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Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil
through Porous Media
H. Liu
a
, J. Wang
a
, Y. Xie
b
, D. Ma
b
& X. Shi
b
a
MOE Key Laboratory of Petroleum Engineering in China University
of Petroleum , Beijing , China
b
Henan Oil Field Company, SINOPEC , Henan , Nanyang , China
Published online: 02 Jan 2012.
To cite this article: H. Liu , J. Wang , Y. Xie , D. Ma & X. Shi (2011) Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil
through Porous Media, Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization, and Environmental Effects, 34:4,
347-359, DOI: 10.1080/15567036.2011.609868
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2011.609868
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Energy Sources, Part A, 34:347359, 2012
Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1556-7036 print/1556-7230 online
DOI: 10.1080/15567036.2011.609868
Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil
through Porous Media
H. LIU,
1
J. WANG,
1
Y. XIE,
2
D. MA,
2
and X. SHI
2
1
MOE Key Laboratory of Petroleum Engineering in China University of
Petroleum, Beijing, China
2
Henan Oil Field Company, SINOPEC, Henan, Nanyang, China
Abstract Performance of owing through a capillary and porous media for different
kinds of heavy oil at different temperatures have been studied by experiments in this
article. It shows that the heavy oil containing asphaltene-colloids displays yield-stress
rheology (Bingham uids). The displacing pressure difference increases linearly with
the increase of the ow rate. However, the start owing pressure is different for
different heavy oil samples at different temperatures. The higher the temperature is,
the lower pressure the heavy oil needs to ow; and when the temperature is high
enough, the start owing pressure equals zero. The minimum temperature at which
the start owing pressure equals zero is called converting temperature. Also, the more
viscous the heavy oil is, the higher the converting temperature will be. An exponential
relationship of yield stress and temperatures has been obtained for different kinds of
heavy oils by the experiments of heavy oil owing through a capillary. A logarithmic
relationship of converting temperatures and the dead oil mobility at 50

