Laboratory Evaluation of Organically Crosslinked Polymer for Water Shutoff in High-Temperature Well Applications

Abstract

Excessive water production from unwanted zones in oil producing wells is one of the major challenges faced by the oil industry. The applicability of organically crosslinked polymer (OCP) systems as sealants for water shutoff treatments in temperatures up to 350°F is well documented. However, their effectiveness at temperatures above 350°F has not been evaluated. This paper presents experimental data from using an OCP system for water shutoff treatments at 400°F.At temperatures around 400°F, crosslinking is expected to happen faster and can lead to premature gelation of the recipe before the entire treatment is in place. Thus, controlling the gelation time at such temperatures is extremely crucial. Optimizing the amount of retarder is essential to provide adequate time for placement of the treatment fluid. This paper provides gelation time data at temperatures between 350 and 400°F with different amounts of retarder. With an optimum amount of retarder, the OCP showed a gelation time of 1 hr 20 min. This paper also describes the experimental setup used to study and determine the long-term stability of the OCP system at 400°F. Sand packs measuring 1-ft long were used for the test to simulate formation conditions. Once the optimized OCP recipe was gelled inside the sand pack, measurements were taken by gradually applying incremental differential pressure (ΔP) to evaluate the sealant at temperature, as well as the threshold ΔP the system could withstand. Even after one month at 400°F, the OCP recipe was able to sustain a ΔP of 950 psi over the sand pack.The data indicates the applicability of this system as an effective conformance product to shut off water-producing zones over an extended period of time at 400°F.

In situ organically cross‐linked polymer gel for high‐temperature reservoir conformance control: A review

“…This indicates that the deployment of the organic polymeric gel system at high‐temperature reservoirs without gelation retarding agent is a difficult task. Hence, the retarders are essential to elongate the gelation time, slow down the hydrolysis, and strengthen the gel …”

“…After doing a sandpack flow test, Eoff et al found that the addition of this salt as a retarder could raise the working temperature without affecting the gel strength and its subsequent ability to stop fluid flow . Although Na 2 CO was found to have an excellent retardation effect for the PAtBA/PEI system, it has disadvantages and compatibility problems with in high salinity brines . The use of salts as retarder can bring negative impact if the compatibility with the field mixing brines is not carefully assessed.…”