Application of microfluidics to optimize oil and gas field development technologies

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Abstract

To increase the oil recovery factor (RF), enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods are applied: chemical, gas, thermal, and combined ones. Standard laboratory research methods for selecting and optimizing EOR technologies require a lot of time and resources, as well as core material, which is often in short supply. To optimize the selection of reagents and field development technologies, the use of microfluidic technology is proposed i.e. conducting experiments in reservoir conditions using microfluidic chips with a porous structure, reproducing the properties of the core of the target field. The main advantages of conducting tests in micromodels are the low duration and the ability to visualize filtration processes, which makes it possible to evaluate the behavior of fluids in reservoir conditions.

This paper considers the modern application of microfluidics for the selection of EOR agents and stimulation methods and the status of this technology in the oil and gas industry. The use of microfluidic chips for screening surfactants and polymers, as well as studying the mechanism of low-mineralized water action is described. Conducting microfluidic tests to optimize gas and thermal EOR, which became possible due to the development and improvement of technology, is considered.

About the authors

Dmitrii Pereponov

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology; LABADVANCE

Email: dmitrii.pereponov@skoltech.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow; Moscow

Alexandra Scerbacova

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology; LABADVANCE

Email: a.scerbacova@skoltech.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow; Moscow

Vitaly Kazaku

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology

Email: vitaly.kazaku@skoltech.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

Murad Hajiyev

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology

Email: murad.hajiyev@skoltech.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

Michael A. Tarkhov

Institute of Nanotechnology of Microelectronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: tmafuz@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

Evgeny Shilov

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology; LABADVANCE

Author for correspondence.
Email: shilov@labadvance.net
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9704-2298
Scopus Author ID: 57202316742
Russian Federation, Moscow; Moscow

Alexey Cheremisin

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology; LABADVANCE

Email: a.cheremisin@skoltech.ru
Scopus Author ID: 57193064808
Russian Federation, Moscow; Moscow

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2. Figure 1. Number of articles on the application of microfluidic technology in the oil and gas industry

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3. Figure 2. Microfluidic device

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4. Figure 3. Sample images of microfluidic models before and after displacement

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5. Figure 4. Examples of microfluidic model designs

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Copyright (c) 2023 Pereponov D., Scerbacova A., Kazaku V., Hajiyev M., Tarkhov M.A., Shilov E., Cheremisin A.

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