Retention behavior of dilute polymers in oil sands

Conference · Sun May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1988 · Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6686910

Kikani, J; Somerton, W H

Adequate mobility control between fluid banks is a pertinent factor in the successful application of secondary and tertiary oil recovery processes. Favorable mobilities can be obtained by increasing the viscosity or reducing the permeability to the displacing fluid phase. Polyacrylamide and oio-polymers have proved to be useful for these purposes. These polymers increase the water viscosity substantially at low concentrations. The resulting reduced mobility of the displacing phase suppresses the fingering phenomenon and improves piston-like displacement. However, the structural complexity of these polymers coupled with the complexity of the flow channels in the porous medium cause part of these polymers to be retained in the reservoir as the displacing fluid from advances, thereby causing a reduction in the concentration of the polymer solution and consequently a loss of mobility control. In addition to the mechanical filtering, adsorption on the grain surfaces reduce the polymer concentration in the displacing fluid. Behavior of polyacrylamide polymers has been studied extensively. Susceptibility of these polymers to salinity, pH, shear, temperature, etc., is well documented. Mechanical entrapment, retention, degradation and adsorption behavior on porous media, including fired Berea sandstone, bead packs and Ottawa sand have been reported. The present study investigates the adsorption and trapping of polymers in flow experiments through unconsolidated oil field sands. Effects of particle size and mineral content have been studied. Effect of a surfactant slug on polymer-rock interaction is also reported. Corroborative studies have been conducted to study the pressure behavior and high tertiary oil recovery in surfactant dilute-polymer systems.

• Research Organization: Dept. of Petroleum Engineering, Stanford Univ., CA (US)
• OSTI ID: 6686910
• Report Number(s): CONF-880659-
• Journal Information: Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States), Vol. 33:1; Conference: ACS symposium on advances in oil field chemistry, Toronto, Canada, 5 Jun 1988
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
DISPLACEMENT FLUIDS
PHASE STUDIES
PETROLEUM
ENHANCED RECOVERY
ROCK-FLUID INTERACTIONS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
ACRYLAMIDE
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
CONTROL
HYDROPHYLIC POLYMERS
MOBILITY
OIL SANDS
POROUS MATERIALS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
AMIDES
BITUMINOUS MATERIALS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COLLOIDS
DATA
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GELS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
POLYMERS
RECOVERY
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production
400201 - Chemical & Physicochemical Properties