Miscible Displacement: Recovery

Tests With Nitrogen

Glsteln GI.Sf, SPE, IKU

Summary. High-pressure slim-tube tests and phase-behavior studies were perfonned with reservoir fluid and three-component hydrocar-
bon mixtures. The amount of methane and intermediates in the reservoir fluid were varied while other parameters that affect the oil
recovery were kept constant. The effects of displacement velocity, temperature, and length of the packed column on slim-tube recovery
were also investigated. The results obtained show that the amount of methane and intennediates in the reservoir fluid has a significant
effect on minimum miscibility pressure (MMP). The results suggest very strongly that a reservoir fluid with a low methane content
needs a long path length to develop miscibility with N2 (a large fraction of the oil is bypassed in the first part of the column). The
slim-tube oil recovery, and hence the average microscopic displacement efficiency of the process, is shown to increase significantly
with slim-tube length when injection pressure and other variables are kept constant. The results from simulation tests of phase behavior
and fluid flow in the slim tube confinned some of the conclusions made from the experimental results obtained in this work. An N 2
MMP correlation was developed from displacement test data reported in the literature and in the present study.

Introduction
Two recovery mechanisms are generally considered with N 2 in-
jection: miscible and immiscible displacement. In the miscible proc-
ess, increased recovery is caused by transfer of light components
from the oil into the gas phase, where the resulting gas develops
miscibility with the oil. This process is characterized by an absence
of a discrete fluidlfluid interface between the injected gas and the
reservoir fluid. The multiple-contact situation is described best by
use of a ternary diagram (Fig. 1). With N 2 , we will have a
vaporizing-gas process. The extractable components are the C 1
through C 6 fraction of the oil. Multiple contact of gas with oil will
continue until a sufficient amount of C 1 through C6 has been vapo-
rized into the N2 to teach the critical point on the phase envelope.
Miscibility is attained if the composition of the reservoir fluid lies
on or to the right of the limiting tie-line for a given reservoir pres-
sure. Thus, if N2 is the injection gas, the concentrations of methane
and the intennediate components in the oil are important factors
to obtain miscibility between the oil and gas. The phenomenon of
miscibility between N2 and a hydrocarbon multicomponent system
is complex. Most of the literature data related to this subject are
on three-component hydrocarbon systems. Only a few papers are
available on high-pressure N2 gasflooding of reservoir fluids.
In 1958, Koch and Hutchinson l perfonned laboratory studies on
miscible displacement of oil with N 2' They found that a high
methane concentration in the reservoir fluid improved the attain-
ment of vaporizing-gas-drive miscibility with N 2, and speculated
that the presence of methane in the reservoir fluid is helpful in
volatilizing the C2 through C 6 fraction of oil into the gas.
Rushing et al. 2 conducted displacement tests of light oils with
N 2. They concluded that oil from deeper, high-temperature reser-
voirs may undergo miscible-type displacement with N2 because the
crude oil has a substantial quantity of intennediates.
In 1983, Alcocer et af.3 conducted displacement tests of a
0.81-g/cm 3 [43°API] -gravity crude recombined with natural gas.
They studied the effect of temperature and the amount of gas in
solution on oil recovery with N 2 and showed that the oil recovery
increased with temperature. They also concluded that the distance
to form a miscibility zone slightly decreases with temperature and
gas in solution. This work is a continuation of the investigations
made in Refs. 1 through 3. The expected results from the study
were (1) criteria to define miscibility of reservoir oil with N2 and
(2) an MMP correlation with N 2 .
Definitions and Equation
The following definitions and equation are used in the interpreta-
tion of the results obtained in this work.
Miscibility-Miscibility between a reservoir oil and injection gas
is achieved when only one phase (critical conditions) results from
a mixture of two fluids.
Copyright 1990 Society of Petroleum Engineers
MMP- The MMP is defined as the lowest pressure at which we
have a distinct point of maximum curvature when recovery of oil
at 1.2 PV gas injected is plotted vs. pressure.
Vaporizing-gas drive- Vaporizing-gas-drive miscibility is
achieved by vaporization of light hydrocarbon components (C 1
through C 6 ) from the reservoir fluid into the driving gas.
Limiting tie-line-The limiting tie-line is tangent to the phase enve-
lope at the critical point on a ternary diagram at constant p and T.
Transverse dispersion group-
Equipment and Procedure
The slim-tube tests for detennining oil recovery by displacing
hydrocarbon fluids with N2 were conducted in a coiled, stainless
tube of 0.386-cm [0.15-in.] ID packed with 50/l00-mesh Berea
sand. The column length of the tube was varied. One unit was a
12-m [39-ft] tube and the others were 24 and 36 m [79 and 118
ft], respectively. The porosity of the slim-tube column was 45 %
and the penneability 8 darcies. The PV's of the slim tubes were
calibrated as a function of pressure and temperature.
Both the reservoir fluid and the injection gas were transferred
to the slim tube from bottles with a floating piston; the piston was
activated with refined mineral oil driven by an Altex high-pressure
liquid chromatographic pump. A backpressure valve was placed
close to the slim-tube outlet to reduce the dead volume, and a high-
pressure capillary sight glass was located between the packed column
and the backpressure valve to allow visual observation of the ef-
fluent.
The gas volume was calculated from pressure measurements in
an 18-L pre-evacuated cylinder, and the volume of stock-tank oil
was measured with a graduated glass cylinder. The volume of in-
jected gas was calculated from the measured weight of lamp paraffm
transferred to the injection-gas bottle. The volumetric rate of gas
injected into the slim tube was varied from one displacement test
to another and corresponded to a flow velocity of 0.01 to 0.11 cmls
[0.004 to 0.04 in.lsec]. The experiments continued until 1.2 PV
of gas was injected into the slim tube. The FVF of the reservoir
fluid at specific pressure and temperature was used to calculate the
oil recovery as a percentage of initial oil in place. Fig. 2 is a schemat-
ic of the slim-tube apparatus.
Gasl011 Hydrocarbon Systems
The compositions of the recombined reservoir fluids used (Systems
A through D) are given in Table 1. Systems A and B are reservoir
fluids recombined from Ekofisk stock-tank oil and separator gas
at different GOR levels. System C is a reservoir fluid from the Stat-
fjord fonnation. System D is a recombination of System C and a
mixture of methane/propane gas.

