ROC (Reservoir on Chip) Modified Water Flooding for Enhanced Oil Recovery

Oil and natural gas are typically found in the reservoir rock, accumulating over millions of years and can be extracted through various techniques and technologies. The oil from the reservoir can be extracted in three stages: primary, secondary and tertiary. Secondary techniques are often implemented after the production from the primary stage ceases, mainly due to a decline in the reservoir’s natural pressure energy. Traditional Water flooding technique can recover 30-40% of OOIP (Original oil in place) and is one of the most common secondary techniques in the field stage, primarily due to the low cost and abundant availability of saline water (brine). The proposed project primarily focuses on developing alternative novel techniques to extract the remaining oil, which is either trapped inside due to capillary forces or bypassed due to reservoir heterogeneity. The proposal emphasises using the novel microfluidic platform-based Reseroivor on Chip concept to explore and understand the flow phenomena at the pore scale. The learnings from direct visualisation will potentially play a decisive role in designing and implementing improved and clean waterflooding techniques per the stringent climate laws.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sushanta Mitra

Student:

Partner:

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Waterloo

Program: