Experimental Study on Feasibility of Enhanced Gas Recovery through CO2 Flooding in Tight Sandstone Gas Reservoirs

The development of natural gas in tight sandstone gas reservoirs via CH4-CO2 replacement is promising for its advantages in enhanced gas recovery (EGR) and CO2 geologic sequestration. However, the degree of recovery and the influencing factors of CO2 flooding for enhanced gas recovery as well as the CO2 geological rate are not yet clear. In this study, the tight sandstone gas reservoir characteristics and the fluid properties of the Sulige Gasfield were chosen as the research platform. Tight sandstone gas long-core displacement experiments were performed to investigate (1) the extent to which CO2 injection enhanced gas recovery (CO2-EGR) and (2) the ability to achieve CO2 geological storage. Through modification of the injection rate, the water content of the core, and the formation dip angle, comparative studies were also carried out. The experimental results demonstrated that the gas recovery from CO2 flooding increased by 18.36% when compared to the depletion development method. At a lower injection rate, the diffusion of CO2 was dominant and the main seepage resistance was the viscous force, which resulted in an earlier CO2 breakthrough. The dissolution of CO2 in water postponed the breakthrough of CO2 while it was also favorable for improving the gas recovery and CO2 geological storage. However, the effects of these two factors were insignificant. A greater influence was observed from the presence of a dip angle in tight sandstone gas reservoirs. The effect of CO2 gravity separation and its higher viscosity were more conducive to stable displacement. Therefore, an additional gas recovery of 5% to 8% was obtained. Furthermore, the CO2 geological storage exceeded 60%. As a consequence, CO2-EGR was found to be feasible for a tight sandstone gas reservoir while also achieving the purpose of effective CO2 geological storage especially for a reservoir with a dip angle.