Flooding experiments in sandpacks were performed to investigate the potential use of diluted oil-water macro-emulsions as an EOR agent for viscous oils. The emulsion dispersed phase was the oil in place in the sandpack. Oil recovery factors obtained with emulsion flooding were compared to synthetic sea water injection and surfactant solution injection. Results have indicated a reduction in cumulative water-oil ratio and an increase in oil production after a bank of emulsion was injected. At the appropriate conditions, emulsion oil drops block pores already swept by water flooding, changing the residual oil saturation and mobility of the water phase, and therefore mobilizing oil. The increased volume of oil produced was a function of the drop size of the emulsion. Produced water can be considered as a diluted oil-in-water emulsion. The results presented here suggest the possibility of using an effluent as a resource, after appropriate treatment, in IOR projects.
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