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Optical cell
Light source
Digital camera
Compressed N2
Oil
Accumulator
Syringe pump
Fig. 1The HP/HT tensiometer was used to measure contact angles and IFTs between oil and spent acid with HCl only. This sche-
matic is from Alotaibi et al. (2011).
The following procedure was used: IFTs. IFT calculations require density measurements. An Anton
1. The rock sample was fixed onto the sample holder; the sam- Paar digital density meter was used to measure the spent acid and
ple holder was placed in the optical cell of the HP/HT pendant- oil densities at the temperatures at which IFTs were measured.
drop tensiometer.
2. The spent-acid solution was injected into the optical cell. Results and Discussion
3. Compressed nitrogen was applied to the desired pressure. Conventional Contact-Angle Experiments. The conventional
4. The temperature controller was set to the desired temperature. procedure was applied to study the effect of the following spent-
5. The lamp was turned on to illuminate the sample. acid solutions on the wettability with receding-contact-angle
6. The valve leading to the accumulator was opened to inject measurements: (1) spent acid with HCl only and (2) spent acid
an oil droplet into the optical cell by means of the capillary needle with HCl, VES, and EGMBE.
below the rock. The droplet rises by buoyancy and spreads or Aged rock samples were placed in the optical cell of the HP/
forms a captive droplet on the lower surface of the rock. HT tensiometer. The cell was then filled with the spent-acid solu-
7. Images were captured with the camera. Spreading oil drop- tion, and oil droplets were injected. The objective of these experi-
lets were captured by setting the camera to take pictures at inter- ments was to compare the effects of the surfactants in the spent
vals of 0.04 seconds. acid on wettability. The contact angles measured were static/
8. For nonspreading droplets, DSA (Ro and Neumann 1997) receding contact angles. Table 2 summarizes the results.
software was used to analyze the pendant-drop image and to cal- The conventional procedure was effective for spent-acid solu-
culate the contact angle. tions with HCl only. In contrast, oil droplets spread in spent-acid
9. At the end of the experiment, the sample chamber was solutions with VES and EGMBE because of low oil/acid IFTs.
cleaned with xylene to remove the crude oil, cleaned with acetone The spreading shows the effect of spent acid with VES and
to remove xylene, and then cleaned with deionized water. EGMBE on the oil/acid interface and does not represent the wett-
The wettability criteria for contact angles vary (Anderson ability of the rock.
1986), with 0 to 75 defined as water-wet and 105 to 180 defined
as oil-wet. In this work, contact angles between 0 and 70 were Effect of Spent-Acid Solutions with HCl Only on Wettability.
considered water-wet. Angles between 110 and 180 were consid- The wettability changed from oil-wet to water-wet as the tempera-
ered oil-wet. ture increased for rocks in spent-acid solutions with HCl only
(Fig. 2 and Table 2, bottom row). Contact angles decreased from
IFT Measurements. A University of Texas Model 500 spinning- 154 to 54 as temperature was increased from 25 to 110 C.
drop tensiometer was used to measure IFTs between oil and The contact angle was 154 at 25 C, and decreased to 127 at
spent-acid solutions with VES and EGMBE. 50 C, 108 at 80 C, and 54 at 110 C, respectively. This trend
IFTs were calculated from measurements of the width of oil shows that the conventional procedure was effective for studying
droplets viewed through the microscope of the spinning-drop ten- the effect of spent-acid solutions with HCl only on wettability.
siometer. IFTs were calculated from the width of oil droplets in The tendency for carbonates to become more water-wet as the
the spinning-drop tensiometer, as described by Gardner and Hayes temperature increases was reported by Rao (1999), Wang and
(2007). The widths were measured at rotational speeds of 6 to 20 Gupta (1995), and Hjelmeland and Larrondo (1986). A decrease
milliseconds/rev. in the surface activity of surfactants in oil as the temperature
IFTs were measured between oil and spent-acid solutions with increased may cause the wettability to change to water-wet (Hjel-
HCl only with the HP/HT pendant-drop tensiometer (Fig. 1). DSA meland and Larrondo 1986). Our oil/acid IFT measurements are
software was used to analyze the drop images and to calculate consistent with this.
