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Evaluation Of Smart Water Flooding In A Selected Uae Carbonate Oil Reservoir, Mohammad Jasem Khalifi

Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Theses

Water flooding is by far the most common method of improved oil recovery applied in oil reservoirs. Water is the cheapest source of external energy that has been used over decades in water flooding schemes, provided that the damage does not adversely affect its injectivity. Displacement efficiency of water flooding can be significantly affected by crude oil/water/rock interactions. Historically, some consideration was given to such interactions in the practice of reservoir engineering. In recent years, extensive research in this area has documented that higher oil recoveries can be obtained when low-salinity water is injected in a formation with high salinity …

Removal Of Carboxylic Acids And Water From Pyrolysis Oil, George Alexander Marshall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over 70% of the world’s energy consumption is provided by fossil fuels and with those reserves depleting at a fast rate, alternative energy sources or methods are needed to support the world’s energy needs. This research was done in an attempt to make it more economically feasible to produce fuel products, such as bio-diesel, from the upgrading of bio-oil obtained from the pyrolysis of biomass waste material such as sawdust. The high water and oxygenated compound content of bio-oil make it undesirable for fuel use; however, two methods involving surface modified commercial membranes were utilized in hopes of overcoming these …

Plasticized Polymer Coatings For Sh-Saw Sensors For High Sensitivity And Long-Term Monitoring Of Btex Analytes In Liquid Phase, Pintu Adhikari

Master's Theses (2009 -)

BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) are constituents of crude oil and hazardous to human health. Among them, benzene has the lowest maximum contaminant level for drinking water because of its carcinogenicity. Spills or leakage from underground storage tanks or hazardous waste sites can contaminate nearby groundwater with these volatile organic compounds. Therefore, it is very important to detect the presence of BTEX contamination as early as possible in order to start the remediation process and maintain a healthy environment. To develop an in-situ continuous monitoring sensor system, shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) sensor devices are being investigated …

Development Of Ultrasonic Techniques For Characterization Of Liquid Mixtures, William A. Cooke

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

To evaluate the suitability of ultrasonic techniques for on-line process monitoring applications, an ultrasonic probe was used to measure acoustic velocity, acoustic impedance, and isentropic compressibility of hydrocarbons (including n-, iso-, and cycloalkanes, toluene, mineral oil, and crude oil) and polar liquids (alcohols, water, salt water) over a temperature range of 25-60°C. Temperature, carbon chain length, molecular shape, and intermolecular forces had significant effects on ultrasonic parameters. Relationships between media characteristics and observed ultrasonic parameters were modeled using empirical-least squares equations. The same parameters were measured in binary mixtures of hydrocarbons in heptane, as well as polar liquids in ethanol. …

Initial Structural Subsidence As Reflected In Morrowan And Atokan (Pennsylvanian) Subsurface Stratigraphy, Northern Arkoma Basin, North-Central Arkansas, Fatimah Taher Nahi Al Asadi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Arkoma Basin is a carboniferous foreland basin that is known for its prolific gas production. The objective of this research is to study the initial subsidence of the basin by analyzing the strati-graphic and structural features of the study area. This was accomplished through IHS Petra, Surf-er 13, and Win-Tensor software. Field work studies comprised a large part of this study. Also, a seismic profile and Google earth elevation profiles are among the methods used to study the initial subsidence of the Arkoma Basin. The study area within the basin represents a transitional zone from the shelf into the …

Particle Entrainment Studies From Dry And Wet Bed, Saber Ayatollahi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

During the Fluid Coking Process™ bitumen is sprayed into a fluidized bed of hot coke particles. The bitumen undergoes thermal cracking and is converted into gasses, condensable vapors, and solid coke, which deposits on the coke particles. These vapors rise through the vessel and result in entrainment of coke particles. Wet fine coke particles from the freeboard region enter the cyclone and contribute to the fouling of the Coker cyclones which can lead to the premature shut-down of Fluid Cokers.

The primary objective of this research is to determine how bed wetness affects entrainment.

