| CO2 flooding has gained increased interest in regard to both light and heavy oil reservoirs, as a means of combining improved oil recovery and geological storage of CO2 in partially depleted oil reservoirs. Distribution and movement of CO2 in oil reservoirs is a function of the relative permeability of three phases of water, oil, and CO2 in oil reservoirs. In general, three-phase relative permeability relations are required with respect to the design of CO2 field projects for accurate predictions via numerical reservoir simulation of CO 2 flood performance and to model production and injection problems. However, a two-phase relative permeability relation is used to generate the three-phase relative permeability relation for use in reservoir simulations.;Fourteen experiments in two-phase systems, and four experiments in three-phase systems with heavy and light oils, were conducted in order to study the effect of pressure, temperature, viscosity, and flow rate on the relative permeability relation. It was shown that relative permeability is temperature dependent and increases with an increase in temperature. Pressure and oil viscosity had similar effects, although higher pressure caused a decrease in relative permeability to water in water-oil and water-oil-gas systems. Investigating the effect of flow rate it was found that higher injection flow rate caused increase in relative permeability values. The effect of the injection flow rate on relative permeability behaviour can be explained by the formation of emulsion during the displacement process.;A set of new correlations with which to calculate two- and three-phase relative permeabilities was developed. The new correlations, when compared to existing correlations, can better predict relative permeability values which take into account the effects of pressure, viscosity, and flow rate.;An overview of the available literature indicates few attempts have been made to experimentally determine the three-phase relative permeability relation for CO2-oil-water systems under practical reservoir conditions. This research attempts to investigate the two- and three-phase relative permeability relation of CO2-oil-water systems through a series of carefully designed laboratory experiments. |
