Modeling fines migration and permeability loss caused by low salinity in porous media

A new model to describe fines detachment, migration and clogging and the subsequent permeability impairment observed in low-salinity single-phase lab cores flooding experiments is presented. The model takes into account important issues introduced by Bedrikovetsky et al. (2010). In the model we consider two new elements: a modified equation for the attached fines, and a more general mathematical expression for the maximum retention function. The equation describes a smoother kinetics of the attachment-detachment process, and the maximum retention function extends a previous expression to include low critical salinity concentrations. The equation system is solved numerically using the finite element method, and is applied to three published experimental cases of single-phase low salinity water core injection. To this purpose a general model fitting procedure has been developed. It has been found that our model acceptably reproduces the observed behavior of the effective permeability loss and effluent fines production.