Title: Enhanced liquid recovery by carbon dioxide sequestration in gas/condensate reservoirs

Authors: Kashy Aminian; Adam Almulla; Samuel Ameri

Addresses: West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6070, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA ' College of Engineering and Petroleum, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, Safat, 13060 Kuwait ' West Virginia University, P.O. Box 6070, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA

Abstract: CO₂ sequestration in a depleted gas/condensate reservoir could be a viable option due to the economic benefits associated with the enhanced liquid recovery. According to previous laboratory investigations, CO₂ may be superior to methane (CH₄) or nitrogen (N₂) for enhanced condensate recovery from the depleted gas/condensate reservoirs. However, the impact of CO₂ distribution (and the associated mixing with the reservoir fluid) on liquid recovery from the gas/condensate has not yet been investigated. In this study, a compositional reservoir simulation was used to investigate the impact of the reservoir characteristics on the CO₂ distribution and the interactions with the hydrocarbons in gas/condensate reservoirs. The results indicate that CO₂ sequestration is able to significantly improve the liquid recovery even when severe heterogeneities are present. The liquid recovery not only results in economic benefits but also provides additional pore space for CO₂ storage. [Received: March 26, 2012; Accepted: August 14, 2012].

Keywords: carbon dioxide; CO2; carbon sequestration; phase behaviour; simulation; enhanced liquid recovery; gas condensate reservoirs; hydrocarbons.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2013.056125

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2013 Vol.6 No.5, pp.485 - 506

Received: 31 Mar 2012
Accepted: 14 Aug 2012
Published online: 29 Jan 2014 *

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