SPE Reservoir Engineering, February 1990 61

 TABLE 1-COMPOSITION OF RESERVOIR FLUIDS (mol%)

System A System a System C System 0

N CO 2 0.49 0.31 0.24 0.12
2
N2 0.47 0.31 1.78 0.55
INJfCTION GAS USfD
C, 54.67 36.22 25.04 42.96
C2 8.75 5.95 7.19 3.93
Cs 4.87 3.50 9.32 18.35
iC 4 0.71 0.60 1.33 0.79
nC 4 2.26 2.38 6.00 2.82
iC 5 0.75 1.13 1.88 1.20
nC 5 1.29 2.07 2.88 1.90
C6 2.23 3.95 3.07 3.17
C7+ 23.52 43.59 41.27 24.25
Mc 7 + 232.00 232.00 222.00 222.00
GOA, std m S /m 3 303.00 107.00 97.00 288.00
Pb at 60°C, bar 310.0 147.2 126.8 268.0

TABLE 2-COMPOSITION OF SYNTHETIC OIL

THREE-COMPONENT SYSTEMS (mol%)

System AX System ax System CX

RfSfRVOIR OIt 32.9
49.9 40.0
C 27.2 26.6 25.2
1-6 22.9 33.0 41.9
142.0 142.0 142.0
Fig. 1-Pseudoternary diagram for nitrogen/reservoir-fluid 392.0 232.0 160.0
systems. 165.2 136.0 98.0

