Impact of CO2 Viscosity and Capillary Pressure on Water Production in Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Media

This study explores the numerical modeling of CO2 injection in water within a lab-scale domain, where the dimensions are in the order of centimeters, highlighting its diverse applications and significant environmental and economic benefits. The investigation focuses on the impacts of heterogeneity, capillary pressure, and CO2 viscosification on water production. Findings reveal that increasing CO2 viscosity by a factor of 5 drastically influences water production, while further increasing it to a factor of 10 yields minimal additional effect. Capillary pressure notably delays breakthrough and reduces sweeping efficiency (effectiveness of the injected CO2 in displacing water), with a more pronounced impact in slim cores (1 cm) compared to thick cores (3.8 cm). The numerical modeling of CO2 injection in water within a lab-scale domain provides valuable insights into enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. These optimized strategies can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of CO2-EOR, leading to increased oil and gas recovery from reservoirs.