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Abstract. Gases
typically display large flow mobilities in porous media relative to
oil or water, thereby impairing their effectiveness as displacing
fluids. Foamed gas, though, is a promising agent for achieving
mobility control in porous media. Because reservoir-scale simulation
is a vital component of the engineering and economic evaluation of any
enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or aquifer remediation project, efficient
application of foam as a displacement fluid requires a predictive
numerical model. Unfortunately, no such model is currently available
for foam injection in the field where flow is multidimensional and the
porous medium is heterogeneous. We have incorporated a conservation
equation for the number density of foam bubbles into a fully implicit,
three-dimensional, compositional, and thermal reservoir simulator and
created a fully functional, mechanistic foam simulator. Because foam
mobility is a strong function of bubble texture, the bubble population
balance is necessary to make accurate predictions of foam-flow
behavior. Foam generation and destruction are included through rate
expressions that depend on saturations and surfactant concentration.
Gas relative permeability and effective viscosity are modified
according to the texture of foam bubbles. In this paper, we explore
foam flow in radial, layered, and heterogeneous porous media.
Simulations in radial geometries indicate that foam can be formed deep
within rock formations, but that the rate of propagation is slow. Foam
proves effective in controlling gas mobility in layered porous media.
Significant flow diversion and sweep improvement by foam are
predicted, regardless of whether the layers are communicating or
isolated.
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