Increasing water-wetness
Fig. 2The conventional procedure for contact-angle measurements was effective for spent-acid solutions with HCl only. The
wettability of Austin cream chalk changed from oil-wet (154 ) to water-wet (52 ) as temperature increased.
Rock
0 3s
Fig. 3The conventional procedure was not effective for spent-acid solutions with HCl, VES, and EGMBE (in this instance with
HCl, 1 vol% of VES, and 1 vol% of EGMBE) because oil droplets spread on the rock surface.
Effect of Spent-Acid Solutions With VES and EGMBE on surface of the rock. Fig. 4 suggests that surfactant solutions that
Wettability. Oil droplets spread on the surface of rocks in spent- reduce the oil/acid IFT may introduce an artifact in the experi-
acid solutions with VES and EGMBE (Table 2). ment by causing oil droplets to spread and by preventing the ob-
Oil droplets spread in spent-acid solutions with HCl, 1 vol% of servation of changes in the rock/fluid interface, which represents
VES, and 1 vol% of EGMBE at 25 C (Fig. 3). Oil also spreads in the wettability.
spent-acid solutions with HCl and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 vol% of VES
at 25 C; in spent-acid solutions with HCl and 1 vol% of VES at Spent-Acid Solutions with VES and EGMBE Reduced the Oil/
110 C; and in spent-acid solutions with HCl, 1 vol% of VES, and Acid IFT. Spent-acid solutions with VES and EGMBE reduced
10 vol% of EGMBE at 110 C. Typically, droplets spread com- the oil/acid IFT by one to three orders of magnitude at 25 and
pletely within 5 to 10 seconds. 80 C when compared with spent-acid solutions with HCl only
The spreading of oil in spent-acid solutions with VES and (Fig. 5). The oil/acid IFT was reduced from 24.5 mN/m at 25 C
EGMBE could have resulted from either strong oil-wetness or in spent-acid solutions with HCl only to 0.75 mN/m for spent-
low oil/acid IFTs. One of the reasons that a person may discount acid solutions with 1 vol% of VES and 10 vol% of EGMBE and
strong oil-wetness is that the 10:1 ratio of EGMBE to VES is to 0.16 mN/m for spent acid with 1 vol% of VES only. At 80 C,
likely to be water-wetting. An explanation of the results requires a the oil/IFT was reduced from 27 mN/m in spent-acid solutions
review of the relationship between contact angles and IFTs. with HCl only to 3 mN/m in spent-acid solutions with 1 vol% of
VES and 10 vol% of EGMBE and to 0.04 mN/m in spent acid
Explanation of Results. The contact angle is a measure of the with 1 vol% of VES only.
preference of the rock for oil or spent acid. It is a function of the
oil/acid IFT, the oil/rock IFT, and the acid/rock IFT. Youngs Oil Droplets Spread Because of Low IFTs. Analysis suggests
equation expresses the relationship between the contact angle and that oil droplets spread because EGMBE and VES reduce the oil/
the IFTs at equilibrium on a rock surface (Tiab and Donaldson acid IFT below the critical spreading tension. Similarly, we can
1996), as shown in Fig. 4. attribute the spreading observed in experiments by Ayirala et al.
The oil/rock (cOS ) and the spent-acid/rock (cWS ) IFTs are at the (2006), Xu et al. (2008), Rao (1999) and Rao and Vijapurapu
rock/fluid interface (Fig. 4). The difference between cOS and cWS (2004) to low IFTs between the oil and the surfactant solution.
determines the wettability of the rock (the preference of the rock A procedure for contact-angle measurements that prevents sur-
for oil or spent acid). In contrast, the oil/acid IFT (cOW ) is at the factants from changing the oil/surfactant solution IFT, while
oil/spent-acid interface (Fig. 4) and does not affect the wettability. allowing changes in the rock/fluid interface, can provide new
Therefore, one should measure contact angles in such a way insights into the effect of surfactants that reduce the oil/surfactant
that droplet behavior is affected by changes in the rock/fluid inter- solution IFT on wettability.
