Effect of Direct Current on Interfacial Tension of Condensate Droplet Immersed in Brine

Several methods have been applied to mitigate condensate banking effect observed in gas condensate reservoirs. Some of these methods have significant impact on the environment (subsurface and surface). Implementing environmentally sustainable solutions is increasingly becoming an important area of research. The introduction of direct current increases oil displacement efficiency in conventional oil reservoirs while retaining beneficial properties to the environment. To successfully apply this technique on gas condensate reservoirs, the behaviour of condensate droplets and brine in the presence of electric current need to be understood. In this study, a laboratory experiment was designed to capture the effect of electrical current on interfacial tension. Pendant drop tensiometry was used to obtain the interfacial tension while electric voltage (0-46.5V) was varied during the entire experiment. Results from the experiment, reveal an increase in IFT as the voltage is increased. This study concludes that the interfacial tension increases when the DC voltage is increased beyond a threshold.