First, a new fluidized bed was …

The Exacerbating Effect Of Coastal Erosion To Orphan Well Risk Analysis In Terrebonne Parish, Taylor Reeves

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of The Use Of A Plasticizer-Polymer Sensor Coating With Improved Long-Term Stability In The Liquid Phase, Laura Jeanne Alderson

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Benzene is one of the volatile organic compounds present in crude oil and gasoline. Leakage from underground storage tanks or hazardous waste sites can introduce benzene contamination into nearby groundwater. Benzene is a known carcinogen and its exposure is limited by the Environmental Protection Agency to 5 parts per billion (ppb) in drinking water. Early, accurate detection of the presence of benzene contamination in groundwater supplies is extremely important. Shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) devices with a chemically sensitive coating can be used for the detection of volatile organic compounds in liquid, such as BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and …

Oil Recovery By Polymer Flooding; Sensitivity Analysis To Technical Parameters, Rana Osama Fahmi Saqer

Theses

Numerous enhanced oil recovery techniques including miscible gas injection, chemical, thermal and other methods are applied at the third phase of production after both primary and secondary recovery have been exhausted. Polymer flooding is one of the chemical methods that recover more oil by decreasing the mobility of the system; by increasing the viscosity of the injected water that results in an improvement in the volumetric sweep efficiency.

The objective of this work is to asses and select the development options using polymer process that maximize oil recovery for a synthetic reservoir model where technical parameters are optimized thoroughly.

Reservoir …

Oil Recovery By Flooding; Sensitivity Analysis To Technical Parameters, Rana Osama Fahmi Saqer

Theses

Numerous enhanced oil recovery techniques including miscible gas injection, chemical, thermal and other methods are applied at the third phase of production after both primary and secondary recovery have been exhausted. Polymer flooding is one of the chemical methods that recover more oil by decreasing the mobility of the system; by increasing the viscosity of the injected water that results in an improvement in the volumetric sweep efficiency.

The objective of this work is to asses and select the development options using polymer process that maximize oil recovery for a synthetic reservoir model where technical parameters are optimized thoroughly.

Reservoir …

Contact Angle And Ift Measurements Of Smart Water At Elevated Temperatures And Pressures For Evaluating Wettability In A Selected Carbonate Reservoir In The Uae, Jassim Abubacker Ponnambathayil

Theses

Water flooding has been regarded as a well-known secondary oil recovery method. In the recent years, extensive research on crude oil, brine, and rock systems has acknowledged that the composition of the injected water can change wetting properties of the reservoir during a water flood in a promising way to improve oil recovery. Hence, injection of “smart water” with correct salinity and composition is considered as a tertiary recovery method. The mechanism behind wettability alteration that is promoted by smart water injection has been a topic of discussion in carbonate and sandstone formations. In this work, some key properties of …

Application Of Treated Oil Sands Drill Cuttings Waste In Micropiles Construction, Moustafa Ahmed Raafat Mohamed Aboutabikh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A micropile is constructed by drilling a hole, placing a steel reinforcing element, grouting it using neat cement. However, cement production consumes energy and generates carbon dioxide. Implementing waste materials in construction applications represents a sustainable solution for many waste management problems. On the other hand, oil sands drill cuttings waste represents one of the most difficult challenges for the oil sands mining sector. Reducing the amount oil sands drill cutting waste sent to landfill offers one of the best solutions for waste management. This thesis presents an innovative solution for application of treated oil sands waste (TOSW) in grout …

A Numerical Investigation Of Wellbore Stability Problems Using An Elastoplastic Model, Chang Huang

LSU Master's Theses

Wellbore stability analysis acts an important role in the drilling design to avoid pipe-stuck, lost circulation and the other instability-induced problems. However, the conventional linear elastic model used by the industry is too conservative in predicting the mud weight window. This project is aimed at improving the accuracy of wellbore stability analysis. An elastoplastic model with Drucker-Prager yield criterion featured by strain hardening is proposed to characterize the rock behavior. Object-oriented finite element analysis simulator, NSMOOM, is programmed in MATLAB. The simulator is verified with the analytical solution in the elastic domain and with the commercial software ABAQUS in the …

