An Integrated Computational Modelling of the Wettability of Rock Formations in Rock-Brine-Oil Systems

The wettability of rock formations in rock-brine-oil systems is addressed through a computational modelling of an oil-bound thin brine film above a rock surface. A more water-wet state of rock formations is obtained if the thin brine film is stable and a new strategy to analyse the film stability based on complementary approaches has been developed. A microscopic view is given by molecular dynamics (MD). Thin liquid films (TLF) theory provides a mesoscopic view on the hydrodynamics of nanometric aqueous layers. The stabilization of the thin brine film may be favoured by the decrease in the salinity of the brine but the modification of properties of fluids and rock-water–oil interfaces, such as fluids viscosity and the surface concentrations of electric charges, may be necessary to turn the rock into a more water-wet state. The findings support low salinity water injection and smart water technologies, as well as aid in the design of injection fluids to increase the oil recovery factor.