Journal of Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology

Application of ND: YAG laser to improve rock permeability and increase heavy oil recovery employing fuzzy logic

World Congress on Petroleum and Refinery

July 21-22, 2016 Brisbane, Australia

Reza Taheri

Lebanese American University, Lebanon

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Pet Environ Biotechnol

Abstract:

The use of laser technology to recover heavy oil as well as to increase permeability, compared to the current techniques, without having any advert effects on the reservoir productivity was examined in this research. This paper will present study results of the employment of pulsed (Q-switched) ND: YAG laser on impermeable heavy oil-bearing core samples which have been simulated as close as possible to the real reservoir conditions. It was observed that varying relaxation times of laser beams in this laser will yield positive and satisfactory results both for heavy oil flow as well as permeability. Optimum relaxation time to simultaneously experience the maximum permeability and heavy oil flow was achieved by examining a range of 8 relaxation times. Specifications of applied laser pulses and their associated beam properties, samples characteristics and dimensions and experiment environment in comparison with real reservoir conditions will be reported. Increasing the rock permeability in low permeable zones of the HC reservoirs by conventional methods will often cause formation damage and consequently will reduce the efficiency of recovery of the reservoirs. By applying the ND: YAG laser with the optimal beam relaxation time on samples from Burgan and Minagish reservoir samples, microfractures were produced and permeability increase of 10% - 180% was recorded due to induced high temperatures generated in the rock during lasing. This generated temperature also heavily affected the viscosity of the heavy oil resulting in an induced increase in fluid flow ranging from 7% - 12%. The twelve employed samples were selected from heavy-oil-bearing limestone reservoir rocks of Mauddud (9) and Minagish (3) within greater Burgan oil field. Relaxation times, lithological characteristics, depth at which samples were retrieved, RQD and PDPK were influencing factors to lasing outcomes, the effect of which, were normalized based on their contribution by employing fuzzy logic.

Biography :

Email: reza.taheri@lau.edu.lb