Overview of Gelled Polymer Projects Conducted in Central Kansas

Abstract

SPE Members Crosslinked polymer treatments are being implemented on both the injection and production-side in central Kansas to increase production-side in central Kansas to increase oil production and reduce water-oil ratios. In the past few years, Murfin Drilling Company has utilized these gel treatments and have had both successes and failures. This paper presents the results of two injection-side paper presents the results of two injection-side projects in the Lansing-Kansas City projects in the Lansing-Kansas City formation and four producing-side treatments in the Arbuckle formation from an independent oil operator's point of view. The Lansing-Kansas City formation is a sequence of limestone reservoirs separated by shales. When these reservoirs are simultaneously waterflooded, usually the highest permeability zone takes the majority of the brine, causing poor sweep efficiency in the waterflood. Injection of gelled polymners can plug these high permeability polymners can plug these high permeability zones thus increasing the waterflood sweep efficiency. Results from two projects in Decatur and Graham Counties will be discussed. The Arbuckle formation is typically a dolimitic limestone reservoir underlain by bottom water. Water coning usually occurs due to gradients in flow potential established around the wellbore by oil production. If vertical permeability exists, production. If vertical permeability exists, this difference in flow potential causes mobile water to flow into the wellbore. Gelled polymer treatments can reduce the permeability to this mobile water, thus permeability to this mobile water, thus reducing the producing water-oil ratio., Typically, a sharp decrease in WOR is noted immediately following a treatment. This decrease is followed by an increasing WOR AS the oil production gradually resumes its normal decline. Four treatments conducted in Ellis, Graham, and Rooks Counties Bill be discussed. P. 941

Research needs for strandplain/barrier island reservoirs in the United States

“…Additional field results from gel polymer applications in Kansas have been reported at KU's Tertiary Oil Recovery Project (TOW) conferences (Avery and Sutphen, 1989;Jack et al, 1991). TORP's efforts in documenting field results represent some of the early work in the field.…”