Nano-Water-Alternating-Gas Simulation Study Considering Rock–Fluid Interaction in Heterogeneous Carbonate Reservoirs

Abstract

In carbonate reservoirs, nanoparticles can adhere to rock surfaces, potentially altering the rock wettability and modifying the absolute permeability. In the water-alternating-gas (WAG) process, the introduction of nanoparticles into the water phase, termed nano-water-alternating gas (NWAG), is a promising approach for enhancing oil recovery and CO2 storage. The NWAG process can alter rock wettability and absolute permeability through the adsorption of nanoparticles on the rock surface. This study investigated the efficiency of the NWAG method, which utilizes nanofluids in CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes to simultaneously recover oil and store CO2 using 1D core and 3D heterogeneous reservoir models. The simulation results of the 1D core model showed that applying the NWAG method enhanced both oil recovery and CO2 storage efficiency by increasing to 3%. In a 3D reservoir model, a Dykstra–Parsons coefficient of 0.4 was selected to represent reservoir heterogeneity. Additionally, the capillary trapping of CO2 during WAG injection was computed using Larsen and Skauge’s three-phase relative permeability hysteresis model. A sensitivity analysis was performed using the NWAG ratio, slug size, injection period, injection cycle, and nanofluid concentration. The results confirmed an increase of 0.8% in oil recovery and 15.2% in CO2 storage compared with the conventional WAG process. This mechanism suggests that nanofluids can enhance oil recovery and expand CO2 storage, improving the efficiency of both the oil production rate and CO2 storage compared to conventional WAG methods.

Keywords

• NWAG
• rock–fluid interaction
• carbonate reservoirs
• SiO₂ nanoparticles