A Dynamic Pore Network Model for Oil Displacement by Wettability-Altering Surfactant Solution

A dynamic pore network model, capable of predicting the displacement of oil from a porous medium by a wettability-altering and interfacial tension reducing surfactant solution, is presented. The key ingredients of the model are (1) a dynamic network model for the displacement of oil by aqueous phase taking account of capillary and viscous effects, (2) a simulation of the transport of surfactant through the network by advection and diffusion taking account of adsorption on the solid surface, and (3) the coupling of these two by linking the contact angle and interfacial tension appearing in the dynamic network simulation to the local concentration of surfactant computed in the transport simulation. The coupling is two-way: The flow field used to advect the surfactant concentration is that associated with the displacement of oil by the injected aqueous phase, and the surfactant concentration influences the flow field through its effect on the capillarity parameters. We present results obtained using the model to validate that it reproduces the displacement patterns observed by other authors in two-dimensional networks as capillary number and mobility ratio are varied, and to illustrate the effects of surfactant on displacement patterns. A mechanism is demonstrated whereby in an initially mixed-wet medium, surfactant-induced wettability alteration can lead to stabilization of displacement fronts.