Enhancing ASP Flooding by Using Special Combinations of Surfactants and Starch Nanoparticles

Hasanain A Al-Jaber; Agus Arsad; Sulalit Bandyopadhyay; Muslim Abdurrahman; Mohammad Yasin Abdulfatah; Augustine Agi; Suriatie Mat Yusuf; Abdulmunem R Abdulmunem; Muhammad Tahir; Mustafa Jawad Nuhma

doi:10.3390/molecules28155770

Enhancing ASP Flooding by Using Special Combinations of Surfactants and Starch Nanoparticles

Molecules. 2023 Jul 31;28(15):5770. doi: 10.3390/molecules28155770.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ UTM-MPRC Institute for Oil and Gas, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor 81310, Malaysia.
² Department of Chemical Industries Technologies, Southern Technical University, Basrah 61006, Iraq.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Høgskoleringen 1, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.
⁴ Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Islam Riau, Pekanbaru 28284, Riau, Indonesia.
⁵ Exploration and Development Department, PT. SPR Langgak, Jakarta 12550, Indonesia.
⁶ Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology, College of Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Gambang 26300, Pahang, Malaysia.
⁷ Centre for Research in Advanced Fluid and Processes (Fluid Centre), Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Gambang 26300, Pahang, Malaysia.
⁸ Oil and Gas Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Universiti Technologi Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam 40450, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁹ Electromechanical Engineering Department, University of Technology-Iraq, Baghdad 10066, Iraq.
¹⁰ Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates.
¹¹ Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al Diwaniyah City P.O. Box 88, Iraq.

Abstract

This study aimed to address the challenges faced by mature oilfields in extracting substantial oil quantities. It focused on improving the efficiency of alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding technique, which is a proven tertiary recovery technology, to overcome scaling issues and other hindrances in its large-scale implementation. Appropriate materials and their suitable concentrations were selected to enhance the ASP flooding technique. Special surfactants from Indonesia were introduced to improve the interfacial tension reduction and wettability alteration. Reservoir rock model that resembling Langgak oilfield in Sumatra was utilized, and low-salinity water was employed to mimic the oilfield conditions. Starches derived from cassava nanoparticles (CSNPs) and purple yam nanoparticles (PYNPs) were combined separately with conventional hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) polymer to enhance its performance. Sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate were used as alkaline in final ASP formula. It was demonstrated from this research that only two combinations of ASP formulations have led to improved oil recovery. One combination utilizing PYNPs resulted in 39.17% progressive recovery, while the other combination incorporating CSNPs achieved 35% incremental oil recovery. The ASP combination that resulted in recovery rate of 39.17% was composed of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at a concentration of 1.28 wt.%, PSC EOR 2.2 (0.98 wt.%), and a combined polymer consisting of HPAM (0.2 wt.%) and PYNPs nano-starch (0.6 wt.%). The second combination led to 35% recovery rate and involved NaOH also at concentration 1.28 wt.%, PSC HOMF (0.63 wt.%), and a combined polymer comprising from HPAM (0.2 wt.%) and CSNPs nano-starch (0.8 wt.%). These findings of this study highlighted the potential of this modified ASP flooding to enhance oil recovery in mature oilfields, thereby offering valuable insights for oil industry.

Keywords: cassava nanoparticles; improved ASP flooding; nano-polymer flooding; purple yam nanoparticles; tertiary recovery technique.

Grants and funding

R.J130000.7351.4B549 and Q.J130000.3551.07G11/School of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)