Polymer flooding improvement

Polymer flooding alms at reducing the amount of by-passed oil by increasing the viscosity of the displacing fluid, say water, and thereby improving the mobility ratio (M). 

D. O. Shah and R. S. Schechter, eds.. Improved OilRecovery by Suf actant and Polymer Flooding, Academic Press, New York, 1977. 

The focus of more recent work has been the use of relatively low concentrations of additives in other oil recovery processes. Of particular interest is the use of surfactants (qv) as CO2 (4) and steam mobiUty control agents (foam). Combinations of older EOR processes such as surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding and alkaline—surfactant—polymer flooding show promise of improved cost effectiveness. 

H.L. Chang, Polymer Flooding Technology - Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Proceedings of the Soc. Petrol. Eng. Symposium on Improved 0x1 Recovery 4/16-19/78, Tulsa, OK. SPE Paper 7043-... 

Willhite, G. P. Dominguez, J. G. Improved Oil Recovery by Surfactant and Polymer Flooding Acad. Press Inc. New York, 1977. 

H.S. Hanna and P. Somasundaran, "Physico-Chemical Aspects of Adsorption at Solid/Liquid Interfaces, Part II. Berea Sandstond/Mahogony Sulfonate System", in Improved Oil Recovery by Surfactants and Polymer Flooding, D.O. Shah and R.S. Schecter, eds.. Academic Press, 1977, p. 253-274. 

Shah, D.O., Schecter, R.S. (1977). Improved oil recovery by surfactant and polymer flooding. Academic Presss, New York. 

Malmberg, E.W. Smith, L. The Adsorption Losses of Surfactants in Tertiary Recovery Systems in Porous Media in Improved Oil Recovery by Surfactant and Polymer Flooding, Shah, D.O. Schechter, R.S. (Eds.), Academic Press New York, 1977, pp. 275-292. 

Hanna, H. S., Somasundaran, P. Improved Oil Recov. by Surfactant and Polymer Flooding, New York Academic Press (1977) p. 253... 

Micellar-polymer flooding and alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding are discussed in terms of emulsion behavior and interfacial properties. Oil entrapment mechanisms are reviewed, followed by the role of capillary number in oil mobilization. Principles of micellar-polymer flooding such as phase behavior, solubilization parameter, salinity requirement diagrams, and process design are used to introduce the ASP process. The improvements in ""classicaV alkaline flooding that have resulted in the ASP process are discussed. The ASP process is then further examined by discussion of surfactant mixing rules, phase behavior, and dynamic interfacial tension. 

Shah, D.O. and Schechter, R.S., Eds. "Improved Oil Recovery hy Surfactant and Polymer Flooding", Academic Press New York, 1977. 

FIGURE 1,2 Schematic of macroscopic displacement efficiency improvement by polymer flooding (b) over waterflooding (a). Source Courtesy of Surtek, a chemical EOR service company in Golden, Colorado. 

One obvious mechanism in polymer flooding is the reduced mobility ratio of displacing fluid to the displaced fluid so that viscous Angering is reduced. When viscous Angering is reduced, the sweep efficiency is improved, as shown in Figure 1.2. This mechanism is discussed extensively in the waterflooding literature it is also discussed in Chapter 4. When polymer is injected in vertical heterogeneous layers, crossflow between layers improves polymer allocation in the vertical layers so that vertical sweep efficiency is improved. This mechanism is detailed in Sorbie (1991). 

One economic impact of polymer flooding that has been less discussed is the reduced amount of water injected and produced compared with water-flooding. Because polymer improves mobility ratio and sweep efficiency, less water is injected and less water is produced. In some situations such as offshore environments and desert areas, water and the treatment of water could be costly. 

Ayirala, S., Uehara-Nagamine, E., Matzakos, A., Chin, R., Doe, R, van Den Hoek, R, 2010. A designer water process for offshore low salinity and polymer flooding applications. Paper SPE 129926 presented at the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, 24-28 April. 

Camilleri, D., 1983. Micellar/Polymer Flooding Experiments and Comparison with an Improved 1-D Simulator. M.S. thesis. University of Texas at Austin, May. 

Camilleri, D., Fil, A., Pope, G.A., Rouse, B.A., Sepehrnoori, K., 1987. Improvements in physical-property models used in micellar/polymer flooding. SPERE (November), 433-440. 

Chauveteau, G., Kohler, N., 1974. Polymer flooding The essential elements for laboratory evaluation. P er SPE 4745 presented at flie SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, 22—24... 

Delshad, M., Kim, D.H., Magbagbeola, O.A., Huh, C., Pope, G.A., Tarahhom, R, 2008. Mechanistic interpretation and utihzation of viscoelastic behavior of polymer solutions for improved polymer-flood efficiency. Paper SPE 113620 presented at the SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, 19—23 April. 

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