Geochemical modeling of engineered water injection effect on oil recovery from carbonate cores

An EWI model is proposed based on multi-ion exchange for capturing the incremental oil recovery by EWI in carbonates. The model includes geochemical reactions, homogeneous (aqueous) and heterogeneous (precipitation/dissolution and ionic exchange reactions), as well as the resulting wettability alteration in carbonates. Oil recovery, pressure drop, pH, and effluent-ion were successfully history match and the results showed there is an improvement in oil displacement as EW is injected. Also, the findings of this study were supported by fractional flow analysis. This work provides more insight into the benefits of EWI and hence, supports new field applications.