Retention behavior of dilute polymers in oil sands

Conference · Sun May 01 04:00:00 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-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Pet. Chem., Prepr.; (United States) Journal Volume: 33:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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