Numerical analysis on the influence of thermal effects on oil flow characteristic in high-pressure air injection (HPAI) process

Abstract

In previous laboratory study, we have shown the thermal behavior of Keke Ya light crude oil (Tarim oilfield, branch of CNPC) for high-pressure air injection (HPAI) application potential study. To clarify the influences of thermal effects on oil production, in this paper, we derived a mathematical model for calculating oil flow rate, which is based on the heat conduction property in porous media from the combustion tube experiment. Based on remarkably limited knowledge consisting of very global balance arguments and disregarding all the details of the mechanisms in the reaction zone, the local governing equations are formulated in a dimensionless form. We use finite difference method to solve this model and address the study by way of qualitative analysis. The time-space dimensionless oil flow rate (qD) profiles are established for comprehensive studies on the oil flow rate characteristic affected by thermal effects. It also discusses how these findings will impact HPAI project performances, and several guidelines are suggested. © 2012 Hu Jia et al.