scholarly journals SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS FOR POLYMER INJECTION TO IMPROVE HEAVY OIL RECOVERY – SMALL-SCALE SIMULATION STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 239-258
Author(s):  
M. F. Zampieri ◽  
C. C. Quispe ◽  
R. B. Z. L. Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Pore Volume ◽  
Polymer Concentration ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Average Pressure ◽  
Residual Resistance ◽  
Water Viscosity ◽  
Residual Resistance Factor

Polymer flooding has been widely used for enhancing oil recovery, due to the growing number of successful applications around the world. The process aims to increase water viscosity and, thus, decrease the water/oil mobility ratio, thereby improving sweep efficiency. The understanding of the physical mechanisms involved in this enhanced oil recovery process allows us to forecast the application potential of polymer flooding. This work aims to assess physical phenomena associated with heavy oil recovery through polymer flooding using 1D small-scale simulation models. We evaluate the influence of different levels of adsorption, accessible pore volume, residual resistance factor, and polymer concentration on the results and compare their magnitude effect on the results. The models used in this study were built using data from previous lab work and literature. For each one of the mentioned parameters, this work compares the histories of water cut, cumulative water-oil ratio, average pressure, and oil recovery factor. Additionally, water saturation, water viscosity, and water mobility profile were determined for specific periods of the flooding process. The sensitivity analyses showed that high levels of adsorption influence the polymer loss of the advance front, delaying oil recovery. Low values of accessible pore volume lead to a slightly faster polymer breakthrough and oil recovery anticipation. A high residual resistance factor increases the average pressure and improves oil recovery. Higher polymer concentration enhances the displacement efficiency and enhances the recovery factor.

scholarly journals Necessity and feasibility of improving the residual resistance factor of polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leiting Shi ◽  
Zhongbin Ye ◽  
Zhuo Zhang ◽  
Changjiang Zhou ◽  
Shanshan Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Resistance Factor ◽  
Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Residual Resistance ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Residual Resistance Factor

scholarly journals Effect of Non-Newtonian Flow on Polymer Flooding in Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Polymers ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiankang Xin ◽  
Gaoming Yu ◽  
Zhangxin Chen ◽  
Keliu Wu ◽  
Xiaohu Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Polymer Solution ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Flow In Porous Media ◽  
Newtonian Flow ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoirs

The flow of polymer solution and heavy oil in porous media is critical for polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs because it significantly determines the polymer enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and polymer flooding efficiency in heavy oil reservoirs. In this paper, physical experiments and numerical simulations were both applied to investigate the flow of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) solution and heavy oil, and their effects on polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs. First, physical experiments determined the rheology of the polymer solution and heavy oil and their flow in porous media. Then, a new mathematical model was proposed, and an in-house three-dimensional (3D) two-phase polymer flooding simulator was designed considering the non-Newtonian flow. The designed simulator was validated by comparing its results with those obtained from commercial software and typical polymer flooding experiments. The developed simulator was further applied to investigate the non-Newtonian flow in polymer flooding. The experimental results demonstrated that the flow behavior index of the polymer solution is 0.3655, showing a shear thinning; and heavy oil is a type of Bingham fluid that overcomes a threshold pressure gradient (TPG) to flow in porous media. Furthermore, the validation of the designed simulator was confirmed to possess high accuracy and reliability. According to its simulation results, the decreases of 1.66% and 2.49% in oil recovery are caused by the difference between 0.18 and 1 in the polymer solution flow behavior indexes of the pure polymer flooding (PPF) and typical polymer flooding (TPF), respectively. Moreover, for heavy oil, considering a TPG of 20 times greater than its original value, the oil recoveries of PPF and TPF are reduced by 0.01% and 5.77%, respectively. Furthermore, the combined effect of shear thinning and a threshold pressure gradient results in a greater decrease in oil recovery, with 1.74% and 8.35% for PPF and TPF, respectively. Thus, the non-Newtonian flow has a hugely adverse impact on the performance of polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs.

Enhancing Heavy-Oil-Recovery Efficiency by Combining Low-Salinity-Water and Polymer Flooding

SPE Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Shize Yin ◽  
Randall S. Seright ◽  
Samson Ning ◽  
Yin Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Heavy Oil Recovery ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Water ◽  
Salinity Water ◽  
Increased Oil Recovery

Summary Combining low-salinity-water (LSW) and polymer flooding was proposed to unlock the tremendous heavy-oil resources on the Alaska North Slope (ANS). The synergy of LSW and polymer flooding was demonstrated through coreflooding experiments at various conditions. The results indicate that the high-salinity polymer (HSP) (salinity = 27,500 ppm) requires nearly two-thirds more polymer than the low-salinity polymer (LSP) (salinity = 2,500 ppm) to achieve the target viscosity at the condition of this study. Additional oil was recovered from LSW flooding after extensive high-salinity-water (HSW) flooding [3 to 9% of original oil in place (OOIP)]. LSW flooding performed in secondary mode achieved higher recovery than that in tertiary mode. Also, the occurrence of water breakthrough can be delayed in the LSW flooding compared with the HSW flooding. Strikingly, after extensive LSW flooding and HSP flooding, incremental oil recovery (approximately 8% of OOIP) was still achieved by LSP flooding with the same viscosity as the HSP. The pH increase of the effluent during LSW/LSP flooding was significantly greater than that during HSW/HSP flooding, indicating the presence of the low-salinity effect (LSE). The residual-oil-saturation (Sor) reduction induced by the LSE in the area unswept during the LSW flooding (mainly smaller pores) would contribute to the increased oil recovery. LSP flooding performed directly after waterflooding recovered more incremental oil (approximately 10% of OOIP) compared with HSP flooding performed in the same scheme. Apart from the improved sweep efficiency by polymer, the low-salinity-induced Sor reduction also would contribute to the increased oil recovery by the LSP. A nearly 2-year pilot test in the Milne Point Field on the ANS has shown impressive success of the proposed hybrid enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) process: water-cut reduction (70 to less than 15%), increasing oil rate, and no polymer breakthrough so far. This work has demonstrated the remarkable economical and technical benefits of combining LSW and polymer flooding in enhancing heavy-oil recovery.

