Emulsion Characteristics of High Water-cut Oil Wells

Abstract

Abstract A laboratory study was executed which investigated the characteristics of the oil-water-mixture that is produced by a high water-cut well. By means of core-flow experiments the concurrent flow of oil and water in the near-wellbore region of a high water-cut well was simulated. Production parameters and formation and fluid properties were varied in the experiments. The effluent of the different types of cores produced a mixture of large millimeter-sized drops and micro- droplets which were typically of the order of the pore size. The size distribution of the produced emulsion droplets was measured by a particle size analyzer, based on laser diffraction. The experimental results revealed that the droplet diameter produced by different sandstone cores was a unique function of pressure gradient and interfacial tension and independent of the type of sandstone. Furthermore it was observed that wettability has a strong impact on the type of oil-water morphology. P. 405