TABLE 3-CRITICAL DATA OF PURE COMPONENTS

Molecular
Weight Pc Vc Tc Acentric
(g1mol) (MPa) (mUmol) ~ Factor
---
N2 28.013 3.400 89.89 126.26 0.0400
C, 16.043 4.606 99.25 190.58 0.0104
C3 44.097 4.251 202.89 369.82 0.1524
C IO 142.286 2.096 603.13 617.65 0.4885

TABLE 4-INTERACTION COEFFICIENTS

0.025
0.025
0.125
0.017
0.042
Fig. 2-Schematlc of slim-tube apparatus. 0.000

The compositions of the synthetic mixtures used (methane/pro-
pane/decane) are presented in Table 2 and are marked Systems AX,
BX, and CX.
Experimental Displacement Tests
High-pressure slim-tube displacement tests have been performed
at specific temperatures and pressures. The slim tube was saturat-
ed with oil at the required experimental conditions and N z was in-
jected into the slim tube at a constant volumetric rate by means of
the high-pressure displacement pump. Some of the displacement
tests performed were run at different volumetric rates to examine
the effect of rate on oil recovery. The oil recovery was plotted vs.
PV of gas injected. The recovery of oil plotted vs. different dis-
placement pressures at 1.2 PV N2 gas injected determined the
MMP at the prevailing temperature.
Simulation Tests
Multiple-contact-miscibility (MCM) calculations were performed
on a three-component hydrocarbon mixture and N z . All calcula-
tions were made with the COPEC phase-behavior package with the
Peng-Robinson equation of state (PREOS). The critical data and
acentric factors for the pure components were kept constant for all
the calculations (Table 3). The interaction coefficients were the only
parameters adjusted to match the experimental bubblepoint pres-
sures. Two sets of interaction coefficients were used as starting
values for the match of the bubblepoint pressures. The resulting
interaction coefficients are a combination of these two tests (Table
4). The tuned EOS was used to perform the MCM studies on these
hydrocarbon mixtures with N z .
The displacement experiments with N z and three-component
mixtures (Systems AX, BX, and CX) were simulated with a ID
compositional simulator. * The amount of longitudinal dispersion
in a given displacement is the key to the recovery of oil. as it is
in any vaporizing-gas-drive displacement. To explain the variation
of oil recovery with pressure, velocity, and slim-tube length, the
displacement experiments were simulated in a trial-and-error man-
ner, where the length of dimensionless mixing zone, K L /vL,4 and
recovery are determined for each simulation. This parameter,
'Personal communication with C.A. Kossack, Inst. of Petroleum Engineering and
Applied Geophysics, Trondheim, Norway, 1987.

62 SPE Reservoir Engineering, February 1990

 TABLE 5-DISPLACEMENT TESTS AND RESERVOIR FLUID DATA

Reservoir Molecular Experimental Estimated

Temperature Weight of C 2 through C 6 C1 MMP MMP Average _
Ref. (OC) C 7+ (mol%) (mol%) (bar) (bar) Deviation, A
-
1 60 191 36.0 42.7 267 261.2 2.17
1 80 197 45.5 13.0 310 332.7 7.32
5 73 193 26.2 54.6 295 294.3 0.24
* 131 218 20.6 54.6 395 388.5 1.65
* 131 221 18.2 57.6 420 415.6 1.05
* 131 221 16.5 56.7 440 442.9 0.66
IKU 60 232 20.9 54.7 380 374.5 1.45
IKU 133 232 20.9 54.7 415 405.4 2.31
IKU 60 232 19.6 36.2 440 440.8 0.18
IKU 93 232 19.6 36.2 455 461.5 1.42
IKU 91 222 32.2 43.0 320 317.8 0.69
Average 1.74
'From personal communication with B.E. Hansen, Rogalandsforsknlng, Stavanger, Norway, 1987.

