Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery (CEOR)

This course will cover basic concepts and principles of different Chemical EOR (CEOR) methods including polymer flooding, surfactant flooding, alkaline flooding, alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding and others. The course is focused on issues related to these technique including laboratory, numerical simulation, and field applications. Case studies will also be presented to support the latter three aspects along with exercises. In addition, fractional flow theory will be utilized to predict the behavior of these CEOR methods. The new advances in these methods will be discussed as the oil industry has expanded its activities in this area tremendously all around the world. Moreover, participants will learn how to use a commercial software to set up, simulate, interpret, and visualize a selected CEOR method as well as to perform simple sensitivity analysis on related oil recovery.

Course Objectives

To screen reservoirs for chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) methods, select the promising CEOR method, understand the chemical phase behavior and displacement mechanisms essential to CEOR, and to predict the performance of CEOR method using a commercial simulator.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, participants will learn the following:                                                        

• Understand the important of EOR and particularly CEOR methods
• Select the appropriate CEOR method for a certain reservoir based on the target applications, benefits, and limitations
• Enhance oil recovery beyond conventional waterflooding                                           
• Understand the mechanisms responsible for oil recovery improvement using the different CEOR methods
• Utilize different designing procedures including theoretical, laboratory tests, and field pilots                              
• Plan CEOR processes through employing the proper empirical, analytical, and simulation tools                                            
• Forecast oil recovery under certain CEOR method and analyzing reservoir performance

Resources

The course will be delivered in the form of lectures using PowerPoint. Lecture materials will be given to trainees.

Method of Delivery: Teaching/Learning Approaches

This is an online course that includes hands on practice/calculations during the solving sessions.  A pre-exam as well as a post-exam will be given to the trainees to evaluate how much they gained out of this short course. The exam will be in the form of multiple choices questions for about 30 min.

Petroleum engineers, geoscientists, management personnel or other technical personnel with at least a BS degree and some experience in reservoir engineering. The course benefits both new recruits as well as experienced professionals with interest in chemical EOR methods.

Day 1: EOR and Related Petrophysics Overview (Exercise/Pre-Exam)

Day 2: Sweep Efficiency, Fractional Flow, and Polymer Flooding (Exercise)

Day 3: Introduction to Waterflooding Simulations using a commercial software (Exercise)

Day 4: Polymer Simulation and Modeling (Exercise)

Day 5: Surfactant and ASP Floodings (Exercise/Post-Exam)