57
1. Introduction
As a proved, efficient enhanced oil recovery
(EOR) technique, in-situ combustion (ISC) has a
history of about a hundred year [1]. In recent years,
it has been attracting more and more attentions due
to its high efficiency, easily accessible injectant (air),
and environmentally friendly properties, especially
for heavy crudes recovery (heavy oil, bitumen, oil
shale, etc.) [2,3]. In spite of these advantages, ISC
technique has not been as widely implemented for
EOR in the field as steam injection process. The main
challenge is its complexity, which makes it difficult
to predict, control, and adjust [4,5].
To increase its predictivity and controllability,
many researches have been carried out from
different aspects, such as: studies on the combustion
of different types of oils, their SARA fractions, as
well as pure hydrocarbons (alkanes, aromatics, etc.)
to understand the complex combustion mechanism
[6–13]; studies on the factors affecting the ignition
as well as the establishment and propagation of
combustion front, including reservoir temperature,
pressure, rock composition, and water saturation,
etc.[14–18]; the effect of catalysts on the combustion
behavior of oils and the performance of ISC process
[3, 6, 19-23]; and numerical simulation studies to
optimize injection parameters and to predict the
displacement efficiency and economic benefit
[24–29]. These researches can help to understand
the combustion mechanism and EOR mechanism,
as well as to predict the efficiency of ISC process.
However, the current studies and techniques fail to
know where is the combustion front and how it is
propagating once the combustion front is established
in field application of ISC process. In this work,
we investigated the effect of combustion process
of heavy oil on the composition and magnetic
properties of rock. In fact, recently we have found
that changes in magnetic properties can give answer
about the movement of combustion front [30]. By
doing this, we can provide fundamental data for
developing new techniques that can help to monitor
combustion front on the ground.
2. Experimental Section
2.1. Materials
Initial rock sample was provided by the Nurlat
Oil Field and used for combustion tube experiments
presented in our previous work [31]. It should
be mentioned that initial rock sample does not
contain oil. For combustion tube experiments, the
rock sample and oil from Nurlat Oil Field were
mixed in a specific ratio. After the combustion tube
experiment, the reactor was cooled down for 12 - 15
hours, then the core model was carefully removed
from the core holder while maintaining the model
structure. The rock samples were collected by vials
EFFECT OF IN-SITU COMBUSTION PROCESS ON THE MAGNETIC
PROPERTIES AND COMPOSITION OF ROCK
D.M. Kuzina*, Ch. Yuan, D.K. Nurgaliev, D.A. Emelianov,
M.A. Varfolomeev, A.V. Bolotov, I.F. Minhanov
Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
*E-mail: di.kuzina@gmail.com
http://dx.doi.org/10.5510/OGP2021SI200568
A b s t r a c t
In-situ combustion (ISC) is a proved, effective method for enhanced oil recovery
(EOR). In our previous work, we studied the feasibility of ISC process for heavy
oil recovery in Nurlat Oil Field (Tatneft oil company, Russia) regarding to oil
recovery, in-situ oil upgrading, stability of combustion front, etc. In this work,
we investigated the effect of ISC process on the rock properties and composition.
We found that magnetic minerals can be in-situ formed in rock during
combustion process of oils. The formation of magnetic minerals in rock depends
on temperature, heating time, and oil environment. Based on the magnetic
properties, the samples can be divided into the most heated, less heated, and non-
heated ones with hydrocarbons. The changes in the magnetic properties of rock
can be used for developing technologies for combustion front monitoring, which
is very valuable for controlling ISC process and its adjustment.
Keywords:
Magnetic properties;
Thermomagnetic analysis;
Enhanced oil recovery;
In-situ combustion;
Rock.
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SOCAR Proceedings Special Issue No. 2 (2021) 057-064
Reservoir and Petroleum Engineering
journal home page: http://proceedings.socar.az