TABLE 6-DISPLACEMENT TESTS AND SYNTHETIC OIL DATA

Reservoir Molecular Experimental Estimated

Temperature Weight of C3 C1 MMP MMP Average _
Ref. (OC) C7 + (mol%) (moIOAl) (bar) (bar) Deviation, A
-
7 137 140 12.7 38.6 338 320.5 5.18
7 137 140 12.3 22.7 455 462.3 1.53
7 137 140 11.9 9.4 617 618.9 0.31
IKU 60 142 27.2 49.9 315 330.7 4.95
IKU 100 142 27.2 49.9 250 248.9 0.44
IKU 60 142 26.6 40.0 370 391.4 5.68
IKU 60 142 25.2 32.9 465 445.0 4.30
Average 3.21

~
2
· .
D

t:> ~
t:>
l!; l!;
>-
~ "2 >-
I
~
S S
li! li!
•" a. to

SYSTEM A
a.
~EMD
"•

"r

•" SYSTEM B
!=MC
•"

"100
~

Fig. 3-Dlsplacement tests of reservoir fluid with nitrogen.

150

PRESSURE-BAR
100
D
. . •
PRESSURE-BAR

Fig. 4-Dlsplacement tests of reservoir fluid with nitrogen.

-
Column length = 12 m, flow veloclty=0.11 cm/s. Column length = 12 m, flow velocity = 0.11 cm/s.

