Should Slim Tube Tests Use Reservoir Rock? | Ask PERM

Ehab Asks PERM:

My question is related to the Slim Tube Test procedure and here it is;

The porous media which fills the coiled tube through it the oil and solvent passes. Should this porous media of the same reservoir rock or not?

My thought it is of glass beads or Otawa Sand, is not it?

-Ehab

Dr. Jonathan Bryan from PERM Answers:

Slim tube tests are always run with solvents.  The goal of a slim tube test is to determine the minimum pressure you need to run at, for which your solvent and oil are miscible with each other.  So the test requires you to use your actual oil, but the goal is solvent-oil interactions.  If the solvent and oil mix, recovery out of the slim tube will be close to 100%, but that doesn’t mean you will recover 100% of oil in your reservoir.  The slim tube test allows you to set your system pressure, but oil recovery is still then measured through a proper core flood, in your reservoir core.

In general slim tube tests need to be run with an unconsolidated porous medium (e.g. sand).  This way you don’t need to grind up your reservoir to try to pack it into the tubes, and you can get a uniform packing into different tubes, to be able to compare results against each other.”

Best Regards,

Jonathan Bryan

IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK PERM AT [email protected] OR ON THE CONTACT US PAGE!