study has demonstrated that delivering an electrical power of 1 mw at the reservoir level is technically possible (with a cable or with insulated tubing as a conductor).
For a field application of the process, a choice has to be made :
- should the current application and the production of the well be Consecutive or simultaneous (the latter necessitating a more sophisticated System).
It looks as if alternating the two phases is feasible at the reservoir level.
In the electrical chain, the critical point appears to be in the proximity of the electrode. The heating of this formation will have to be closely monitored in order to prevent electrolyte vaporisation.
It should be noted that the process can be applied to a great variety of reservoirs, but seems to be better suited to fractured reservoirs.
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DEM - Demonstration contractsCoordinator
13009 Marseille
France