SPE Reservoir Engineering, February 1990 63

 ~

g
-
l!s
... 0
~

I• 0
60" C
130"C

I)
•

I)
r-

I)
•
0
r-

I)
•
/
"
It

~~~~~~TTrrMM~~~~~~~~~~+ ". 100 100

I
!CO
IOD !CO 100 !CO

PRESSIIlE-BAR PRESSIIlE-SAR

Fig. 5-Dlsplacement tests of three-component system with Fig. 6-Dlsplacement tests of reservoir fluid with nitrogen.
= =
nitrogen. Column length 12 m, flow velocity 0.11 cm/s. Effect of temperature on 011 recovery.

KLlvL, is a measure of the amount of dispersion present in the dis-
placement.
Proposed MMP Correlation
Correlations for predicting MMP have been proposed by a num-
ber of investigators and are important tools in the selection of poten-
tial reservoirs for gas miscible flooding. The available literature
data on N2 miscible displacement are very limited, and the N2
MMP correlations published should be used with care. 5-7
Slim-tube displacement tests conducted in this work together with
data from displacement tests reported in the literature (Tables 5 and
6) are used to develop a simple correlation. The input parameters
for these equations are the molecular weight of C7+ in the stock-
tank oil, the reservoir temperature, and the mole percent methane
and intermediates in the reservoir fluid. The effect of the input pa-
rameters on MMP with N 2 is related to the API gravity of the oil.
From graphical methods and regression analysis, the following
relation was developed for oil with gravity less than 40° API.
mm API<40 -k
(p) - 1(MC7+
0.88To·1I/C 2-6 O.64C 10.33) • . ....•. (2)
Data from Eq. 2 were used to plot samples from Table 5 on a linear
coordinate system, resulting in a parabolic curve. Regression anal-
ysis on these data yielded the following equation:
(Pmm)API<40=80.14+35.25p~+O.76(p~)2, ......... (3)
where p~ = Mc ~.88 TO.ll 1C2_6 O.64C 10.33 .
7

N2 N2

Fig. 7-Predicted MMP by the PREOS phase envelope for sys- Fig. 8-Predlcted MMP by the PREOS phase envelope for sys-
tem AX+N2' tem BX+N 2 •

64 SPE Reservoir Engineering, February 1990


N2
Fig. 9-Predlcted MMP by the PREOS phase envelope for sys-
tem CX+N 2 •
For oil with gravity greater than 40° API, the following relation
was developed:
(Pmm)API>40 =k2(MC7~·48/To.2SC2-6°·12Cl 0.42). . ...... (4)
Regression analysis on data from Table 6 with Eq. 4 gave the
following equation:
(Pmm)API> 40 = -648.5+2619.5p;b-1347.6(p;b)2, .... (5)
where p;b=Mc7~·48lTo.2SC2-6°·12ClO.42
....ult. and DI.cu••lon
The first set of displacement tests were conducted in a 12-m [39-ft]
tube with a flow velocity of 0.11 cmls [0.04 in./sec]. The reser-
voir fluids used were Systems A through D. The results (Figs. 3
and 4) indicate that the methane concentration of the reservoir fluid
has a significant effect on the displacement efficiency. With low
methane concentration, the recovery of oil is 60 to 70% of the ini-
tial oil in place. At these low oil recoveries, a plateau is established
on the recovery curves. This plateau is often taken as a criterion
of miscibility .
The second set of displacement tests performed were with three-
component hydrocarbon mixtures and nitrogen (Systems AX, BX,
and eX). The column length and flow velocity were the same as
for the displacement tests with Systems A through D. The results,
presented in Fig. 5, show a trend similar to that for the reservoir
fluid (Le., the oil recovery decreases with decreasing methane con-
centration in the reservoir fluid). Fig. 6 presents the effect of tem-
perature on oil recovery and the MMP with Systems A and AX.
The next step was an MCM study on Systems AX, BX, and CX.
This study was based on gas/liquid equilibrium calculations. The
purpose of the tests was to examine the effect of different amounts
of methane in the reservoir fluid on the miscibility pressure. Figs.
7 through 9 give the phase envelope of the three mixtures at differ-
ent pressures. The ternary diagram with System AX plus N2 indi-
cates that miscibility is achieved for all pressures investigated.
System BX plus N 2 shows that a reduction in methane concentra-