C has been
obtained for heavy oil through different porous media. When a temperature is lower
than the converting temperature, the start owing pressure gradient decreases as a
log tendency with the increase of temperature when different heavy oils are owing
through different porous media. For the existence of the start owing pressure gradient,
the heavy oil production rate is different from that for the Newton uid and it is
adverse to the development of heavy oil reservoirs. The test results are favorable to
choose the reasonable temperature for heavy oil transportation running in a pipe
or well bore and also determine the temperature limitation for different production
rates for a specic well sample. It is also important for improving the development
effect efciently.
Keywords converting temperature, ow characteristics, heavy oil, porous media,
start owing pressure gradient
1. Introduction
Oil is the most important energy now. Heavy oil resources are very abundant in the
world. The geologic reserves are much higher than conventional crude oil. A major
ow assurance challenge in the near future is the production and transport of heavy
oils (Henaut et al., 2003). Heavy oil has been repeatedly veried as suspensions of
Address correspondence to Dr. Jing Wang, MOE Key Laboratory of Petroleum Engineering,
China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China. E-mail: wangjing8510@163.com
347
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348 H. Liu et al.
asphaltene colloids stabilized by resins (Yen and Chilingarian, 1994; Mullins and Sheu,
1998; Wong and Yen, 2000), which leads to the heavy oil representing some unusual
owing behaviors through pipes and porous media (Steinborn and Flock, 1983; Hasan
et al., 2010; Luo and Gu, 2009). Commonly, heavy oil is a kind of non-Newtonian
uid and belongs to Bingham uid. This opinion has been proved by many experimental
evidences (Bedrikovetsky, 1995; Barenblatt et al., 1990; Evdokimov et al., 2001). But it
depends on its ambient temperature. It could be Newtonian uid at a higher temperature
(Wang et al., 2009). Generally, there exists a temperature limitation that the beginning
ow pressure gradient equals zero because of its sensitivity to temperature, which is
called the converting temperature. Undoubtedly, converting temperature is important for
heavy oil transportation performing through pipes, and it will play an important role
in selecting injection uids temperature through porous media, or in determining well
deliverability at a specic formation temperature (Liu and Zhang, 1999; Liu and Wu,
1996). So, formation temperature will be held above the temperature limitation in order
to obtain the desirable mobility in oil production. Heavy oil in different reservoirs has
different converting temperatures (Martn-Alfonso et al., 2006). However, the formation
temperature is not always higher than its converting temperature and the start owing
pressure exists. In order to obtain the desirable production rate, some reasonable measures
must be adopted, such as heating the reservoir or increasing the producing pressure
difference. Therefore, it is very necessary to measure the converting temperature for
different heavy oils in different reservoirs or ascertain the start owing pressure at
a specic temperature to decide the reasonable injection pressure, which will supply
valuable guidances to eld application and improve the development effect of heavy oil
reservoirs.
2. Tests of Heavy Oil Flowing through Capillary
and Porous Media
The heavy oil with comparatively high concentrations of asphaltenes-colloids stabilized
by resins is from the Jinglou reservoir blocks of Henan Oileld in China. The asphaltenes-
colloids concentrations of No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 are 17.6, 21.4, and 23.8 wt%, respec-
tively, and the viscosity shows a linear rule with the same slope at ASTM coordinate.
2.1. Test of Heavy Oil Flowing through Capillary
Heavy oil owing rate and displacement pressure difference can be measured for different
temperatures through a capillary. The length of the capillary is 3 m and the diameter is
0.0017 m. In order to heat the heavy oil adequately and stabilize the temperature, the
devices and heavy oil samples are heated for about 5 h in the thermotank rst at each
experimental temperature. The pressure difference from the capillary inlet to outlet and
heavy oil owing rate should be recorded until the displacing process is in a steady state.
Three oil samples have been tested at different temperatures and the testing results are
shown in Figure 1.
It shows that the displacement pressure difference increases linearly as heavy oil
owing rate increases at any specied temperature. There is a temperature limitation
below, in which the heavy oil cant ow when a little displacement pressure difference is
available. The reason is that the three-dimensional network structure inuenced deeply by
the oil viscosity will stop the heavy oil owing and the oil viscosity is mainly decided by
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Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil 349
(a)
(b)
Figure 1. Heavy oil owing test through a capillary: (a) heavy oil No. 1, (b) heavy oil No. 2, and
(c) heavy oil No. 3. (continued)
the content of wax, colloid, and asphalt in heavy oil. The more content the wax, colloid,
and asphalt contains, the stronger the network structure is. So, the additional force and
yield stress are needed to break it. At the same time, the strength of the network structure
will sharply decrease as the temperature increases because of the dissolution of wax,
colloid, and asphalt on heating.
The heavy oil can be regarded as incompressible uid and laminar ow in the
capillary (Khashan and Al-Nimr, 2005; Alkam et al., 1998); and the tip effect and inertia
force could be neglected for the long pipe and stable ow. Therefore, the viscous force
equals the pressure differential from the inlet to the outlet.
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350 H. Liu et al.
(c)
Figure 1. (Continued).
Thus, there is a force balance as follows:

1
r
2

2
r
2
D 2r1t. (1)
So, the shearing stress on the capillary wall is
tj
rDR
D
(
1

2
)1
21
. (2)
Then, the additional pressure gradient that heavy oil starts to ow is
^
G
1
D
2t
B
j
rDR
1
. (3)
Thus, the yield stress can be obtained from tested data for different oil samples,
and the converting temperatures of different heavy oils are also obtained. The converting
temperature is 46.91

