The article presents an overview of geological conditions, technological parameters, and field results of the largest international and Russian polymer flooding projects including its variations, surfactant-polymer and alkali-surfactant-polymer flooding. It is shown that development of new types of polymers, including those resistant to thermal-oxidative and chemical degradation, can increase the number of candidate reservoirs for polymer flooding. The dependence of the selected polymer mass fraction in the slug on the viscosity of oil in reservoir conditions is presented. It is noteworthy that most polymer projects have been implemented in reservoirs with in-situ oil viscosities ranging from 10 to 100 mPa·s; as for the Canadian projects, they were effective in reservoirs with oil viscosities up to 1800 mPa·s. The formulas given for viscosity of a polymer solution vs. viscosity of in-situ oil can be used for design of polymer flooding in various geological and reservoir conditions. A literature review showed that polymer flooding and its variations allow increasing oil recovery factor by 15-30%, given reasoned choice of polymer, surfactants, and alkali, optimal values of mass fraction of components in slug, and the size of the slug. It is noted that to improve polymer flooding performance in fractured and abnormally high perm formations, it shall be preceded by injection of blocking crosslinked polymers or encapsulated microgel compositions. For a large-scale implementation of polymer flooding projects to accelerate oil production rates and to increase recovery factors, production of state-of-the-art equipment for injection of polymer systems, high-performance polymers and surfactants to meet various geological and reservoir conditions shall be arranged in Russia, which calls for measures of State support for large polymer projects.
References
1. Thomas A., Essentials of polymer flooding technique, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., 2019, 328 p.
2. Galeev R.G., Opyt primeneniya polimernogo zavodneniya i ego raznovidnostey na neftyanykh mestorozhdeniyakh (Experience in the application of polymer flooding and its varieties in oil fields), Al'met'evsk, 1998, 34 p.
3. Surguchev M.L., Vtorichnye i tretichnye metody uvelicheniya nefteotdachi plastov (Secondary and tertiary methods of enhanced oil recovery), Moscow: Nedra Publ., 1985, 308 p.
4. Bondarenko A.V., Eksperimental'noe soprovozhdenie opytno-promyshlennykh rabot po obosnovaniyu tekhnologii polimernogo zavodneniya v usloviyakh vysokoy mineralizatsii plastovykh i zakachivaemykh vod (Experimental support of pilot testing on the justification of polymer flooding technology in conditions of high salinity of reservoir and injected waters): thesis of candidate of technical science, Moscow, 2017.
5. Musin M.M., Muslimov R.Kh., Sayfullin Z.G., Fatkullin A.Kh., Issledovanie mekhanizma zavodneniya neodnorodnykh plastov (Study of the mechanism of waterflooding in heterogeneous reservoirs), Kazan' : Otechestvo Publ., 2001, 252 p.
6. Shvetsov I.A., Kukin V.V., Gorbatova A.N. et al., Efficiency of polymer treatment at the Orlyanskoye field (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo, 1986, no. 3, pp. 38-40.
7. Kudinov V.I., Suchkov B.M., Novye tekhnologii povysheniya dobychi nefti (New technologies for increasing oil production), Samara: Samara book publishing house, 1998, 368 p.
8. Bondarenko A.V., Sevryugina A.V., KovalevskiyA.I., Kirillov D.A., Results of pilot works on polymer flooding at the Moskudinskoe field (In Russ.), Geologiya, geofizika i razrabotka neftyanykh i gazovykh mestorozhdeniy, 2019, no. 6, pp. 61-65, DOI: https://doi.org/10.30713/2413-5011-2019-6(330)-61-65
9. Delamaid E., Using horizontal wells for chemical EOR: Field cases (In Russ.), Georesursy, 2017, no. 3, pp. 166-175, DOI: https://doi.org/10.18599/grs.19.3.3
10. Sheng J., Enhanced oil recovery field case studies, Waltham, MA: Gulf Professional Publishing, 2013, 720 r.
11. Thomas S., Chemical EOR: The past - Does it have a future, Paper SPE 108828 based on a speech presented as an SPE Distinguished Lecture during the 2005–2006 season, URL: https://www.spe.org/media/filer_public/47/4b/474b460c-4621-4fdb-aaca-72fd1b10f619/spe-108828-dl.pdf
12. Carcoana A., Applied enhanced oil recovery, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1992, 152 r.
13. Taber J.J., Martin F.D., Seright R.S., EOR screening criteria revisited – Part 1: Introduction to screening criteria and enhanced recovery field projects, SPE–35385-PA, 1997, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2118/35385-PA.
14. Saboorian-Jooybari H., Dejam M., Chen Z., Half-century of heavy oil polymer flooding from laboratory core floods to pilot tests and field applications, SPE-174402-MS, 2015, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2118/174402-MS
15. Cheng J., Wang D., Sui X. et al., Combining small well spacing with polymer flooding to improve oil recovery of marginal reservoirs, SPE-96946-MS, 2006, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2118/96946-MS.
16. Seright R.S., How much polymer should be injected during a polymer flood, SPE-179543-PA, 2016, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2118/179543-MS.
17. Delamaide E., Bazin B., Rousseau D., Degre G., Chemical EOR for heavy oil: the Canadian experience, SPE-169715-MS, 2014, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2118/169715-MS.
18. Wang J., Dong M., Optimum effective viscosity of polymer solution for improving heavy oil recovery, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 2009, V. 67, pp. 155-158, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2009.05.007
19. Toma A., Sayuk B., Abirov Zh., Mazbaev E., Polymer flooding to increase oil recovery at light and heavy oil fields (In Russ.), Territoriya NEFTEGAZ, 2017. – № 7–8. – S. 58–68.
20. Guo H., Ma R., Kong D., Success and lessons learned from ASP flooding field tests in China, SPE-186931-MS, 2017, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2118/186931-MS
21. Sun C., Guo H., Li Y., Song K., Recent advances of surfactant-polymer (sp) flooding enhanced oil recovery field tests in China, Geofluids, 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8286706.
22. Volokitin Y., Shuster M., Karpan V. et al., Results of alkaline-surfactant-polymer flooding pilot at West Salym field, SPE-190382-MS, 2018, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2118/190382-MS
23. Alvarado V., Manrik E., Metody uvelicheniya nefteotdachi plastov. Planirovanie i strategii primeneniya (Methods for enhanced oil recovery. Planning and application strategies), Moscow: Premium Inzhiniring Publ., 2011, 244 p.
24. Khimchenko P.V., Obosnovanie vybora polimera i kompozitsii na osnove poliakrilamida dlya polimernogo zavodneniya na mestorozhdeniyakh s vysokoy temperaturoy i mineralizatsiey (Rationale for the choice of polymer and composition based on polyacrylamide for polymer flooding in fields with high temperature and salinity): thesis of candidate of technical science, Moscow, 2018.
25.