tion causes an increase in the miscibility pressure, which is esti-
mated to be slightly above 32 MPa [320 bar]. System CX plus
nitrogen gave an estimated miscibility pressure between 45 and 50
MPa [450 and 500 bar]. Thus, these simulation tests indicated that
miscibility should be achieved for all three mixtures investigated
within the actual pressure range used (22 to 50 MPa [220 to 500
bar]).
The length of the immiscible displacement relative to the total
displacement path length can be minimized by using a low flow
velocity or a small particle size for the porous medium in the tube.
SPE Reservoir Engineering. February 1990
I.
...C; =j
I!s ~
...
I •0
/
_
P -- SYSTEM
- --0
BX
0
• J/
/ c- _-0
0
r
0
•
0
It
- - FLOW RATE: 0.03 CM/SEC.
- FLOW RATE: 0.11 CM/SEC.
~+,T'~I~i'~I~I~ITI~'~lin'~'T'~'~'~'TI~"~'~'T'~'~ii~I~'~'T'~'~'i~'~'
100 200 3:J) 101 SIlO
PRESSURE-BAR
FIg. 10-DIspiacement tests of three-component system with
nitrogen. Effect of flow velocity on 011 recovery. Column
length = 12 m.
To examine the effect of displacement velocity on slim-tube oil
recovery, further displacement tests were performed with flow ve-
locities of 0.03 and 0.11 cmls [0.012 and 0.04 in.lsec]. The re-
sults are given in Fig. 10. A reduction in injection gas flow velocity
from 0.11 to 0.03 cmls [0.04 to 0.012 in./sec] resulted in an in-
crease from 88 to 93% recovery at 47 MPa [470 bar] for System
BX. The corresponding result for System CX was an increase of
oil recovery from 76 to 78 %. A displacement test with System CX
at the same pressure and temperature and a flow velocity of 0.01
cm/s [0.004 in.lsec] did not increase the oil recovery compared
with the result obtained at the higher flow rate.
To examine the effect of coluirullength on the displacement ef-
ficiency, we conducted displacement tests in slim tubes of 24 and
36 m [79 and 118 ft]. These tests were done with Systems B and
CX and the results presented in Figs. 11 and 12. On the basis of
these results, it was found that increasing tube length increased oil
recovery for miscible displacement with N 2 • This result is inter-
preted to mean that, with N 2, a longer column is required to reach
miscibility if the methane concentration of the reservoir fluid is rela-
tively low. The results also indicate that increasing the tube length
gives a more pronounced change in the slope of the curve of recov-
ery vs. pressure. Thus, the recommended range of length of the
slim tube to be used for determination of N2 MMP is 25 to 35 m
[82 to 115 ft]. They also indicate that the flow velocity of N2
should be low. The recovery is highly dependent on the pressure
at dimensions approaching those of a field because the path lengths
are long and the flow velocity very low. If the pressure is high
enough to produce a single phase in the MCM displacement proc-
ess, the recovery will be high in the contacted area. But if the pres-
sure is lower than that, the very high dispersion in field-scale
displacement will cause a large saturation of bypassed oil and a
low overall recovery.
A comparison of experimental and calculated recovery of oil is
given in Table 7. The simulations were performed in an indirect
manner because a significant factor in the numerical model is the
dimensionless mixing-zone length, KdvL, sometimes called the in-
verse Peclet number. This quantity is impossible to determine for
this complicated two-phase displacement where diffusion and me-
chanical dispersion interact with the phase mixing to produce
KL/vL. For most of the cases, the number of gridblocks for a simu-
lation was varied until the calculated recovery matched the ex-
65
 D .1, .1 •

...
....
Q

I!s
>- .. ...
~ ~
~ ... ~

...
0 0 0 ::!
t:>
·
l!;
• • •• • ... D
~
SYSTEM CX
~

...
...
•
••
•
~ D
• ,r-
_....
/
• /
... ••
D
•

...
••
••
SYSTEM C
D
r
//
... • D
• • COLUMN LENGTH: 12 M
... •
+ COLUMN LENGTH: 12 M
• 0 COLUMN LENGTH: 24 M D COLUMN LENGTH: 36 M
~ t;. COLUMN LENGTH: 36 M •
D

... ..2 e•• ... i:' I .. 1.2

..
D

t1JI 1111 suo &III

PORE VOlIME INJECTED

PRESSURE-BAR

