In todays’ world, there is an increasing number of mature oil fields every year, a phenomenon that is leading to the development of more elegant enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies that are potentially effective for reservoir profile modification. The technology of conformance control using crosslinked microgels is one the newest trends that is gaining momentum every year. This is due to the simplicity of the treatment process and its management, as well as the guaranteed effect in the case of the correct well candidate selection. We identified the following varieties of microgels: microspheres, thermo- and pH-responsible microgels, thin fracture of preformed particle gels, colloidal dispersed gels. In this publication, we try to combine the available chemical aspects of microgel production with the practical features of their application at oil production facilities. The purpose of this publication is to gather available information about microgels (synthesis method, monomers) and to explore world experience in microgel application for enhanced oil recovery. This article will be of great benefit to specialists engaged in polymer technologies at the initial stage of microgel development.
The porosity and permeability of core rocks were studied by X-ray tomography. This method has a high potential for studying petrophysical properties of rocks, because it permits not only a general quantitative estimation of the void volume but also visualization of the rock texture, including pores, cavities, cracks, and zones of different densities in the matrix. X-ray tomography permits detailed studies of rock inhomogeneity, which are necessary for the elaboration of reliable porosity–permeability models for hydrocarbon pools. The investigations at Perm State National Research Polytechnic University have shown that X-ray tomography of core samples has a wide spectrum of applications in petroleum geology. Nikon Metrology XT H 225 X-ray computed tomography makes it possible to examine samples with a standard diameter (30 mm) and whole core samples (100 mm). The structure of voids in carbonate and terrigenous rocks was studied on samples with standard and full diameters; the results of hydrochloric acid treatment of carbonate reservoir rocks were visualized; and the mechanical properties of rock salts were studied. Three-dimensional models for the structure of voids and mineral matrix of the core samples have been constructed with the use of the Avizo Fire software.
The main part of hydrocarbon production in Russia is represented by old oil and gas producing regions. Such areas are characterized by a significant decrease in well productivity due to high water cut and faster production of the most productive facilities. An important role for such deposits is played by stabilization of production and increase of mobile reserves by improving the development system. This is facilitated by various geological and technical measures.
Today, an urgent problem is to increase the reliability of the forecast of technological and economic efficiency when planning various geological and technical measures. This is due to the difficulty in selecting candidate wells under the conditions of the old stock, the large volume of planned activities, the reduction in the profitability of measures, the lack of a comprehensive methodology for assessing the potential of wells for the short and long term.
Currently, there are several methods to evaluate the effectiveness of geological and technical measures: forecast based on geological and field analysis, statistical forecast, machine learning, hydrodynamic modeling. However, each of them has its own shortcomings and assumptions. The authors propose a methodology for predicting the effectiveness of geological and technical measures, which allows one to combine the main methods at different stages of evaluating the effectiveness and to predict the increase in fluid and oil production rates, additional production, changes in the dynamics of reservoir pressure and the rate of watering of well production.
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