There are a number of commercial simulators used for reservoir engineering and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications. However, most do not have exta options for novel processes like surfactant flooding, smart water flooding, nanofluid flooding etc.
Another way is to change rock properties when dealing with novel processes. For example, if the injection of nanofluids can result in wettability alteration, which in turn changes the wetting properties and relative permeability of reservoir rock, we may change the Kr curves to carefully follow the process and predict the reservoir behavior upon nano fluid injection.
However, all methods used for fluid and rock properties upon novel EOR applications seem just as an approximation.
I'm looking for more comprehensive methods
Commercial reservoir simulators as Eclipse, STARS, UTCHEM and GEM have EOR-options.
The type of simulator you should select will depend on what you want to simulate and which recovery mechanisms that are dominating.
Dear Ingebret
Thanks for you prompt reply. I'm familiar with these softwares. However, it seems that do not have extra options for novel processes like surfactant flooding, smart water flooding, nanofluid flooding etc.
That is why I'm seeking for suggestions from experts to share their experience with me
Surfactant flooding can be simulated by reservoir simulators as Eclipse, STARS and Utchem, but it depends on the recovery mechanism dominating in the surfactant flooding. The theory for surfactant flooding presented in textbooks which is the basis for the simulators is developed by assuming that the rock is water-wet. At non water-wet conditions the capillary desaturation curve concept cannot be used.
What do you mean by smart water? Is it for carbonate or sandstone reservoirs? Eclipse has an option for low salinity water flooding based on total salinity in water, but we think that this option can not be used. Our work has shown that the low salinity effect depends on the concentration of divalent cations onto clay surfaces.
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