Revealing near wellbore formation damage effects by a combination of microfluidics and core floods
This dissertation presents an investigation into the mechanisms of near-wellbore formation damage that occurs during produced water reinjection, using a combination of advanced microfluidic techniques and core flooding experiments. The problem of injectivity decline, especially in mature oil fields such as those found in the Danish sector of the North Sea, remains a critical challenge for the oil and gas industry. This study focuses on how a variety of factors, including inorganic scaling, organic matter deposition, and microbial activity impact the permeability of chalk formations. A key aspect of this research is its novel multi-phase experimental approach, which integrates microfluidic technologies for in-situ fluid monitoring at the microscale with conventional core flooding tests to capture larger-scale permeability shifts. By bridging these two experimental domains, the study provides new insights into how these damaging processes interact and influence injectivity during produced water reinjection.
Principal supervisor:
Karen Feilberg
Co-supervisor: Hamid Nick
Co-supervisor: René Wugt Larsen
Examiners:
Professor Eric J. Mackay - Heriot-Watt University
Associate Professor Rouhi Farajzadeh - T.U. Delft
Associate Professor Alexander Shapiro - DTU Chemical Engineering
Chairperson at defence:
Rasoul Mokhtari