Evaluation and improvement of multiphase flow models of mixtures with high CO2 content

Client: Petrobras

The presence of fluids with a high CO2 content (8% to 12%mol in the Tupi field, 37%mol in the Libra field, and 79%mol in the Júpiter field) contributes to the complexity of the development and produciton of oil and gas asset in the Santos Basin, Brazil. In addition, CO2 injection could be included in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) strategy causing an even greater increase in concentration of this gas in the produced fluids.

There are still open questions related to the behaviour of hydrocarbon mixtures with high CO2 content, mainly due to the high estimated pressures (above 500 bar). There is a lack of knowledge about the flow patterns predicted under such conditions and the validity of the flow models, closure relations used in simulation tools. In such circumstances, there is a need to deepen the research regarding the development of multiphase flow models for mixtures with a considerable concentration of CO2.

In this project, research on hydrodynamic phenomena should come accompanied by an extensive knowledge of the thermodynamic system behavior, based on field and experimental data in order to have a better perception of the intrinsic physics and improve the treatment of thermodynamic equilibrium and mass transfer between phases, which are prerequisites for capturing the hydrodynamic interactions of the flow correctly.