Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Seismic Excitation

The major factor in increasing residual oil recovery depends on controlling interfacial forces inside the reservoir. In a water wet system, a thin water film covers the matrix material and water forms a continuous phase. When the oil saturation drops below some critical value, it forms a droplets and become dispersed in the water phase. To pass the dispersed droplets through pore throat constrictions, large forces are required. Such large force can be provided by water injection. However, since water is the continuous phase, it bypasses the oil droplets instead of pushing them through the constrictions. A numerical study was performed in order to understand the effect of the seismic waves on the oil droplet trapped in capillary pore throat. The results show that periodic variation of pressure at the pore throat has a nudging effect on the trapped oil drops and in the process it squeezes them through the pore throat constriction.