Does recovery stop improving at the MMP?
Measured miscibility. Slim-tube measurements across six CO2–crude systems place the minimum miscibility pressure between 1,373 and 2,132 psig.
Eagle Ford huff-n-puff. Recovery rose from 1.00% OOIP at 1,450 psig to 49.31% at 3,500 psig, beyond the 2,132-psig MMP for that system.
Gravity-stable coreflood comparison. At 1,100 psig, vertical floods recovered 90.4% and horizontal floods 33.5%. This separate comparison illustrates the effect of orientation.
- CO2–crude systems
- 6
- Eagle Ford MMP
- 2,132psig
- OOIP at 3,500 psig
- 49.31%
- Vertical − horizontal at 1,100 psig
- +56.9pts
Record status
3 measured records · 3 schematicsWhat's in this report
Publications
Primary sources- Adel, I.A., Tovar, F.D., and Schechter, D.S. 2016. Fast-Slim Tube: A Reliable and Rapid Technique for the Laboratory Determination of MMP in CO2–Light Crude Oil Systems. SPE-179673-MS, SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 11–13 April. DOI
- Adel, I.A., Tovar, F.D., Zhang, F., and Schechter, D.S. 2018. The Impact of MMP on Recovery Factor During CO2–EOR in Unconventional Liquid Reservoirs. SPE-191752-MS, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, Texas, 24–26 September. DOI
- Adel, I.A., Zhang, F., Bhatnagar, N., and Schechter, D.S. 2018. The Impact of Gas-Assisted Gravity Drainage on Operating Pressure in a Miscible CO2 Flood. SPE-190183-MS, SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 14–18 April. DOI
Slim-tube MMP determination
Two least-squares branches are fitted to the measured recovery points on either side of the published MMP. Their intersection is recomputed when the system changes.
System selection
—- Published MMP
- —
- psig
- Computed intersection
- —
- psig
- Deviation
- —
- computed − published
Measured points and fit split
| Pressure (psig) | Recovery (% OOIP) | Fit branch |
|---|
Fast-slim-tube protocol
SPE-179673The 20-ft slim tube returned MMP in under two weeks, about one third of the 80-ft duration, across five CO2–crude systems that included North Burbank Unit and Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle oils. Validity requires the tube to host the mixing zone and the displacement velocity to remain slow enough for transverse dispersion to suppress viscous fingering.
Huff-n-puff pressure response
Each Eagle Ford point is an experiment-level ultimate recovery. The Wolfcamp A marker is a separate rock–oil system and is not joined to the Eagle Ford series.
Pressure records
| System | Pressure | Ultimate RF (% OOIP) | Source |
|---|
Gravity drainage
Recovery is compared at the same pressures for horizontal and vertical coreflood orientations. The MMP remains on the numeric pressure axis.
System selection
SPE-190183 Table 6Orientation delta
Vertical − horizontal| Pressure (psig) | Horizontal (% OOIP) | Vertical (% OOIP) | Delta (points) |
|---|
Vertical gravity-stable displacement recovered 90.4% of OOIP at 1,100 psig where the horizontal flood recovered 33.5% — the gravity contribution exceeds the miscibility contribution below the MMP.
Published MMP range
The six published values are placed on a common pressure scale. No literature benchmark band is applied because the source papers do not specify one.
System matrix
| System | Temperature (°F) | MMP (psig) | Maximum measured RF (%) | Source |
|---|
Em dash: temperature not reported in the source table.
Operating-pressure planner
The selected pressure is classified against the published MMP. Recovery is interpolated only between adjacent measured points.
Scenario controls
How to usePick a system, set the pressure and read the regime and recovery.
- Select one of the six CO2–oil systems.
- Set the pressure with the slider, anywhere in the 500–6,000 psig interface range.
- Read the regime against that system's published MMP and the within-span linear interpolation, then export the controls and outputs or import a prior scenario file.
Reading the chart: the filled red series is the measured slim-tube curve and the open marker is the current selection; it disappears whenever the selected pressure falls outside the measured span, where no value is interpolated. The dashed vertical rule marks the published MMP for the selected system. Hover any point for values; drag to zoom; use Reset axes in the figure toolbar, or double-click the plot.
- Regime
- —
- Slim-tube RF
- —
- % OOIP
- Huff-n-puff RF
- —
- Eagle Ford only
Chart data
| Record | Pressure (psig) | RF (% OOIP) |
|---|
Model & equations
The page uses two fitted lines for breakover pressure and piecewise linear interpolation for within-span recovery estimates.
Equations
b = (Sy − m·Sx) / n
RF = m·p + b
Constants and fixed inputs
Read from the report engine| Constant | Value | Unit | Source |
|---|
Regime classification uses each system's own published MMP, applied as a whole-psig threshold. The pressure-control bounds are an interface range, not a measured limit.
Assumptions and limits
- Published MMP values define the immiscible and miscible point split used for the two least-squares fits.
- Slim-tube and huff-n-puff interpolation is piecewise linear and is not evaluated outside the measured pressure span.
- Slim-tube RF is an upper bound on core-scale huff-n-puff RF at the same pressure; the two are plotted separately and never mixed.
- The pressure-control bounds and defaults are interface ranges, not data.
- Pressure units follow each publication: psig for SPE records and psi for the JPSE record.
- The gauge/absolute distinction (15 psi or less) is below the resolution of the reported values and is not reconciled.
Core-scale displacement schematics
Two editorial section diagrams illustrate coreflood displacement and the front shapes associated with gravity-stable and horizontal displacement. Geometry is illustrative; the recovery labels on the second diagram are measured values.
Coreflood displacement section
t = 24 hGas enters from the inlet face. Time advances an illustrative displacement front; the slice control marks an axial location behind, within, or ahead of the mixing zone. Front and slice positions are geometric indices, not measured CT values.
Gravity-stable vs unstable displacement
Recovery values are the measured NBU corefloods (SPE-190183 Table 6; MMP 1,373 psig). Vertical displacement holds a flat, stable front; horizontal displacement fingers and bypasses oil.
Pseudo-ternary construction
Schematic pseudo-ternary at the selected operating pressure. Successive contacts walk the gas composition along the dew-point curve and the two-phase region contracts as pressure rises. Compositions are schematic; the marked pressure is the Eagle Ford MMP of 2,132 psig (SPE-179673).
Nomenclature
Symbols and abbreviations used in the figures and calculations.
Symbols
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| p | Pressure | psig or psi |
| pMMP,fit | Breakover pressure from the two fitted branches | psig |
| m | Least-squares slope | % OOIP/psig |
| b | Least-squares intercept | % OOIP |
| n | Number of measured points on one branch | dimensionless |
| x | Pressure ordinate in the least-squares fit | psig |
| y | Recovery ordinate in the least-squares fit | % OOIP |
| S | Branch sum, subscripted by the quantity summed | varies |
| RF | Recovery factor | % OOIP |
| T | Temperature | °F |
Abbreviations
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CO2 | Carbon dioxide |
| GAGD | Gas-assisted gravity drainage |
| MMP | Minimum miscibility pressure |
| OOIP | Original oil in place |
| RF | Recovery factor |