Investigation of Low Salinity EOR: Application for Kuwaiti Reservoir

Abstract

This paper investigates the applicability of Low Salinity (LoSal) EOR for a Kuwaiti reservoir. Many reservoirs in the Middle East are not producing satisfied results after depletion methods for a long time of production. Therefore, new management and production strategies must be determined in order to meet the global market demand for oil, which can be done using Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques. In Kuwait, one of the EOR methods that could be applied is the use of Low-Salinity (LoSal) Water Flood. Results from previous research have clearly shown that LoSal water injection has a significant impact on oil recovery. Although there are many LoSal experimental results reported in the literature, the process mechanisms and the prediction modeling are yet to be fully investigated and understood. As a result, further experimental work is needed in order to be able to develop reliable prediction tools. The research in this paper is an integrated study combining laboratory work to assess the performance of LoSal water flood using live crude, reservoir brine and native core with wettability conditions restored. The core flooding phase will conduct series of low salinity water flood experiments, design of Salt type and concentration. The performance of LoSal will be compared to different salinities water flood based on reservoir water salinity.