scholarly journals A New Empirical Model for Viscosity of Sulfonated Polyacrylamide Polymers

Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Akbari ◽  
Syed Mohammad Mahmood ◽  
Hosein Ghaedi ◽  
Sameer Al-Hajri
Keyword(s):  
Polymer Solution ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Empirical Model ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Polymer Concentration ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Solution Viscosity ◽  
Operational Variables ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Sulfonated Polyacrylamide

Copolymers of acrylamide with the sodium salt of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid—known as sulfonated polyacrylamide polymers—had been shown to produce very promising results in the enhancement of oil recovery, particularly in polymer flooding. The aim of this work is to develop an empirical model through the use of a design of experiments (DOE) approach for bulk viscosity of these copolymers as a function of polymer characteristics (i.e., sulfonation degree and molecular weight), oil reservoir conditions (i.e., temperature, formation brine salinity and hardness) and field operational variables (i.e., polymer concentration, shear rate and aging time). The data required for the non-linear regression analysis were generated from 120 planned experimental runs, which had used the Box-Behnken construct from the typical Response Surface Methodology (RSM) design. The data were collected during rheological experiments and the model that was constructed had been proven to be acceptable with the Adjusted R-Squared value of 0.9624. Apart from showing the polymer concentration as being the most important factor in the determination of polymer solution viscosity, the evaluation of the model terms as well as the Sobol sensitivity analysis had also shown a considerable interaction between the process parameters. As such, the proposed viscosity model can be suitably applied to the optimization of the polymer solution properties for the polymer flooding process and the prediction of the rheological data required for polymer flood simulators.

A comparative study of the mechanism and performance of surfactant- and alkali-polymer flooding in heavy-oil recovery

2020 ◽  
Vol 219 ◽  
pp. 115603 ◽  
Author(s):  
MingChen Ding ◽  
Yefei Wang ◽  
Fuqing Yuan ◽  
Hailong Zhao ◽  
Zongyang Li
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Heavy Oil Recovery ◽  
And Performance

Effect of Nanoclay on Heavy Oil Recovery During Polymer Flooding

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 999-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Cheraghian ◽  
S. S. Khalilinezhad
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Heavy Oil Recovery

Experimental Investigation of the Heterogeneity Limit for the Application of Polymer Flooding in Reservoirs

2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingchen Ding ◽  
Yugui Han ◽  
Yefei Wang ◽  
Yigang Liu ◽  
Dexin Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Polymer Concentration ◽  
Experimental Information ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Polymer Injection ◽  
Low Concentration ◽  
Visual Models ◽  
Combined Use

Abstract It is generally accepted that polymer flooding gets less effective as the heterogeneity of a reservoir increases. However, very little experimental information or evidence has been collated to indicate which levels of heterogeneity correspond to reservoirs that can (and cannot) be efficiently developed using polymer flooding. Therefore, to experimentally determine a heterogeneity limit for the application of polymer flooding to reservoirs, a series of flow tests and oil displacements were conducted using parallel sand packs and visual models possessing different heterogeneities. For low-concentration polymer flooding (1.0 g/l), the limit determined corresponds to permeability contrasts (PCs) of 10.8 and 10.2, according to the parallel and visual tests, respectively. A significant increase in oil recovery can be achieved by polymer injection within these limits. Increasing the polymer concentration to 2.0 g/l increased these limiting PCs to 52.8 and 50.0, respectively. Additionally, within or beyond these limits, the combined use of polymer and gel may be the best.

Transport of Polymers in Low Permeability Carbonate Rocks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haofeng Song ◽  
Pinaki Ghosh ◽  
Kishore Mohanty
Keyword(s):  
Polymer Concentration ◽  
Material Balance ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Resistance Factor ◽  
Residual Oil ◽  
Residual Resistance ◽  
Oil Saturation ◽  
Residual Oil Saturation ◽  
Polymer Transport ◽  
Residual Resistance Factor

Abstract Polymer transport and retention affect oil recovery and economic feasibility of EOR processes. Most studies on polymer transport have focused on sandstones with permeabilities (k) higher than 200 mD. A limited number of studies were conducted in carbonates with k less than 100 mD and very few in the presence of residual oil. In this work, transport of four polymers with different molecular weights (MW) and functional groups are studied in Edwards Yellow outcrop cores (k<50 mD) with and without residual oil saturation (Sor). The retention of polymers was estimated by both the material balance method and the double-bank method. The polymer concentration was measured by both the total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer and the capillary tube rheology. Partially hydrolyzed acrylamide (HPAM) polymers exhibited high retention (> 150 μg/g), inaccessible pore volume (IPV) greater than 7%, and high residual resistance factor (>9). A sulfonated polyacrylamide (AN132), showed low retentions (< 20 μg/g) and low IPV. The residual resistance factor (RRF) of AN132 in the water-saturated rock was less than 2, indicating little blocking of pore throats in these tight rocks. The retention and RRF of the AN132 polymer increased in the presence of residual oil saturation due to partial blocking of the smaller pore throats available for polymer propagation in an oil-wet core.

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