Flooding method using salt-insensitive polymers for better mobility control

Patent · Tue Dec 26 04:00:00 EST 1972

OSTI ID:7215976

Knight, B L

To protect the back portion of an aqueous solution of a salt-sensitive polymer from degradation by the brine drive fluid, a salt-insensitive biopolymer slug was inserted between the salt-sensitive polymer flood and the brine. With this arrangement the brine may contain up to 100,000 ppM or more TDS and a greater concentration than 50 ppM of divalent cations. A Berea slab was saturated with brine, flooded with crude oil (viscosity 6 cp at ambient temperature), and waterflooded with brine. A micellar dispersion followed by a graded polymer flood of Dow 700 Pusher, then an aqueous biopolymer flood of Kelzan-M, all driven by a brine drive fluid (12,000 ppM TDS) recovered about 72 percent of the oil from the slag. The micellar slug was an aqueous solution of petroleum sulfonate (MW 420), crude oil (9 cp at ambient temperature), primary hexanol, and primary amyl alcohol.

• Assignee: Marathon Oil Co.
• Patent Number(s): US 3707187
• OSTI ID: 7215976
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
COLLOIDS
CONTROL
DISPERSIONS
EMULSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
MICROEMULSIONS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
MOBILITY
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PETROLEUM
POLYMERS
WELLS