MISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT II

Unit 5
MISCIBILITY Miscibility exists when two fluids are
able to mix in all proportions without
any interface forming between them
(Clark et al., 1958)
 Miscibility
 two fluids mix in all proportions to form a single phase.
 IFT is eliminated

 First Contact Miscibility (FCM)- a single phase is formed upon first contact
when mixed in all proportions with the crude.
 Multiple- contact Miscibility (MCM)-miscible conditions are developed in
the reservoir due to composition alteration of the injected fluid or crude as
the fluids move through the reservoir.
Section 6.2 First Contact Miscibility

PRIMARY SLUG- Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is used as the injected solvent into the
reservoir
• Solvents are usually expensive and thus must be relatively small for economic
purposes.
• Primary slug usually followed by a larger volume of a less expensive secondary slug
(water or lean gas high in CH4)
Section 6.2 Description Miscible Displacement-FCM

PRIMARY SLUG- Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is used as the injected solvent into the
reservoir
• Mixing zone develops between interface of primary slug and secondary slug

• Mixing of solvent with oil forms oil bank followed by solvent oil mixture which is rich in
oil at the leading end and rich in solvent at the trailing end
Section 6.2 Description Miscible Displacement-FCM

PRIMARY SLUG- Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is used as the injected solvent into the
reservoir
• If the process is operated as a secondary recovery process, the oil is displaced efficiently
ahead of the LPG slug
Section 6.2 Description Miscible Displacement-FCM

PRIMARY SLUG- Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is used as the injected

solvent into the reservoir

• If the process is operated as a tertiary recovery process with the oil at

waterflood saturation, the injected solvent must
1. displace enough of the water phase to contact the residual oil and
then
2. displace the oil as a single phase mixture with the solvent
Section 6.2 Description Miscible Displacement-FCM

Secondary slug should be miscible with the primary slug to yield efficient displacement
of the primary slug

Displacing water has low mobility which improves sweepout efficiency over that
obtained with solvent. Hence water alternating gas (WAG) injection is used.
 So why does this matter?
• Oil is displaced through reservoir as long as the fluid bank
displacing oil is miscible with the oil
• Microscopic efficiency can approach 100% and is generally
greater than for immiscible processes
Miscible water alternating gas (WAG)
 In a miscible WAG process, an injected gas-CO2 in this case
mixes with reservoir oil and creates an oil bank ahead of the
miscible zone.
 The gas is followed by a slug of water, which improves the
mobility ratio of the displacing fluids to avoid fingering.
Areal Sweep Efficiency Vertical displacment efficiency can be
affected by:
Pattern flood can be affected by -viscous fingering
-heterogeneous formation - high permeability thief zone
(sealing fault) -gravity override of injection gas
-fingering of a less viscous -underride of injection water
injectant into the oil
Miscible water alternating gas (WAG)

 The cycle of gas and water injection can be repeated many times, until a
final waterdrive flushes the remaining hydrocarbon, now mixed with CO2
from the reservoir.
 Formation heterogenities, such as a higher permeability streak (darker
layer), affects the shapes of the flood fronts
Multiple Contact Miscibility
 Oil and injected solvent not miscible upon first contact
 Miscibility is dynamically developed as the injection process
continues.
 Under proper conditions injected methane might extract certain
hydrocarbon components from oil as slug flows.
 Enriched methane slug could thus become miscible with oil.
Principles of Phase Behaviour Related to Miscibility

Methods of representing vapour/liquid phase behaviour of multi-

component systems:
- Pressure/ Temperature diagrams
- Pressure/ Composition diagrams
- Ternary diagrams
Pressure/Temperature Diagrams (Figure 6.2)
Typical P-T diagram for a multi-component fixed composition.

The critical point, C, is

a point at which
properties of liquid and
gas become identical.
Pressure/Temperature Diagrams (Figure 6.3)
P-T diagrams for mixtures of ethane and n-heptane.

Locus of the
critical point
conditions for
the different
compositions.
Critical point loci of binary systems
Figure 6.3 Figure 6.4
Pressure/Temperature Diagrams (Figure 6.4)
Typical loci of binary n-paraffin systems.

The locus of critical

points specifies, at
each temperature ,
the maximum pressure
at which two phases
can exist.

Conditions at which
binary pairs are
miscible.
Isothermal Compression (Figure 6.5)
1. No phase change @ Dew Point
1. Vapor = z
2. Liquid = x1
2. As Pressure increases to P2
1. Vapor = y2
2. Liquid = x2
3. At Bubble Point
1. Vapor = y1
2. Liquid = z

Any Pressure > p4 and <p0 the

binary pair would be miscible for
all concentrations

Between p0 and p4 it will be single

only over limited concentration
ranges
Effect of Temperature (Figure 6.6)
Figure 6.7
C1 with a C1/nC4-C10 (Figure 6.8)

160 °F

Gas Dissolves in Liquid

Liquid Vaporizes
in Gas

25% 97%
Effect of injected gas composition (Figure 6.9)

Decreasing C1
Concentration

The pressure at which miscibility

is achieved is lowered by in
creasing the C4 concentration in
the injected gas
True Ternary system
(Figure 6.10)
 Pseudoternary
Diagrams
y
Used for complex HC
mixtures

Ideally, C2-C6 should

have same relative
composition in both phases, x
but this did not occur - Plait Point or
lighter components tended Critical Point
to go to vapour phase,
while heavier to the liquid
phase

NB. Ratio C2:C6

y 9.15/1.47
x 9.06/2.41
Effect of pressure
(Figure 6.12)

A higher pressure is favourable

for the development of miscibility
between different components
FCM Process
Section 6.4
Figure 6.4
FCM
 The pressure required to achieve miscibility
(between crude oil and methane) typically exceeds
a pressure that can be reached in the reservoir.
 Exceeds reservoir fracture pressure
Designing an FCM process
Figure 6.14
 2° slug

Figure 6.14 a)

1° slug
Figure 6.14 c)
Figure 6.14 b)
Figure 6.15

• Basic of designing of FCM process

 1° + crude oil
 1° + 2°
 At a specified Tr for a given fluid pair,
the cricondenbar is the minimum
reservoir pressure that would ensure
miscibility between the 1° and 2° slugs.
 Figure 6.15 cannot be applied to a
mixture of hydrocarbons, specific data
would be required.
Figure 6.15

• When Tr is less than Tc of the 1° slug

material, the pressure must be just high
enough to liquify the 1° slug
• If the hydrocarbon slug is liquid at
reservoir conditions, it will be miscible
with the oil.
• When Tr is above Tc of the 1° slug
solvent, the pressure must be above the
cricondenbar for the 1° slug solvent
/reservoir oil system at Tr
• The data in Figure 6.15 is not usually
available
Phase Behavior Data
 It is usual to obtain pressure/composition (p-x) data at the
reservoir temperature
 Volume % liquid also can be determined
Asphaltane precipitation
 1° slug that is liquid and not always completely
miscibe with reservoir oil
 asphaltenes can be precipitated from certain crude oils
 The asphalt can plug pores and reduce miscibility
 near wellbore can be a serious problem
 Mixing of all three liquids

 Significant dispersion occurs in reservoirs

• the design process must consider this
 The effect of dispersion is to dilute the
primary slug by both the reservoir oil and
the secondary slug
 Viscous instabilities also contribute
significantly to mixing and slug
deterioration.
PAUSE ||