Measurements and Correlations of the Physical Properties of CO2-Heavy Crude Oil Mixtures

Summary Viscosity reduction and swelling are the principal mechanisms contributed to the improvement of heavy-oil recovery by immiscible CO2 displacement. This paper presents the results of experimental measurements for the physical properties of heavy oils before and after CO2 saturation. Based on measured data, correlations were developed for the predictions of CO2 solubility, oil swelling factor, and viscosity change for CO2-saturated heavy oils.