Fig. 11-Dlsplacement tests of reservoir fluid with nitrogen Fig. 12-Dlsplacement tests of three-component system with
at 460 bar. Effect of column length on 011 recovery. Flow nitrogen. Effect of column length on 011 recovery. Flow
=
velocity 0.03 cm/s. velocity = 0.03 cm/s.

perimental. The dimensionless mIXIng-zone length was then
calculated from the effluent concentration proftles. The behavior
of KL/vL was analyzed as a function of pressure. velocity. and
slim-tube length. If these relationships are consistent with theory.
we assume that the simulations are qualitatively valid. For exam-
ple. we know that Do. and thus D. decrease as pressure increases.
and thus KL also decreases as pressure increases. Plots of the rela-
tionships between KL/vL. pressure. and velocity for Systems AX.
BX. and ex are given in Figs. 13 through 15.
For the last three displacements in Table 7 (marked estimated)
the value of the dimensionless mixing-zone length was estimated
by extrapolating the curves from Figs. 14 and 15 and then simulat-
ing the run with that KL/vL. Extrapolation involves a small amount
of uncertainty. but the calculated recoveries should be within I or
2 % of the actual value. The last displacement with a 36-m [118-ft]
column makes use of the scaling of KL/vL so that KL/vL at 36 m
[118 ft] is one-third of the value at 12 m [39 ft] when pressure.
velocity. and porous medium are the same.
Criteria lor Miscibility
The criteria to define miscibility with N 2 developed by different
investigators vary. Such criteria are the disappearance of two si-
multaneously flowing phases (when only one phase results from

TABLE 7-COMPARISON OF CALCULATED AND EXPERIMENTAL RECOVERY

Displacement Column Dimensionless Experimental Calculated

Pressure Velocity Length Mixing Zone Recovery Recovery
System (bar) (cmfs) (m) Length, KLfvL (%) (%)
AX 209 0.11 12 7.17x10-3 62.0 62.4
AX 301 0.11 12 3.93x10- 3 88.3 88.4
AX 388 0.11 12 1.40x 10- 3 93.3 93.5
ex 248 0.11 12 5.38 x 10- 3 69.2 69.3
ex 320 0.11 12 4.94 x 10- 3 81.7 81.4
ex 445 0.11 12 3.60x10- 3 88.5 88.2
ex 342 0.03 12 1.70x 10- 3 89.3 89.6
ex 445 0.03 12 1.38x 10- 3 92.6 92.9
CX 248 0.11 12 2.98 x 10- 2 56.7 57.1
CX 398 0.11 12 5.50x 10- 3 74.1 74.4
CX 470 0.11 12 3.90x10- 3 * 76.3 80.7
CX 470 0.03 12 2.50xlO- 3 * 78.5 82.6
CX 470 0.03 36 8.30x10- 4 * 88.0 88.0
'Estimated.

66 SPE Reservoir Engineering. February 1990

 SYSTEM BX

SYS:rEM AX

.
" , ' ............
.. N

- FLOW RATE: 0.11 CM/SEC.

• ••. FLOW RATE: 0.03 CM/SEC. ---- ~----..

- FLOW RATE: 0.11 CM/SEC.

O'~TT~rr~rM~~TTTTTr~~~~TTTTTrrr+
O~TTTrrrrrrn~~~~TTTTTTrrrrrrrr~~~
\00 lill 2011

PRESSURE-BAR PRESSURE·BAR

Fig. 13-Dlmenslonless dispersion coefficient vs. pressure. Fig. 14-Dlmenslonless dispersion coefficient vs. pressure.

•..
a mixture of two fluids) and/or achieving a maximum oil recovery
of 90 to 95 % after injection of 1.2 PV of the displacing agent. ..,
The results from this work show that miscibility is not always .:.
~
related to a high microscopic displacement efficiency of oil. When
the transition zone needed to obtain miscibility is long compared
with the total length of the flow path, the recovery of oil will be
s!
....
~t
..
II SYSTEM CX

relatively low (60 to 80%). If miscibility is obtained, then it is char-

acterized by a plateau on the pressure-recovery curve. This plateau, ~
together with a visual observation of the effluent during the dis- 8 g
placement test, should be used as a criterion to define miscibility ~
with N 2 .

Conclusions
! !!
\
The effect of reservoir fluid composition, displacement velocity, \
column length, and temperature on slim-tube oil recovery with N2
!!
\
has been investigated by use of slim-tube experiments. phase be- \.
havior studies, and simulation tests. \.
The results from this study show that the amount of methane and
intermediates in the reservoir fluid has a significant effect on the
MMP. The results also suggest that a reservoir fluid with low
II ""-
.
-....... .......
........