face (the wettability) only. In the conventional procedure, placing
the rock in the surfactant solution will cause the surfactants to New Procedure
change the rock/fluid IFTs. However, the surfactants can also
One way to prevent the surfactant from reducing the oil/acid IFT
change the oil/acid IFT. The change in the oil/acid IFT does not
is to use a surfactant-free fluid for all contact-angle measure-
affect the wettability, and can cause an artifact when oil droplets
ments. The fluid should have similar characteristics, such as pH
spread as a result of low oil/acid IFTs.
and brine concentration, to those of the environment in which
In contact-angle measurements in an oil/brine/rock system, the
wettability is to be studied. In addition, a method was needed to
Rao (1999) plot of contact angles against the IFT (his Fig. 8)
shows that there is a minimal oil/brine IFT, called the critical
spreading tension, below which oil droplets will spread on the Oil-acid IFTs at 25C
30
25 24.5 mN/m
IFT (mN/m)
Rock surface 20
15
Spent acid- Oil-Rock, Rock-fluid
rock IFT, ws rock IFT, os
10
interface
5 0.75 mN/m
Oil
0
Oil-Spent acid 0 50 100 150 200
IFT, ow Spent acid 0.016 mN/m Time (minutes)
Spent acid with HCl only
Spent acid with HCl, 1 vol% Spent acid with HCl and 1 vol%
VES and 10 vol% EGMBE VES
Fig. 4The contact angle h is a function of the oil/rock, acid/
rock, and oil/acid IFTs. However, the wettability of the rock is a
function of the oil/rock and acid/rock IFT only. The new proce- Fig. 5Spent-acid solutions with VES and EGMBE reduced the
dure measures contact angles in such a way that the surface- oil/spent-acid IFT by more than a factor of 10 at 25 C (shown
active agents change the oil/rock and acid/rock IFT only. previously) and 80 C. This caused oil droplets to spread.
Fig. 6Wettability alteration can be achieved by placing rocks in contact with solutions with surface-active agents. Aging rocks in
crude oil caused a wettability change from water-wet (30 to 45 , left) to oil-wet (140 , right) at 25 C.
cause surface-active agents in spent acid to change the rock/oil HCl has the same pH and CaCl2 concentration as spent acid with
and rock/acid IFTs by the adsorption of substances or removal of VES and EGMBE.
adsorbed substances.
On the basis of these requirements, the new procedure had the Experimental Studies. The new procedure was applied to study
following steps: the effect of wettability of spent-acid solutions with HCl only and
1. The water-wet and oil-wet rocks were centrifuged in differ- with HCl, VES, and EGMBE. The following steps were followed:
ent spent-acid solutions to simulate the flow of spent acid through 1. Contact angles were measured in spent-acid solutions with
them. This should have caused the surfactants in the spent acid to HCl only to determine the initial wettability.
adsorb or change the interfacial properties of the rock. 2. The rock samples were centrifuged at 5,000 rev/min for 2
This can be justified because wettability changes occur as a result hours in the following:
of bringing rocks by bringing them in contact with fluids with sur- a. Spent-acid solutions with HCl only.
face-active agents. Carboxyl groups and polar compounds in oil b. Spent-acid solutions with HCl and 1 vol% of VES and 10
cause carbonate rocks to become more oil-wet (Lowe et al. 1973; vol% of EGMBE.
Sayyouh et al. 1991; Tiab and Donaldson 1996). Similarly, aging The surfactants in the spent acid caused changes in the wettability
rocks in crude oil (Graue et al. 1999; Standnes and Austad 2000) of the rock (i.e., changes in the oil/rock and acid/rock IFT).
and flowing surfactants and oil- and water-based drilling muds 3. Contact angles were measured in spent-acid solutions with
through these rocks (Cuiec 1989; Mohan et al. 2011) altered their HCl only to determine the final wettability.
wettability. In the laboratory, the wettability of Austin cream 4. The effect of surface-active agents in the spent acid on wett-
chalk rock samples changed from water-wet (approximately 30 to ability was determined by comparing contact angles before and
45 , Fig. 6) to oil-wet (approximately 140 , Fig. 6) after satura- after centrifuging.
tion with formation brine and crude oil and then aging for 60 Experiments were conducted at 500 psi and 25 C.
hours in crude oil.
