Recherche pétrolière et gazière

Abstrait

Understanding the Problems and Challenges of Polymer Flooding Technique

Jie Xiao*, Guibiao Qiao

Polymer flooding has been widely used to address the problems of high mobility ratio or high reservoir heterogeneity in water flooding operations. It reduces the surface tension between oil and water and release trapped oil and makes oil easier to produce. However, polymers tend to reside in formation due to precipitation, adsorption, mechanical entrapment, or even degradation. This study analyzed those formation damage problems in polymer flooding and provided suggestions on how to design an effective polymer flooding treatment to minimize the potential formation damage issues. Results show that the polymer solution (polymer and brine) can affect the nature of strain in different systems and thus influence regains permeability. To minimize the damage effect of polymer retention or polymer plugging, core flow tests should be designed to incorporate the effect of different parameters