(128b) Fire Flooding as a Budding Source of Enhanced Oil Recovery

Numerous oil fields are presently in progress using diverse enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques worldwide, including chemical, thermal, and miscible processes in addition additional hybrid methods.  Fire flooding is one of the thermal recovery method used for a profitable enhanced oil recovery. Fire flooding is termed after the process where the air is compressed and injected inside the well to get a combustion zone or fire front in the petroleum in the reservoir surrounding the injection well. The developed fire front propagates in a radially expanding manner away from the injection well.

The energy liberated out in the form of heat will help in reduction of the viscosity of oil, cracks some higher molecular weight hydrocarbons into smaller ones, vaporizes some lighter hydrocarbons to help miscibly displace oil and also produces steam that may steam distill the trapped oil. Thus, the fire flooding along with decreasing the mobility ratio, will be helpful in producing the improved oil.  On the other hand, the gases produced due to combustion and nitrogen present in air displace the oil towards reservoir away from fire front again enhancing production.

Fire flooding can be a good option in comparison to other enhanced oil recovery methods because of having a flexibility in the used both for the very high and less viscous oils. The fire flooding will be effective on the economics basis as there is no requirement of any other utility except air for the process. There are some limitations also attached with the fire flooding. It can be applied only to reservoirs with high permeability, high porosity and oil saturation and has poor sweep efficiency in thick formations. Also, if excessive coke is deposited the rate of advancement of combustion zone will be slow and more air will be required. During the process there are the formation of flue gases, which will again be leading to some environmental problems. The present study deals with the various aspects of fire flooding as a potential source of enhanced oil recovery and also discussing various solutions which will help the process to overcome its limitations.