Kulim Kht CO2 in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Enhanced Oil Recovery 

Introduction

Oil reservoirs are high temperature and pressure environments
that consist of porous rocks, oil, and various gases. Typically, after
the primary and secondary oil recovery processes, at least 50% of
the original oil still remains in the reservoir [1]. As the exploration
of new oil reservoirs is decreasing because of environmental
factors, there is a growing need to process the existing oil
reservoirs more efficiently.
One method for recovering additional oil, termed tertiary or
enhanced oil recovery, involves injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) into
the reservoir, to displace and dissolve more of the remaining oil.
This process can lead to an additional 8-16% recovery after the
primary and secondary recovery steps [1]. The interfacial tension
between hydrocarbons, water, and CO2 play an important role in
determining the effectiveness of the CO2-enhanced oil recovery