2. The contact angles in spent-acid solutions with HCl only
were measured before and after centrifuging. Results
This kept oil/acid IFTs large (above the critical spreading ten- Spent-Acid Solutions with 1 Vol% of VES and 10 Vol% of
sion) for all contact-angle measurements. It also allowed for a EGMBE Were Water-Wetting. An oil-wet rock with a contact
comparison of the effect of different surface-active agents in the angle of 155 became water-wet with a contact angle of 41 after
spent-acid solutions on the rock/fluid interface only, without dis- it was centrifuged in a spent-acid solution with 1 vol% of VES
tortions caused by changes in the oil/acid IFT. Spent acid with and 10 vol% of EGMBE (Fig. 7).
Rock surface
Rock surface
Water-wet after
centrifuging:
Oil droplet Contact angle = 41
Fig. 7With the new procedure, centrifuging an oil-wet (top, 155 ) rock in a spent-acid solution with HCl, 1 vol% of VES, and 10
vol% of EGMBE resulted in a change of the wettability to water-wet at 41 .
120 droplets to measure dynamic contact angles. One can prepare rock
samples by centrifuging them in surfactant solutions. One can mea-
Before centrifuging
sure advancing and receding contact angles in a surfactant-free fluid,
80 After centrifuging such as formation brine. Comparing contact angles before and after
42 centrifuging will show the effect of the surfactant on wettability.
40
40
Limitations. Surfactant desorption from the surface of the centri-
0 0 fuged rock into the solution may change the IFT between oil/acid
oil-wet water-wet water-wet strongly water-wet and rock and consequently change the wettability (Adejare et al.
2012). Steps to remove the weakly adhered surfactant (such as
Fig. 8The new procedure was effective for studying the effect more centrifuging) may prevent a study of the effect of the origi-
on wettability of spent acid with VES and EGMBE. Spent-acid nally adsorbed surfactant layer on wettability, by removing some
solutions with 1 vol% of VES and 10 vol% of EGMBE made oil- or all of it. In addition, if IFTs above the critical spreading tension
wet rocks water-wet (left) and water-wet rocks strongly water- vary as a result of varying surfactant or brine concentrations
wet (right).
(Vijapurapu and Rao 2004), the effect of the different IFTs on
contact angles and wettability is unknown. Another concern is the
effect on the wettability of exposing the rocks to air when trans-
Centrifuging a water-wet rock in a spent-acid solution with 1 ferred to and from the tensiometer between centrifuging stages.
vol% of VES and 10 vol% of EGMBE resulted in the oil droplet In spite of these potential limitations, applying the new proce-
rolling off the surface of the rock. This implies that the oil droplet dure can yield many benefits. One can gain new insights on the
did not adhere onto the surface of the rock because the rock sur- effect of surfactants on wettability (Adejare et al. 2012) if contact
face was strongly water-wet. The contact angle was assumed to angles are measured in a way that ensures that the oil/liquid IFT
be 0 (Fig. 8). does not affect the results.
The change in wettability to water-wet probably occurred
because EGMBE dissolved the crude-oil components that were
Conclusions
adsorbed on the rock surface (Economides and Nolte 2000). The
VES remained in solution, not adsorbing at the rock/fluid inter- A new procedure was presented for contact-angle experiments for
face. Mutual solvents keep surfactants and other stimulation addi- surfactants that reduce the IFT between oil and the surfactant so-
tives in solution and stop them from adsorbing onto the rock lution, such as spent-acid solutions with VES and EGMBE. The
surface (Hall 1975). conventional method cannot be used with these surfactants
because low IFTs make oil droplets unstable on the rock surface.
