Effect of viscosity on oil recovery by spontaneous imbibition from partially water-covered matrix blocks

Abstract

Spontaneous imbibition is an important mechanism of oil recovery from fractured reservoirs and unconventional reservoirs. Oil is produced by combining co- and counter-current imbibition when the matrix blocks was partially covered by water. In this paper, we focused on the effect of viscosity ratios on oil production by spontaneous imbibition and established the numerical model for one-dimensional linear imbibition with TEO-OW boundary conditions, which was validated by the experimental data. The effect of viscosity ratio on co- and counter-current imbibition is investigated and scaling result of the imbibition recovery curve for wide range of viscosity ratio using the conventional scaling equation was tested, which indicates that the close correlation was achieved only when oil-water viscosity ratios are higher. Then, a modified scaling equation was developed based on the piston-like assumption for one-dimensional co-current imbibition and close correlation of imbibition recovery curves was achieved when viscosity ratios are lower. Finally, correlation of imbibition recovery curves was improved for wide range of viscosity ratios by combining conventional and modified scaling equation. Results show that since the shape of imbibition recovery curves is not similar for different viscosity ratios, it is difficult to obtain the perfect correlation using the constant viscosity term.