Experimental Evaluations Of Selected Sealants To Remediate Co₂ Leakage, Aaron Jeffrey Blue

Masters Theses

"Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) sequestration into porous and permeable brine-filled aquifers is seen as one of the most feasible solutions for reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants. To safely store the CO₂, it must be trapped under an impermeable rock acting as a seal. One of the concerns with CO₂ sequestration is the generation of new fractures or reopening of existing fractures caused by CO₂ injection in the sealing formation. This project evaluates the potential of sealing these fractures by injecting sealing materials into them. These sealing …

Shale Instability Of Deviated Wellbores In Southern Iraqi Fields, Ahmed Ali Shanshool Alsubaih

Masters Theses

"Wellbore instability problems are the cause for the majority of nonproductive time in the southern Iraqi fields' developments. The most severe problem in terms of effort and disbursement which is referred to a pipe sticking in Tanuma shale formation. Examining the drilling data revealed that this phenomenon was mostly related to the shear failure of the wellbore. Thus, a geomechanical analysis and drilling parameters/ practice optimization analysis were performed on a field in southern Iraq based on data from 45 deviated wells. The geomechanics analysis predicted the suitable drilling fluid density to prevent onset shear failure by using the Mogi-Coulomb …

Evaluating Completion Performance For Gas Wells In The Upper And The Lower Montney Formation, Canada, Omar Qasim Mohammed

Masters Theses

"Identifying the key drivers for success of multiple fractured horizontal wells is not straightforward, especially in unconventional reservoirs like the Montney. Al-Alwani et al. (2015) provided a statistical analysis of Montney completions based on publicly available data. They showed that for the entire well population, cumulative gas recovery per stage, declines as the number of completed stages increase. However, their statistical analysis did not differentiate between completions in the Upper/Middle/Lower Montney, and did not include perforation cluster data.

This work documents the statistical analysis of 296 cased-hole horizontal gas well completions reported in the Upper and the Lower Montney. The …

Simulation Studies For Relative Importance Of Unconventional Reservoir Subgrid Scale Physics Parameters, Yaakoub Youssef El Khamra

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this endeavor we attempt to better understand gas transport in shale gas reservoirs, specifically the impact and effects of different physical phenomena. We start by documenting the nature of the reservoirs and the need for accurate modeling of various physical phenomena in multiple interconnected continua. The physical phenomena of interest include non-linear Forchheimer flow, Knudsen diffusion in the form of slip "Klinkenberg" flow and adsorption/desorption. The numerical methods used in the reservoir simulator are also introduced, along with a derivation of the main equations used. Various verification and validation results are compared against manufactured and analytical solutions and finally …

Development Of Single-Well Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage Process For Enhanced Oil Recovery, Bikash Deep Saikia

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

EOR application in prolific deepwater Gulf of Mexico (DGOM) reservoirs has remained a challenge. Exorbitant well cost (>200M$) precludes having extensive injection patterns and very characteristics of the reservoirs themselves are partly to blame for negligible EOR activity in DGOM. We have been able to develop and demonstrate a novel design in the form of Single Well – Gas Assisted Gravity Drainage (SW-GAGD) process, which is potentially cost effective, at the same time ensuring very high oil recoveries. In this design, a single well acts as an injector as well as a producer, thereby minimizing well cost. The efficacy …

Application Of The Finite Element Method To Solve Coupled Multiphysics Problems For Subsurface Energy Extraction, Milad Ahmadi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fractures are a source of extra compliance in the rock mass. Fracture compliance can estimate the fracture roughness and the type of fluid filling the fracture. The focus of this research study in chapter 2 is to illustrate how the compliance ratio of rough fractures can diverge from the compliance ratio of smooth fractures. The imperfect interface of the fracture is modeled with saw-tooth-like structures. The defined saw-tooth-like structures of contact asperities impose an in-plane asymmetry in the shear direction. The compliance ratio of the rough fracture is larger than the compliance ratio of the smooth fracture. Interlocking and riding …

