Investigation of mechanisms involved in generation of foamy oil flow

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dc.contributor.advisorMaini, Brij B.
dc.contributor.authorXu, Sheng
dc.date.accessioned2017-12-18T21:20:22Z
dc.date.available2017-12-18T21:20:22Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.descriptionBibliography: p. 119-123en
dc.descriptionSome pages are in colour.en
dc.description.abstractSome heavy oil reservoirs in Western Canada and Venezuela under solution-gasdrive show anomalous primary performance: high oil recovery and low production GOR. This anomalous oil production behaviour under solution gas drive has been observed since the 1980's and one of the factors responsible for such behaviour is thought to be foamy oil flow, i.e. flow of gas in the form of dispersed gas bubbles. However, the mechanisms behind the formation of gas dispersion under foamy oil flow conditions remain unclear. There are two contradictory theories to explain the formation of a dispersion: explosive nucleation theory and dispersion due to dynamic equilibrium between the processes of break-up and coalescence. The objective of this work was to further examine the basic mechanisms behind the formation of dispersed gas bubbles and infer which one of the theories of foamy oil flow is consistent with the experiments. The study included a series of sand pack and fluid property measurements, and three series of depletion experiments. Based on the results from these depletion tests, it was concluded that the hypothesis of "explosive nucleation" may not be correct. The mechanism involved in the formation of gas dispersion under solution gas drive appears to be that of the break-up of mobilized gas ganglia. The bubble size distribution is maintained by a dynamic equilibrium between the processes of break-up and coalescence. Some other notable observations were that the capillary number fluctuation corresponded with the fluctuation of simultaneous gas production rate and that the apparent critical gas saturation was 1 % to 16%, increasing with increasing depletion rate.
dc.format.extentxiv, 123 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.en
dc.identifier.citationXu, S. (2007). Investigation of mechanisms involved in generation of foamy oil flow (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/1035en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/1035
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/102036
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.titleInvestigation of mechanisms involved in generation of foamy oil flow
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineChemical and Petroleum Engineering
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
ucalgary.thesis.accessionTheses Collection 58.002:Box 1764 520492281
ucalgary.thesis.notesUARCen
ucalgary.thesis.uarcreleaseyen
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