A mechanistic investigation of low salinity water flooding coupled with ion tuning for enhanced oil recovery

Oil recovery by low salinity water flooding (LSWF) from carbonate reservoirs has gained tremendous attention in recent years due to its cost-effectiveness and environment-friendly nature. The mechanisms of low salinity water flooding for enhanced oil recovery are very complex and depend on the mineralogy of the formation rock, properties of injection brine and reservoir fluids. The present work aimed at the optimization of salinity and concentration of potential determining ions (PDIs) in injection water for enhanced oil recovery from carbonate reservoirs. Initially, we conducted a series of experiments on the dilution effect of seawater (SW) with the help of rock/fluid and fluid/fluid interactions via interfacial tension (IFT), zeta potential and contact angle measurements. This offered an optimum salinity (20dSW) with an 11% increase in recovery of the original oil in place (OOIP) over the SW injection in secondary flooding mode. Then, the ion tuning was done on the optimum salinity (20dSW) by manipulating the PDIs (Ca(2+), SO(4)(2−) and Mg(2+)) while keeping ionic strength constant. The properties of ion tuned brine were optimized by zeta potential and contact angle measurements. The core flooding experiments performed with the injection of designed ion tuned water obtained by dilution and ion tuning of SW showed more than 20% OOIP as incremental recovery over the SW injection. Effluent analysis after the flooding confirms that the main mechanisms for enhanced oil recovery include calcite dissolution and wettability alteration due to interplay of PDIs.