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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0ACS Omega

Pore-Scale Remaining Oil Characterization by Integrated Online NMR and Micro-CT

  • Chen Liu1,2
  • Ben Liu1,2
  • Wensheng Zhou1,2
  • Shoucheng Liang1,2
  • Yue Gao3
  • Guorui Xu1,4
  • Fei Wang1,4
  • Xiaoxiao Li1,4
4 affiliations
  1. 1State Key Laboratory of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploitation , ,
  2. 2CNOOC Research Institute Ltd. , ,
  3. 3CNOOC (China) Tianjin Branch , ,
  4. 4COSL Oilfield Production Research Institute , ,
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Abstract

An integrated online nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) workflow was established to characterize remaining oil mobilization in water-flooded heavy-oil porous media at the pore scale. NMR enabled quantitative tracking of oil-phase depletion across distinct pore-throat intervals via a transverse relaxation time (T2)–pore-throat radius conversion relationship, while micro-CT provided direct spatial and morphological identification of remaining oil. For the investigated cores, the power-law calibration provided better agreement with the mercury-intrusion pore-throat distributions than the linear counterpart. Core permeability, oil viscosity, and displacement velocity collectively govern the extent and location of remaining oil mobilization. With increasing permeability, the dominant mobilized pore-throat interval shifts from small–medium throats, 1–20 μm, to medium–large throats, 20–40 μm and above. CT-derived oil displacement efficiencies showed trends generally consistent with the NMR-based evaluation and further revealed that extended high-pore-volume water flooding and late-stage flow acceleration could still mobilize a portion of the remaining oil, albeit with diminishing incremental recovery. This integrated approach bridges the gap between pore-size-resolved quantification and three-dimensional spatial evidence, offering a robust framework for evaluating remaining-oil potential after prolonged water flooding in heavy-oil reservoirs.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{liu2026porescale,
  title = {{Pore-Scale Remaining Oil Characterization by Integrated Online NMR and Micro-CT}},
  author = {Chen Liu and Ben Liu and Wensheng Zhou and Shoucheng Liang and Yue Gao and Guorui Xu and Fei Wang and Xiaoxiao Li},
  journal = {ACS Omega},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1021/acsomega.6c08334},
  url = {https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c08334/5460417/Pore-Scale-Remaining-Oil-Characterization-by},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Pore-Scale Remaining Oil Characterization by Integrated Online NMR and Micro-CT
AU  - Chen Liu
AU  - Ben Liu
AU  - Wensheng Zhou
AU  - Shoucheng Liang
AU  - Yue Gao
AU  - Guorui Xu
AU  - Fei Wang
AU  - Xiaoxiao Li
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/28
JO  - ACS Omega
DO  - 10.1021/acsomega.6c08334
UR  - https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c08334/5460417/Pore-Scale-Remaining-Oil-Characterization-by
AB  - An integrated online nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) workflow was established to characterize remaining oil mobilization in water-flooded heavy-oil porous media at the pore scale. NMR enabled quantitative tracking of oil-phase depletion across distinct pore-throat intervals via a transverse relaxation time (T2)–pore-throat radius conversion relationship, while micro-CT provided direct spatial and morphological identification of remaining oil. For the investigated cores, the power-law calibration provided better agreement with the mercury-intrusion pore-throat distributions than the linear counterpart. Core permeability, oil viscosity, and displacement velocity collectively govern the extent and location of remaining oil mobilization. With increasing permeability, the dominant mobilized pore-throat interval shifts from small–medium throats, 1–20 μm, to medium–large throats, 20–40 μm and above. CT-derived oil displacement efficiencies showed trends generally consistent with the NMR-based evaluation and further revealed that extended high-pore-volume water flooding and late-stage flow acceleration could still mobilize a portion of the remaining oil, albeit with diminishing incremental recovery. This integrated approach bridges the gap between pore-size-resolved quantification and three-dimensional spatial evidence, offering a robust framework for evaluating remaining-oil potential after prolonged water flooding in heavy-oil reservoirs.
SN  - 2470-1343
ER  -