Numerical Analysis Of Flexural Slip During Viscoelastic Buckle Folding, Davi Rodrigues Damasceno

Masters Theses

"Flexural slip is considered to be an important folding mechanism contributing in the development of different folds such as chevron, and kink-band buckle folds. Various filed studies have provided a general conceptual and qualitative understanding of flexural slip. However, quantitative evidence of the importance of the flexural slip mechanism during fold evolution is sparse, as the actual amount of surface parallel displacement, and timing, is difficult to measure accurately, due to the lack of suitable strain markers.

In this study 2D finite element analysis is used to overcome these disadvantages and to simulate flexural slip during viscoelastic buckle folding. Variations …

Stress Corrosion Cracking Evaluation Of Carbon Steel In Biodiesel And The Effect Of Ultrasonic Nanocrystal Surface Modification (Unsm) On 304 Stainless Steel, Josh Geyer

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The project that was performed was stress corrosion cracking (SSC) of carbon steel in biodiesel, petroleum diesel and a mixture. The project also included the effect of Ultrasonic Nanocrystal Surface Modification (UNSM) on 304 stainless steel. It included the assembly of a slow strain rate (SSR) machine and carrying out testing using the SSR machine. The assembly of the machine will require purchasing and building a stand to house the electrical equipment which includes the computer, actuator control panel and the actuator power supply. The assembly will also include designing and purchasing the connections to connect the actuator to the …

Application Of The Variational Fracture Model To Hydraulic Fracturing In Poroelastic Media, Chukwudi Chukwudozie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Hydraulic fracturing has persisted through the use of simple numerical models to describe fracture geometry and propagation. Field tests provide evidence of interaction and merging of multiple fractures, complex fracture geometry and propagation paths. These complicated behaviors suggest that the simple models are incapable of serving as predictive tools for treatment designs. In addition, other commonly used models are designed without considering poroelastic effects even though a propagating hydraulic fracture induces deformation of the surrounding porous media. A rigorous hydraulic fracturing model capable of reproducing realistic fracture behaviors should couple rock deformation, fracture propagation and fluid flow in the both …

Commercialization Of Cobalt Promoted Molybdenum Disulfide Hydrodesulfurization Unsupported Catalyst, Juan Hilario Leal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Catalysis is a key player in the petroleum refining process. Our focus is primarily on the improvement of a commercial HDS (HydroDeSulfurization) hydrotreating catalyst. The commercial catalyst sold today is cobalt promoted molybdenum supported on γ-alumina. Our aim is to work with Porocel Industries LLC to produce an unsupported, cobalt promoted, molybdenum disulfide catalyst by improving on previous work conducted by Dr. Brenda Torres. The catalysts (B3&B5) developed by Dr. Torres were reported to be highly active on real feedstocks and were produced via hydrothermal process. Oxidic Mo, and H2S were used to make an ammonium tetrathiomolybdate precursor that was …

Design And Development Of A High-Temperature High-Pressure Rolling Ball Viscometer/Densimeter And Evaluation Of Star Polymer-Solvent Mixtures, Matthew Stanton Newkirk

Theses and Dissertations

Modern automotive applications such as transmission clutch plates, combustion chambers, diesel fuel injector tips, and axle gears and friction plates operate at temperatures that can exceed 250°C and pressures of 40,000 psia. Industrial practice is to add homopolymers and copolymers to base oils to modify bulk fluid viscosity and frictional properties for these demanding applications. However, designing polymeric additives for lubricants and predicting their performance is limited by the lack of available high-temperature high-pressure (HTHP) viscosity and density data needed to test contemporary lubricity models. Thus, a major objective of this thesis is the design, development, and commissioning of a …

High-Temperature, High-Pressure Viscosities And Densities Of Toluene, Aaron J. Rowane

