On Effects of Wettability on Multiphase Flow in Porous Media
Date
2017-12-20
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Abstract
Heavy oil resources have become an important sector of oil and gas industry. The Athabasca oil sand deposit, mainly in the McMurray Formation, is the largest and most important one in Alberta, Canada. The wettability of porous media is the most important property that directly controls multiphase flow and phase distribution. But there are still arguments about the wettability of the McMurray Formation oil sands and factors that affect the wettability and the consequent water-oil relative permeability curves. In the research reported in this thesis, surface mined unconsolidated McMurray Formation oil sands were analyzed for its wettability and effect on relative permeability. A new method to change the wettability of oil sands sand grains was developed and the wettability was explored by examination of contact angle and relative permeability. It was found that asphaltene and resin adsorption or precipitation on the surface of sand grains alter their wettability from water-wet to oil-wet. Furthermore, water displacement tested are performed to estimate the impact of wettability of the sand grains on the relative permeabilities of oil and water calculated by unsteady state method. The results suggest that in steam chambers where the oil has been extracted at elevated temperature, there is potential for a change of the wettability of the oil sands.
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Wettability Relative Permeability
Citation
Wu, W. (2017). On Effects of Wettability on Multiphase Flow in Porous Media (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.