methane content needs a long path length and low displacement ve- •••• FLOW RATE: 0.03 CM/SEC. - - _
- FLOW RAU: 0.11 CM/SEC.
locity to develop miscibility with N2' The slim-tube oil recovery,
and hence the average microscopic displacement efficiency of the D'~~~~~~TT~rr~~~TTTTrr~~~~
process, has been shown to increase significantly with slim-tube \00 2011

length when injection pressure and other variables are kept con-
stant. In a typical field situation, the transition zone needed to ob-
tain miscibility will be short compared with the total length of the
flow path. Consequently, if the observation from slim-tube experi- Fig. 15-Dlmenslonless dispersion coefficient vs. pressure.
ments is carried over to a field situation, the microscopic displace-
ment efficiency of oil with N2 should be relatively high, assuming
that the displacement pressure is above the MMP.
AnMMP correlation with N2 has been developed. Input param-
eters for this equation are the molecular weight of C 7 + in the
stock-tank oil. temperature, and mole percent methane and inter-
mediates (C 2 through C 6 ) in the reservoir fluid. The effect of the Fj
input parameters on MMP with N2 gas is related to the API gravity FR
of the oil. kbk2
KL
Nomenclature
b = width of flow model, cm [in.]
(ip = average particle diameter, cm [in.]
SPE Reservoir Engineering. February 1990
PRESSURE-BAR
D = diffusion coefficient, cm 2/s [in.2/sec]
De = effective diffusion coefficient::::D o /1.4, cm 2/s
[in.2/sec]
Do = molecular diffusion coefficient, cm 2/s [in.2/sec]
= inhomogeneity factor
= formation electrical resistivity factor
= constants defined in Eqs. 2 and 4, respectively
= longitudinal dispersion coefficient, D+cxLv (see Eq.
3), cm 2/s [in.2/sec]
K T = transverse dispersion coefficient
L = path length of displacement, cm [in.]
67
MC7+ = molecular weight of C7+ in stock-tank oil 2. Rushing, M.D. et al.: "Nitrogen May Be Used for Miscible Displace-
Ph = bubblepoint pressure, bar [kPa] ment in Oil Reservoirs," JPT (Dec. 1978) 1715-16.
Pmm = MMP, bar 3. Alcocer, C.F. and Menzie, D.E.: "EOR by Nitrogen Injection: The Effect
of Increased Temperature and the Amount of Gas in Solution," paper
P~ = correlating number for calculating MMP
SPE 12709 presented at the 1984 SPE/DOE Enhanced Oil Recovery Sym-
T = reservoir temperature, °C [OF] posium, Tulsa, April 15-18.
v = interstitial velocity, cm/s [in.lsec] 4. Perkins, T.K. and Johnston, O.C.: "A Review of Diffusion and Dis-
X = parameter value persion in Porous Media," SPEl (March 1963) 70-84; Trans., AIME,
aL = dispersivity, cm [in.] 228.
n 5. Firoozabadi, A. and Aziz, K.: "Analysis and Correlation of Nitrogen
and Lean-Gas Miscibility Pressure," SPERE (Nov. 1986) 575-82; Trans .•
a= average deviation = (lin) E [(XEX-XE)/XEX]IOO AIME,282.
i=1 6. G1as~, 0.: "Generalized Minimum Miscibility Pressure Correlation,"
q, = porosity, fraction of PV SPEl (Dec. 1985) 927-34.
7. Llave, F.M. and Chung, T.-H.: "Phase Behavior and Minimum Misci-
bility Pressures for Nitrogen Miscible Displacement," lIT Research Inst.,
Subscripts
Natl. Inst. for Petroleum and Energy Research, Bartlesville, OK (1987).
c = critical
E = estimated 51 Metric Conver.lon Factor.
EX = experimental bar x 1.0* E+05 Pa
ft x 3.048* E-Ol m
Acknowledgment ft3 x 2.831 685 E-02 m3
The research summarized in this report was funded by the Nor- OF (OF-32)/1.8 °C
wegian Petroleum Directorate within the State R&D Program for OF (OF+459.67)/1.8 K
Improved Oil Recovery and Reservoir Technology. in. x 2.54* E+OO em
scflbbl x 1.801 175 E-Ol std m 3 /m 3
Reference. 'Conversion factor is exact. SPERE
1. Koch, H.A. Jr. and Hutchinson, C.A. Jr.: "Miscible Displacements of Original SPE manuscript received for review March 22, 1988. Paper accepted for publica-
tion Oct. 3, 1989. Revised manuscript received April 20, 1989. Paper (SPE 17378) first
Reservoir Oil Using Flue Gas," JPT(Jan. 1958) 7-19; Trans., AIME, presented at the 1988 SPEIDOE Enhanced Oil Recovery Symposium held in Tulsa, April
213. 17-20.

68 SPE Reservoir Engineering, February 1990