C for the heavy oil No. 1, 54.33

C for the heavy oil No. 2 and

63.08

C for the heavy oil No. 3. The start owing pressure gradient and yield stress
below the converting temperature are listed in Table 1.
2.2. Test of Heavy Oil Flowing through Porous Media
Heavy oil owing through porous media has also been performed. The length of the sand
pack is 0.6 m and the diameter is 0.0038 m. It is lled with sand grains of different meshes
to get different permeable media, and some glass beads are added to simulate surface
wettability of the reservoir rock, which is aimed to make the experimental condition be
close to the reservoir condition. The sand grains of 20 meshes are used to compact the
high permeable tube with the permeability of 6.73 jm
2
and porosity of 0.35; 80 meshes
are compacted to a 1.6 jm
2
permeable tube and porosity is 0.32; and a 2.55 jm
2
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Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil 351
Table 1
Heavy oil properties below the converting temperature
No. 1 Temperature,

C 10 20 30 40 45
Start owing pressure gradient, kPa/m 54.12 28.13 14.00 4.00 2.1
Yield stress, Pa 23.00 11.96 5.95 1.7 0.89
No. 2 Temperature,

C 10 20 30 40 50
Start owing pressure gradient, kPa/m 129.16 78.00 46.33 20.31 8.48
Yield stress, Pa 54.89 33.15 19.69 8.63 3.60
No. 3 Temperature,

C 20 30 40 50 60
Start owing pressure gradient, kPa/m 498.82 320.97 191.20 95.00 22.00
Yield stress, Pa 212.00 136.41 81.26 40.38 9.35
permeable tube was lled with 40 and 80 meshes sand grains combination with the
porosity of 0.34. Figure 2 shows the test results for heavy oil No. 2 through different
kinds of permeable porous media.
It has also been shown that there also exists a converting temperature for heavy
oil owing through porous media; and the lower the permeability is or the higher the
oil viscosity is, the higher the converting temperature will be, as is similar to heavy oil
owing through a capillary. The lower the permeability of media is, the smaller the pore
radius is. Thus, the extent of the network structure occupying in the porous media is
higher, and the start owing pressure gradient and yield stress are bigger than that in the
capillary for the same test temperature. The heavy oil start owing pressure gradient can
be obtained by the extrapolation from the linear relationship of the test data.
3. Characterization of Test Results
3.1. Yield Stress-temperature Relationship
The yield stress for different heavy oils at different temperatures are shown in Table 1,
and it shows an exponential relationship by regression analysis,
T
B
D a exp(bt
B
). (4)
where a and b are the regression coefcients concerning the heavy oil type. Coefcient
a presents the temperature for zero yield stress and the yield stress will reach a large
order of magnitude value when the temperature is lower, so the heavy oil will have
little mobility. Thus, it is very important to choose a reasonable temperature in heavy oil
transportation running in pipes or well bore.
3.2. Converting Temperature of Heavy Oil in Porous Media
The converting temperatures of different heavy oil types through different permeable
porous media are plotted in Figure 3.
It has been shown that the converting temperature decreases as the heavy oil mobility
increases. The converting temperature increases as oil viscosity increases in the same
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352 H. Liu et al.
(a)
(b)
Figure 2. Heavy oil No. 2 owing through different porous media: (a) 20 meshes sand pack, (b) 40
and 80 meshes sand pack, and (c) 80 meshes sand pack. (continued)
porous media, and decreases as the permeability increases for the same heavy oil. The
converting temperature shows a logarithmic relationship with the mobility of heavy oil
at 50