Theses and Dissertations

High-temperature, high-pressure (HTHP) conditions are exemplified in ultra-deep petroleum reservoirs and can be exhibited within diesel engines. Accurate pure component hydrocarbon data is essential in understanding the overall behavior of petroleum and diesel fuel at these conditions. The present study focuses on the HTHP properties of toluene since this hydrocarbon is frequently used to increase the octane rating of gasoline and toluene occurs naturally in crude oil. In this thesis experimental densities and viscosity are presented to 535 K and 300 MPa extending the database of toluene viscosity data to higher temperature than previous studies. The data is correlated to …

Modeling Explosive Lensing On A Cylindrical Body In Air: A First Step Towards Sealing An Underwater Offshore Oil Spill, Phillip R. Mulligan

Doctoral Dissertations

"In 2010, the British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon accident leaked oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days. A fast response method that can seal an oil pipe and stop the release of oil is needed in order to prevent future oil leaks from turning into ecological and financial disasters. Explosives can serve this need.

This research examined how a circular implosive discontinuous explosive lens interacts with a cylindrical surface. The following research was designed to study the applicability of the Method this author developed to predict the peak pressure from multiple shockwaves converging on a centrally located cylinder. …

Modeling Gas Inflow For Extremely Low Permeability Shale Using Cfd, Chatetha Chumkratoke

Doctoral Dissertations

"Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to model 2-D well inflow over a range of permeabilities to study the impact of various well completion strategies (Augustine, 2011). Augustine's 2-D model was subsequently extended for 3-D flow by Thepporprapakorn (2013), for gas flow in the permeability range of tight gas (0.01 mD).

This work presents a 3-D CFD model of gas inflow valid for extremely low ranges of permeability (0.00001 mD). In extremely low permeability, gas flow is complex and includes flow from fractures, flow through porous media, and diffusive gas transport. Diffusive gas transport is important when strong density …

Wetting Kinetics In Forced Spreading, Amer Mohammad Al-Shareef

Doctoral Dissertations

"Under dynamic conditions, the dynamic contact angle (the angle that the liquid makes with the solid) of a liquid on a solid surface varies dramatically with substrate velocity from its equilibrium value. Experimental data of the dynamic contact angles for polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS or silicone oil) under air on a glass substrate coated with teflon, for water under PDMS, for solutions of the polymer polyethylene oxide (PEO) under air, for solutions of PEO under PDMS, were obtained to simulate and understand the systems of brine or brine containing a polymer displacing viscous crude. A variety of solid substrates were used other …

Development And Evaluation Of A Coaxial Cable Sensing System For Co₂ Sequestration Wellbore Integrity Monitoring, Yurong Li

Doctoral Dissertations

"Downhole monitoring plays a crucial part in geological carbon dioxide (₂) sequestration. Various downhole monitoring technologies have been explored and applied, but they are either expensive or have system longevity issues. To address this issue, a robust and cost-effective downhole sensing system based on distributed coaxial cable sensors is developed and evaluated in laboratory, and a numerical simulation with staged finite element model is conducted to study the feasibility of using the coaxial cable sensing system for monitoring and evaluation of wellbore stability during CO₂ injection.

The real-time distributed sensing system is composed of Fabry-Perot interferometer based …

Analysis And Mitigation Of Wellbore Breakout And Fracturing, Reza Rahimi

Doctoral Dissertations

"Mechanical wellbore integrity problems while drilling are mainly due to wellbore shear failure or tensile failure. To ensure wellbore integrity, breakout and fracture geomechanical analysis is conducted to estimate minimum and maximum drilling fluid densities. Currently, there is no agreement as to which rock failure criterion to use for estimating breakout or fracture criteria to use for analyzing drilling induced fractures. However, when wellbore integrity issues arise while drilling, mitigation strategies can be applied to rectify these problems.

This dissertation analyzes criteria for wellbore breakout and fracturing. Also, mitigation strategies for breakout and fracturing while drilling were experimentally investigated. Thirteen …