Analysis of possibilities to increase oil recovery with the use of nitrogen in the context of deep oil deposits of the Dnipro-Donetsk oil-and-gas Ukrainian province

O. Kondrat¹, O. Lukin², L. Smolovyk¹

¹Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

²Scientific-Research and Design Institute PJSC “Ukrnafta”, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

Min. miner. depos. 2019, 13(4):107-113

https://doi.org/10.33271/mining13.04.107

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ABSTRACT

Purpose is to increase oil recovery of deep oil deposits of the Dnipro-Donetsk oil-and-gas Ukrainian province with the use of nitrogen.

Methods. Experiments, intended to residual oil displacement with the use of different driving agents, involved labo-ratory modeling of the process when a seam was simulated as such being close maximally to a real seam and samples of formation fluids were applied. The experiments, which materialized equilibrium displacement (without mass transfer), used seam models developed from cores of V-19n seam (Perekopivske deposit). 43 core samples were analyzed with 3.3 – 226.0·10^-3 µm² permeability.

Findings. Characteristics and applicability of nitrogen and flue gas to increase oil recovery have been analyzed. Theoretic prerequisites of the mechanism, aimed at oil displacement using nitrogen and flue gases, have been formulated. Results of the laboratory experiments of oil displacement by means of nitrogen within a porous environment have helped determine that minimum pressure of mutual oil and nitrogen dissolution is 36.0 – 38.0 MPa. In terms of mutual mixing of agents at 110 – 112°С temperature, 36.4 МPа gas injection pressure, and nitrogen pumping velocity being 1 cm3 per 40 minutes, oil displacement ratio achieved 0.76 – 0.78.

Originality.For the first time, parameters of mixable oil displacement using nitrogen for the conditions of deep oil deposits of the Dnipro-Donetsk petroleum province in Ukraine have been determined. Efficiency of mixable nitrogen displacement to compare with water displacement and nitrogen displacement under equilibrium conditions has been proved.

Practical implications. The advanced technique of nitrogen use to improve oil recovery in the context of deep oil deposits has been proposed. The technique is applicable to extract residual oil from the depleted deposits.

Keywords: oil recovery ratio, nitrogen, residual oil, displacement, injection pressure

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