C (M
o50
) by regression analysis, which is expressed as follows:
T
c
D 12.423 ln(M
o50
) C58.299 1
2
D 0.976. (5)
in which,
M
o50
D k,j
o50
. (6)
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Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil 353
(c)
Figure 2. (Continued).
The converting temperature for any heavy oil type through different permeable formations
can be predicted by this relationship.
3.3. Start Flowing Pressure Gradient of Heavy Oil in Porous Media
Start owing pressure gradient through differently permeable porous media for different
heavy oil types are plotted in Figure 4. It has been shown that the start owing pressure
gradient decreases as a log trend with the temperature for the same heavy oil, and
the lower the permeability is, the faster the gradient decreases. A log relationship of
Figure 3. Converting temperatures of different heavy oils through porous media.
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354 H. Liu et al.
Figure 4. Start owing pressure gradient for different heavy oils through differently permeable
porous media.
the start owing pressure gradient and temperature by regression analysis is shown as
follows:
G
o
D ^
0
G
,1 D ml nT Cn. (7)
where m and n are regression coefcients concerning porous media and oil type, which
can be expressed as follows:
m D 0.203 ln(M
o50
) 0.199 1
2
D 0.851. (8)
n D 0.94 ln(M
o50
) C0.783 1
2
D 0.861. (9)
4. Deliverability of Thermal Injection Well
4.1. Well Deliverability Relationship
There exists a start owing pressure gradient for heavy oil, and oil viscosity is the
function of temperature. The existence of a start owing pressure gradient will affect the
seepage rule and Darcys law in a radial direction. The modied Darcy model, which
is mainly considering the viscous force and the additional resistance, can be shown as
follows (Zhang et al., 1997):

o
D
8

<

:
kk
ro
j
o
(T )

J
o
Jr
G
o

J
o
Jr
G
o
0
J
o
Jr
< G
o
. (10)
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Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil 355
Then, heavy oil production rate (Q
o
) will be conducted by integral methods when
dp,dr > G
o
,
Q
o
D
2kk
ro
h
i

w
G
o
(r
e
r
w
)|
j
o
(T ) ln(r
e
,r
w
)
. (11)
and water production rate (Q
w
) is
Q
w
D
2kk
rw
h(
i

w
)
j
w
ln(r
e
,r
w
)
. (12)
where r
e
is the equivalent radius for the ve-spot well pattern with well spacing 1
w
.
S D (
p
21
w
)
2
D r
2
e
. (13)
Thus,
r
e
D 1
w
p
2,. (14)
4.2. Temperature Limitation for Well Deliverability
Well L33133 is located in Jinglou reservoir block. The buried depth of formation is 346
m. The heavy oil (No. 2) is extra heavy oil with the viscosity of 42,700 mPas, and
the initial temperature is 30.5

C. The effective thickness of the reservoir is 3.6 m and

average permeability is 2.1 jm
2
. It is a ve-spot well pattern in which well spacing
is in the range of 70 to 140 m. The converting temperature equals 77.9

C, which is
obtained by Eq. (5). Formation temperature must exceed the converting temperature
to make the heavy oil start to ow. If the temperature is lower than it, the pressure
difference must be higher than the start owing pressure. Thus, the temperature limitations
will be different for different well spacings and different pressure differences from
injector to producer, which is shown in Figure 5a and is obtained by Eqs. (7) and
(11). It has been shown that the temperature limitation is decreasing as the pressure
difference is increasing, and the shorter the well spacing is, the faster the temperature
limitation decreases. Also, we can see that if the start owing pressure gradient is not
considered (G
o
D 0), the calculated temperature limitation at some specic pressure
differences will be lower than the converting temperature 77.9

C, even if it is lower
than the temperature limitation that the heavy oil starts to ow at a specic pressure
difference and in this case the heavy oil cant be produced. Therefore, the start owing
pressure gradient must be considered when some actions, such as heating reservoirs,
placing of well and increasing injection pressure, etc., are taken to develop heavy oil
reservoirs.
The temperature limitations for different production rates are also obtained for the
specic well spacing of 100 m shown in Figure 5b. It will be higher as the production
rate increases, but the increasing tendency is slowing gradually because of the stronger
sensitivity of heavy oil viscosity at higher temperatures. Also, the temperature will be
lower than the converting temperature if the start owing pressure gradient is neglected.
In this case, the desired production rate cant arrive, and the temperature limitations
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(a)
(b)
Figure 5. Temperature limitations of heavy oil No. 2 for different development conditions at
different pressure differences from injector to producer: (a) different well spacings when Q
o
D 1
m
3
/d; (b) different production rates when L
w
D 100 m.
356
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Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil 357
must be calculated again with considering the start owing pressure gradient (G
o

