Oil and Gas

The demand for oil is increasing at a fast rate for the last few years. Demand growth this year is running at its fastest level in 24 years. Today, petroleum is produced worldwide at a rate of 42000 gallons per second. Efficient application of secondary and tertiary recovery techniques in super giant carbonate reservoirs of the Middle East will help supply the world demand for oil.

To estimate the extra oil production due to the application of any new and existing IOR/EOR techniques require the estimation of recovery efficiency of the selected technique. The physical model for estimating overall recovery consists of displacement efficiency, volumetric sweep efficiency, mobilization efficiency, and capturing efficiency. A significant number of EOR techniques focus on increasing the displacement efficiency as their main recovery mechanism.

This project will focus on optimizing supercritical CO2 flooding process in the selected reservoir using representative fluid and rock samples. It also proposes Carbon Capture and Sequestration as a solution to the current environmental problem of excessive CO2 release in the atmosphere. It also seeks to maximize economic success in the oil and gas industry by increasing production capacity through injection of CO2 as EOR in reservoirs within the UAE and the region.

Research results will help to assess recovery from supercritical-CO2 flooding process and provide insight into the optimum conditions and alternative modes to apply this technique for optimum oil recovery.