Al Jaberi, Abdulla

Project Title

Enhanced Oil Recovery by Low Salinity Water Injection

Abstract

Reducing the salt content of water injected in oil reservoirs is being considered as a method to increase oil recovery. Numerous laboratory experiments have indicated that injecting low salinity water instead of seawater can lead to incremental oil recoveries in various extent.

Although much research has been conducted on the topic, the governing physical and chemical mechanisms for this increase in recovery are not yet agreed upon, but are generally believed to involve some form of interaction between the rock, oil, and brine leading to changes in wettability, oil/water interfacial tension, or both.

The focus of this research is to understand the fundamental processes occurring at the interfaces between crude oil, bine and rock; develop a workflow and methodology for modeling low salinity water injection. It will work on predicting the amount and the rate of incremental oil recovery by low salinity water injection.

Supervisors

Contact

Email: Aa213@hw.ac.uk