1. The conventional procedure for contact-angle measurements, in
Spent-Acid Solutions with HCl Only Had No Effect on which the tested solutions are injected into the optical cell, is
Wettability. This serves as a control experiment. An oil-wet effective for solutions with no surfactants (Fig. 2).
Austin cream chalk rock remained oil-wet after it was centrifuged 2. In contrast, the conventional procedure is not effective for sur-
in a spent-acid solution with HCl only (Figs. 9 and 10). Similarly, factant solutions, such as with VES and EGMBE, which reduce
centrifuging a water-wet rock in a spent-acid solution with HCl the oil/acid IFT below the critical spreading tension (Fig. 5),
only caused no change in wettability (Fig. 10). This is because because oil droplets spread (Fig. 3 and Table 2).
there are no surface-active agents in spent acid with HCl only. 3. The new procedure involves centrifuging the rock in surfactant
solutions, so that the surface-active agents alter the interfacial
Applications. The new procedure was used for receding-contact- properties of the rock. Contact angles were then measured in a
angle measurements with surfactant solutions that cause spread- surfactant-free fluid with a high oil/liquid IFT. The difference
ing. These types of measurements were not possible with the con- in contact angles before and after centrifuging indicates the
ventional method (Adejare et al. 2012). effect of the surfactant on wettability.
Rock surface
Rock surface
Oil-wet after
centrifuging
Oil droplet Contact angle = 133
Fig. 9Spent acid with only HCl resulted in no change in wettability for an oil-wet rock. This was the control experiment for the
new procedure.
Nasr-El-Din, H.A., Chesson, J.B., Cawiezel, K.E. et al. 2006b. Investigation petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University. Adejares
and Field Evaluation of Foamed Viscoelastic Surfactant Diversion Fluid current work is on understanding how surfactants affect initial
Applied During Coiled-Tubing Matrix-Acid Treatment. Presented at production and ultimate recovery in unconventional oil and
the SPE/ICoTA Coiled Tubing Conference and Exhibition, The Wood- gas reservoirs. He is an SPE member.
lands, Texas, 45 April. SPE-99651-MS. http://dx.doi.org/99651-MS. Ramez Nasralla is currently a research reservoir engineer at
Nasr-El-Din, H.A., Chesson, J.B., Cawiezel, K.E. et al. 2006c. Field Suc- Shell Global Solutions International where he works on projects
cess in Carbonate Acid Diversion, Utilizing Laboratory Data Gener- related to improved oil recovery. He was a research assistant
ated by Parallel Flow Testing. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M Uni-
Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 2427 September. versity while preparing the presented work. Nasralla has more
SPE-102828-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/102828-MS. than 6 years of teaching and research experience at Cairo
University and Texas A&M University. He worked as a geome-
Rao, D.N. 1999. Wettability Effects in Thermal Recovery Operations. chanics engineer for 3 years with Advantek International on
SPE Res Eval & Eng 2 (5): 420430. SPE-57897-PA. http:// several projects of produced-water and drill-cuttings reinjec-
dx.doi.org/10.2118/57897-PA. tion. Nasralla has authored several publications on topics
Rao, D.N. and Girard, M.G. 1996. A New Technique for Reservoir Wett- related to low-salinity waterflood, well stimulation, well testing,
ability Characterization. J Can Pet Technol 35 (1). SPE-96-01-05-PA. and reservoir simulation. He holds BSc and MSc degrees from
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/96-01-05-PA. Cairo University and a PhD degree from Texas A&M University,
Ro, O.I.D. and Neumann, A.W. 1997. Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analy- all in petroleum engineering. Nasralla is an SPE member and
sis: Computational Methods for the Measurement of Interfacial Prop- serves as a technical editor for SPE Journal.
