Saudi Aramco is experimenting with chemistry-optimized injection water for boosting oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs.
The Advanced Research Center of the state-owned company’s Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center has completed field tests demonstrating the potential for boosting recovery from the kingdom’s carbonate reservoirs by adjusting the ionic composition of injected seawater.
The company said research has shown that “tuning” properties such as ionic composition, salinity, and interfacial tension can increase oil recovery beyond what’s possible with regular seawater in waterfloods.
Aramco said the research center plans a field-scale demonstration of the technology, which it calls SmartWater. The first phase will involve several single-well tests.