Improved water-soluble polymers for enhanced recovery of oil

Conference · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1983 · Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6077835

Martin, F D; Hatch, M J; Shepitka, J S; Ward, J S

Two principal types of polymers have been used extensively for enhanced recovery of crude oil: partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and xanthan gum. Because of its lower cost, HPAM is being used in a majority of the field projects when water-soluble polymers are applied. However, HPAM does lose viscosity in brines, particularly when divalent ions are present, and is susceptible to mechanical degradation under high shear conditions. Although many different polymer structures were evaluated in the laboratory tests, the main focus consisted of modifying the structure of HPAM and observing the effects on brine and shear stability. Testing of these analogs provided a systematic correlation of polymer structure with polymer performance so that improved compounds could be developed. 33 references.

• OSTI ID: 6077835
• Report Number(s): CONF-8306242-
• Journal Information: Soc. Pet. Eng. AIME, Pap.; (United States), Vol. SPE-11786; Conference: SPE of AIME international oilfield and geothermal chemistry conference, Denver, CO, USA, 1 Jun 1983
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
OIL WELLS
WATERFLOODING
ACRYLAMIDE
ENHANCED RECOVERY
PETROLEUM
POLYMERS
SOLUBILITY
VISCOSITY
AMIDES
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
RECOVERY
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production