More Than 12 Years of Experience with a Successful Conformance-Control Polymer Gel Technology

Sydansk, R.D.; Southwell, G.P.

doi:10.2118/49315-ms

Cited by 41 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…The water breakthrough results in low sweep efficiency, high water cut, low oil recovery, and high remaining oil saturation, which makes uneconomic water-flooding, high-cost sewage treatment, and severe environmental contamination. − As reported, there is approximately 70% remaining oil left in the unswept zones of heterogeneous reservoirs . Thus, controlling water cut and increasing oil production is always the real challenge for field operators. − Increasing sweep efficiency is the key to increasing oil production and reducing water production …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on a Novel Cross-Linked Polymer Gel Strengthened with Silica Nanoparticles

et al. 2017

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This paper studied the strengthening effects of silica nanoparticles on the polyacrylamide (PAM)/hydroquinone (HQ)–hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) composite gel. Pure PAM/HQ–HMTA gel and PAM/HQ–HMTA gels containing silica nanoparticles up to 0.3 wt % were prepared at 110 °C. Influences of silica nanoparticles on gelation performances were systematically evaluated. By the addition of silica nanoparticles, the gelation time became shorter and the gel strength was improved observably. Rheological measurements showed that silica nanoparticles enhanced both elasticity and viscosity of the gel significantly. Thermal stability of the gel was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The maximum tolerated temperature of the gel was improved from 137.8 to 155.5 °C by the addition of silica nanoparticles with a concentration of 0.3 wt %. Furthermore, to study the strengthening mechanisms of silica nanoparticles to the gel, the microstructure and existing state of water within the gel were investigated by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and DSC measurements. Micrographs of the gel showed that massive aggregations and arrangements of silica nanoparticles existed in uniformly distributed three-dimensional network structures of the gel, which greatly improved the structural strength of the gel. Moreover, the mass fraction of bound water within the gel increased from 22.5 to 39.9% by the addition of silica nanoparticles with a concentration of 0.3 wt %. The hydrogen bonds and electrostatic attractions between silica nanoparticles and water molecules/hydronium ions make a higher bound water ratio, which contributes to better water holding capacity and thermal stability of the gel.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on a Novel Cross-Linked Polymer Gel Strengthened with Silica Nanoparticles

et al. 2017

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“…3,4 Thus, the control of unwanted water production has been a huge challenge for oil-field operators. 5 Recently, polymer gels have been developed to modify the water injection profile and enhance oil recovery. 6−8 Polymer gels possess a uniform three-dimensional network structure and are formed by cross-linking the polymer molecules with a cross-linker.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanism of Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Instability on High-Temperature Conditions

Xiong

Fang

et al. 2018

ACS Omega

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A gel system composed of acrylamide (AM), N , N ′-methylenebisAM (BIS), and ammonium persulfate ((NH 4 ) 2 S 2 O 8 ) was developed and applied extensively in reservoirs to reduce water cut and increase oil production in mature fields. However, this gel system suffers from thermal stability loss and syneresis at high temperatures that reduces its ability to control water flow. It has been widely accepted that the loss of gel thermal stability can be explained via three aspects: the rupture of polymer chains, the breakage of cross-linker chains, and hydrolysis of polymer. The mechanism of hydrogel syneresis through polymer hydrolysis has been investigated extensively in other publications. However, research on the other two mechanisms is quite limited. In this article, we conduct a series of experiments to demonstrate how the rupture of polymer and cross-linker chains leads to the hydrogel instability at high temperatures. Viscosity and energy-dispersive system measurements suggested that polyAM chains were disrupted by the oxidation reactions involving free radicals. The method to measure the cross-linking degree was established and in combination with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, the results showed that cross-linker chains were broken as a result of weaker C–N bond resulting from positively charged mesomethylene carbon and hydrolysis of amide groups on the cross-linker. Because of the application of deionized water in the experiments, nuclear magnetic resonance and FTIR measurements showed that the hydrolysis degree of polymer was weak. Hence, our results verified that breakage of polymer and cross-linker chains led to the rupture of the gel network at high temperature. Besides, cross-linker chains may play a more important role in the thermal stability of the gel, which explains some work into high-temperature-resistant gels.

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“…Eight (8) injectors were treated in two phases with an average treatment volume of 8.500 barrels of bulk gel per pattern, with a range between 3.500 and 18.500 barrels. Phase I polymer gel treatments were performed in 2008 and phase II in 2015.…”

Section: Case#mentioning

confidence: 99%

Waterflood Conformance Improvement – Practical Considerations & Lessons Learned

Portwood¹,

Romero²

2018

Rev. fuentes reventón enrg.

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El Conformance es comúnmente conocido como la acción que optimiza la eficiencia del fluido inyectado durante un proceso de recuperación mejorada de petróleo. Este trabajo técnico destaca las lecciones aprendidas por los autores, en base a su experiencia con una de las tecnologías de conformance más utilizadas y exitosas en campo, como lo es la de geles de polímero o geles obturantes, los cuales se forman al combinar cromo (III)-carboxilato, polímero (poliacrilamida) y agua (CC/AP). Hasta la fecha, los autores han participado directamente en el análisis, selección de candidatos, diseño, aplicación de campo y evaluación de resultados en más de 700 tratamientos de conformance. Una mirada retrospectiva a los primeros diseños y aplicaciones de campo, en comparación a las aplicaciones más recientes, muestra claramente que se han logrado implementar cambios o mejoras a los diseños y su aplicación en campo con la finalidad de obtener mejores resultados con este tipo de tratamientos. Estos cambios se han producido gradualmente a lo largo del tiempo a medida que las nuevas lecciones aprendidas se aplican en los nuevos tratamientos

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More Than 12 Years of Experience with a Successful Conformance-Control Polymer Gel Technology

Cited by 41 publications

References 0 publications

Study on a Novel Cross-Linked Polymer Gel Strengthened with Silica Nanoparticles

Study on a Novel Cross-Linked Polymer Gel Strengthened with Silica Nanoparticles

Mechanism of Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Instability on High-Temperature Conditions

Waterflood Conformance Improvement – Practical Considerations & Lessons Learned

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