erties from the Shape and Dimensions of Pendant and Sessile Drops. Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din is a professor and holder of the John
J Colloid & Interface Sci. 196 (2): 136147. Edgar Holt Endowed Chair at Texas A&M University in petro-
Sayyouh, M.H., Hemeida, A.M., Al-Blehed, M.S. et al. 1991. Role of Po- leum engineering. Previously, he worked for 15 years as a prin-
lar Compounds in Crude Oils on Rock Wettability. J. Pet. Sci. & Eng. cipal professional and team leader of the Stimulation
6 (3): 225233. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0920-4105(91)90015-f. Research and Technology Team, Saudi Aramco. Before join-
ing Saudi Aramco, Nasr-El-Din worked for 4 years as a staff
Standnes, D.C. and Austad, T. 2000. Wettability Alteration in Chalk: 1.
research engineer with the Petroleum Recovery Institute in
Preparation of Core Material and Oil Properties. J. Pet. Sci. & Eng. 28
Calgary. He also worked as a research associate with the Uni-
(3): 111121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0920-4105(00)00083-8. versity of Saskatchewan, the University of Ottawa, and the Uni-
Taylor, K.C., Al-Ghamdi, A.H., and Nasr-El-Din, H.A. 2004. Effect of versity of Alberta, all in Canada. Nasr-El-Dins research interests
Additives on the Acid Dissolution Rates of Calcium and Magnesium include well stimulation, formation damage, enhanced oil re-
Carbonates. SPE Prod & Oper 19 (3): 122127. SPE-80256-PA. covery, conformance control, interfacial properties, adsorp-
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/80256-PA. tion, rheology, cementing, drilling fluids, two-phase flow, and
Tiab, D. and Donaldson, E.C. 1996. Petrophysics: Theory and Practice of nondamaging fluid technologies. He holds several patents
Measuring Reservoir Rock and Fluid Transport Properties, 394, 398, and has published and presented more than 550 technical
361, 364, 365. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company. papers. Nasr-El-Din has received numerous awards within
Saudi Aramco for significant contributions in stimulation and
Vijapurapu, C.S. and Rao, D.N. 2004. Compositional Effects of Fluids on treatment-fluid technologies and stimulation design, and for
Spreading, Adhesion and Wettability in Porous Media. Coll. & Surf. his work in training and mentoring. He holds BSc and MSc
A: Physicochem. & Eng. Aspects 241 (13): 335342. degrees from Cairo University and a PhD degree from the
Wang, W. and Gupta, A. 1995. Investigation of the Effect of Temperature University of Saskatchewan, Canada, all in chemical engi-
and Pressure on Wettability Using Modified Pendant Drop Method. neering. Nasr-El-Din serves on SPE steering committees on stim-
Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, ulation and oilfield chemistry, is a review chairperson for SPE
Dallas, Texas, 2225 October. SPE-30544-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10. Journal, and is a technical editor for SPE Production & Opera-
2118/30544-MS. tions and SPE Drilling & Completion. He was invited to give key-
note presentations at various SPE and National Association of
Xu, W., Ayirala, S.C., and Rao, D.N. 2008. Measurement of Surfactant-In-
Corrosion Engineers conferences. Nasr-El-Din received the SPE
duced Interfacial Interactions at Reservoir Conditions. SPE Res Eval &
Regional Technical Discipline Award for Production and Oper-
Eng 11 (1): 8394. SPE-96021-PA. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/96021-PA. ations in 2006, was named a Distinguished SPE Member in
Yu, M., Mahmoud, M.A., and Nasr-El-Din, H.A. 2011. Propagation and 2007, and received SPE awards for Outstanding Associate Edi-
Retention of Viscoelastic Surfactants Following Matrix-Acidizing tor (SPE J) and Outstanding Technical Editor (SPE PO) in 2008.
Treatments in Carbonate Cores. SPE J. 16 (4): 9931001. SPE- In addition, he received the SPE Production and Operations
128047-PA. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/128047-PA. Award and Outstanding Associate Editor Award (SPE J) in
2009. Nasr-El-Din received SPE A Peer Apart status in 2011 for
Oladapo Adejare is a research engineer with Nalco Cham- reviewing more than 100 papers. He was named the 2013 re-
pion in Fresno, Texas. He holds a BS degree in mechanical en- cipient of the SPE Distinguished Achievement Award for Petro-
gineering from the University of Lagos and an MS degree in leum Engineering Faculty.