 | Maria Barrufet |
From Understanding to Practice: Confined Thermodynamics and Diffusion in Tight Hydrocarbon Reservoirs
Recovery from shale and tight oil reservoirs remains limited, with recovery factors often below 10% of the original oil in place despite horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Traditional reservoir models fail to capture the physics of nanometer-scale pores, where confinement, adsorption, and molecular diffusion dominate. This presentation examines how confined thermodynamics reshapes phase behavior and miscibility, supported by experimental core-flooding and CO₂ Huff-n-Puff studies with CT scanning. Results show diffusion and oil swelling as critical recovery mechanisms, and predictive models that couple thermodynamics with transport phenomena offer more realistic production forecasts. Beyond improving unconventional oil recovery, this work highlights broader implications for subsurface processes, including CO₂ storage and hydrogen containment.
About Maria Barrufet
Maria A. Barrufet is Professor of Petroleum Engineering and Director of Distance Learning at Texas A&M University, where she also holds a joint appointment in Chemical Engineering. Her research focuses on thermodynamics and transport in unconventional reservoirs, with emphasis on confined phase behavior, molecular diffusion, and solvent-based enhanced oil recovery. She has authored numerous SPE and peer-reviewed publications and collaborates closely with industry to improve recovery from tight formations. She has mentored a generation of graduate students and takes pride in “torturing” her undergraduates with thermodynamics—her way of inspiring rigorous thinking and resilience.
