Simulations of Chemical Flooding-Comparison with Experimental Data

A compositional simulator is used to model chemical flooding; computed results are compared to laboratory studies. Special representations were devised to model the surface tension and phase behavior of types II(-) and III on ternary diagrams. Continuous core-flood experiments were modeled. Results from models with high dispersion levels compare favorably to the data for cumulative recovery and fractional flow of oil with several different injection compositions. Core-flood experiments have been simulated for situations involving a slug injection of microemulsion. Results obtained for models with high dispersion levels compare favorably with experimental data for cumulative recovery and fractional flow of oil. The model parameters were changed to allow a sensitivity analysis. For parameters representative of these laboratory studies the results are not strongly dependent on the dispersion level. Standard data was used for relative permeability, and the detrapping parameters can be changed to simulate other cases or to improve the comparison with experiment. 14 references.