0). However, it is not necessary when the temperature limitations are higher than the
converting temperature.
5. Conclusions
The experiments of heavy oil owing through a capillary and porous media are carried
out to study its owing characteristics. The results show that displacing the pressure
difference increases as heavy oil owing rate increases and presents a linear tendency for
any specic tested temperature and there exists a converting temperature for heavy oil
owing through a capillary without additional resistance, and the more viscous the heavy
oil is, the higher the converting temperature is. When the temperature is lower than the
converting temperature, the yield stress for different heavy oils at different temperatures
shows an exponential relationship. It is very important to choose a reasonable temperature
for heavy oil transportation running in pipes and well bore. Also, there exists a converting
temperature for heavy oil owing through porous media, and the converting temperatures
for different heavy oils show a logarithmic relationship with the heavy oil mobility at
50

C. When the temperature is lower than it, the start owing pressure gradient through
differently permeable porous media for different heavy oils decreases as a log tendency
with the temperature. It is useful to calculate the suitable displacing pressure difference
or necessary temperature for the development of heavy oil reservoirs.
The start owing pressure gradient must be considered when some measures are
adopted to develop heavy oil reservoirs or the desired production rate cant arrive, even
the heavy oil doesnt start to ow. And the shorter the well spacing is, the lower the
temperature limitation is, and the faster the temperature limitation decreases. The higher
the total production rate is, the larger the temperature limitation is, but the increasing
tendency is slowing gradually.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the Major Project of Chinese National Programs for Fun-
damental Research and Development (2011CB201006-06).
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Yen, T. F., and Chilingarian, G. V. 1994. Asphaltenes and Asphalts, Vol. 1. Amsterdam: Elsevier
Science.
Zhang, J., Lei, G., and Zhang, Y. 1997. Hydrocarbon Seepage Mechanics. Shandong, China:
Petroleum University Press.
Nomenclature
J diameter of the capillary, m
G
o
start owing pressure gradient of heavy oil, kPa/m
h effective thickness of reservoir, m
k absolute permeability of porous media, 10
3
jm
2
k
rw
relative permeability of water phase, dimensionless
k
ro
relative permeability of oil phase, dimensionless
1 length of capillary or sand pack, m
1
w
well spacing, m
M
o50
mobility of heavy oil at 50

C, 10
3
jm
2
/(mPas)

1
inlet pressure of capillary, Pa

2
outlet pressure of capillary, Pa

i
bottom hole pressure in injector, kPa

o
pressure of oil phase, kPa

w
bottom hole pressure in producer, kPa
^
G
start owing pressure difference in capillary, Pa
^
0
G
start owing pressure difference in porous media, kPa
Q
o
production rate of heavy oil, cm
3
/s
Q
w
production rate of water, cm
3
/s
r
e
supply radius of reservoir, m
r
w
radius of well bore, m
1 radius of capillary, m
S area of a well, m
2
T temperature,

C
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
H
e
r
i
o
t
-
W
a
t
t

U
n
i
v
e
r
s
i
t
y
]

a
t

1
7
:
4
5

0
8

A
u
g
u
s
t

2
0
1
4

Flow Characteristics of Heavy Oil 359
T
B
temperature corresponding to t
B
,

C
T
c
converting temperature,

C

o
ow speed of heavy oil, cm/s
Greek Symbols
constant, 10
2
j
o
density of heavy oil, g/cm
3
z
w
mobility of water, jm
2
/(Pas)
z
o
(T ) mobility of heavy oil at T , jm
2
/(Pas)
j
o
viscosity of heavy oil, mPas
j
o50
oil viscosity at 50

C, mPas
t shearing stress, Pa
t
B
yield stress, Pa
porosity of porous media, dimensionless
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
H
e
r
i
o
t
-
W
a
t
t

U
n
i
v
e
r
s
i
t
y
]

a
t

1
7
:
4
5

0
8

A
u
g
u
s
t

2
0
1
4