Page 206 - Formation Damage during Improved Oil Recovery Fundamentals and Applications

180 Bin Yuan and Rouzbeh G. Moghanloo

production rate of the target well had declined by 5300BOPD oil and
4000 MCF gas with even flowing tubing pressure (FTP) decrease by
1900 psi, due to the severe problem of fines migration and plugging the
reservoirs. In 2008, a frac-packing treatment was introduced
with approximate 97,000 lb 20/40 mesh proppant, pre-coated with
0.1% (lb/lb) nanoparticles. After the nanoparticles-coated frac-packing
treatment, the well production rates recovered with zero fines migra-
tion. Three months after that treatment, the production increased to
3200 BOPD oil and 2700 MCF gas with FTP 2300 psi. This field
application example provides very good evidence to confirm the
effectiveness of nanoparticles to fixate formation fines migration for the
purpose of maintaining well productivity.
For the purpose of enhanced oil recovery, Arab et al. (2013) investi-
gated the nanoparticles treatment during low-salinity waterflooding to
mitigate the induced fines migration. In their experimental work, five
types of metal oxide nanoparticles, Al 2 O 3 , MgO, CuO, SiO 2 and ZnO
were selected to find the best type of nanoparticles to control fines migra-
tion by comparing the effluent fines concentrations. Also, coreflood test
were performed using Berea sandstone cores to investigate the removal of
permeability damage using nanoparticles. Those results confirmed the
efficiency of soaking the medium with nanofluids prior to low-salinity
waterflooding to mitigate the formation damage consequence induced by
fines migration.

4.3 NANOPARTICLES TRANSPORT IN POROUS MEDIA:
ADSORPTION, STRAINING, AND DETACHMENT BEHAVIORS

A comprehensive study of nanoparticles adsorption/detachment
behaviors is essential to provide a foundation to illustrate the numerous
benefits of nanoparticles applications. Li et al. (2015) performed experi-
ments to study the transport phenomenon of hydrophilic silica nanoparti-
cles and their effects in damaging core permeability. To
quantify hydrophilic nanoparticles adsorption, straining, and detachment
behaviors, and associated formation damage effects, the effluent-
nanoparticle concentrations and pressure drop across the cores were used
to estimate nanoparticles adsorption and retention behavior, as well as