Determination of the In-Situ Polymer Viscosity from Fall-Off Tests

Laoroongroj, Ajana; Zechner, Markus; Clemens, Torsten; Gringarten, Alain C.

doi:10.2118/154832-ms

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Fig. 6 shows that the mobility of the injected fluid decreased by one order of magnitude as determined by subsequent fall of tests (Laoroongroj et al 2012). …”

Section: Spe-174349-msmentioning

confidence: 83%

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Using Tracer Data to Determine Polymer Flooding Effects in a Heterogeneous Reservoir, 8 TH Reservoir, Matzen Field, Austria

et al. 2015

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Polymer injection pilot projects aim at reducing the uncertainty and risk of full-field polymer flood implementation. The interpretation of polymer pilot projects is challenging owing to the complexity of the process and fluids moving out of the polymer pilot area. The interpretation is increasingly more complicated with the heterogeneity of the reservoir.In the polymer pilot performed in the 8 TH reservoir of the Matzen Field in Austria, a polymer injection well surrounded by a number of production wells was selected. A tracer was injected one week prior to polymer injection. The tracer showed that the flow-field in the reservoir was dramatically modified with increasing amounts of polymers injected. Despite short breakthrough times of 4-10 weeks observed for the tracer, polymer breakthrough occurred only after more than 12 months although injection and production rates have not been substantially changed.The tracer signal indicated that the reservoir is heterogeneous with high flow velocities occurring in high permeable layers. By injecting polymers, the mobility of the polymer augmented water was reduced compared with water injection and lead to flow diversion into adjacent layers. The tracer response showed that the speed of the tracer moving from injection to production wells was reduced with increasing amount of polymers injected.This response was used to assess the changes of the amount of water flowing from injection to production well. After a match for the tracer curve was obtained, adsorption, residual resistance factor and dispersivity were calculated. The results showed that even for heterogeneous reservoirs without having good conformance of the pilot, the critical parameters for polymer injection projects can be assessed by analyzing tracer and polymer response. These parameters are required to determine whether implementation of polymer injection at field scale is economically attractive.Along the flow path, an incremental recovery of about 8 % was achieved. The polymer retention and inaccessible pore volume in the reservoir was in the same range as in core floods. Incremental oil recovery owing to acceleration along the flow path was estimated at contributing to about 30 % to the overall incremental oil production due to polymer injection and 70 % to improved sweep efficiency.

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“…Fig. 6 shows that the mobility of the injected fluid decreased by one order of magnitude as determined by subsequent fall of tests (Laoroongroj et al 2012). …”

Section: Spe-174349-msmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…6) and the apparent shear-thickening of the polymer solutions close to the wellbore leads to induced fracturing of the injection well (e.g. Seright et al 2009, Clemens et al 2012. To mimic the significant flow diversion, the amount of water injected into the model was reduced (Fig.…”

Section: Spe-174349-msmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Tracer Data to Determine Polymer Flooding Effects in a Heterogeneous Reservoir, 8 TH Reservoir, Matzen Field, Austria

et al. 2015

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“…Generally, pressure increase observed in polymer injectors is associated to mobility reduction (oil bank formation), shear-thickening behavior of the injected polymer solutions (polymer rheology) and possible formation plugging effects due to poor water quality and/or polymer solubility, among others (Glasbergen G., Wever, D., Keijzer, E., & Farajzadeh, R., 2015; Laoroongroj, A., Zechner, M., Clemens, T., & Gringarten, A., 2012;Lin, Qiu & Guo, 2015;Lotfollahi et al, 2015;Shuaili et al, 2012;Van den Hoek et al, 2012). However, the potential impact of the formation of oil:water emulsion in the presence of polymer (i.e.…”

Section: Water Emulsions In the Presence Of Polymersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical and recent observations in polymer floods: An update review

Manrique¹,

Ahmadi²,

Samani³

2017

CT&F Cienc. Tecnol. Futuro

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Polymer flooding has been the most widely used chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method. The experience gained over the past decades from laboratory studies to project design and field implementation has been well documented in the literature. The main objectives of this paper are to evaluate recent observations of polymer floods that report injection rates leading to pressure values above the formation fracture pressure (FFP), high polymer production, formation of tight emulsions and/or productivity losses.Based on this review, it can be concluded that no direct evidence exists to support that injecting polymer above the FFP will lead to more polymer production. However, uncertainties associated with the estimation of fracture propagation/dimensions using pressure Fall-Off Tests (FOT) still remain. High polymer production, other than severe channeling, is generally reported in large scale/commercial projects. The impact of oil geochemistry/ composition and water salinity on oil-water-polymer emulsions is commonly overlooked in polymer flood studies. The formation of in-situ emulsions can also explain the injectivity and/or productivity reduction and well test interpretation (i.e. FOT) reported in polymer floods. It was also identified that the OPEX (Operational Expenditures) associated with oil-water separation in the presence of polymer and productivity losses (i.e. workovers, stimulation costs) are generally underestimated. Finally, this review is expected to contribute with the planning, design and implementation of future polymer flood pilots and field expansions. OBSERVACIONES HISTÓRICAS Y RECIENTES EN INYECCIÓN DEPOLÍMEROS: REVISIÓN ACTUALIZADA. OBSERVAÇÕES HISTÓRICAS E RECENTES DE INJEÇÃO DE POLÍMEROS:REVISÃO ACTUALIZADA. EDUARDO MANRIQUE et. al. 18 L a inyección de polímeros es el método químico de recobro mejorado con mayor número de implementaciones a escala de campo. La experiencia adquirida en las últimas décadas desde estudios de laboratorio hasta el diseño e implementación de campo ha sido bien documentada en la literatura. El objetivo principal de este trabajo es evaluar observaciones recientes de proyectos de inyección de polímero reportando tasas de inyección por encima de la presión de fractura de la formación, alta producción de polímero, formación de emulsiones viscosas y/o pérdidas de productividad.Basados en esta revisión, se puede concluir de que no existen evidencias directas de que la inyección de polímero a tasas que impliquen superar la presión de fractura induzcan a una mayor producción de polímeros. Sin embargo, existen incertidumbres relacionadas con la estimación de las dimensiones y propagación de fracturas utilizando pruebas de caídas de presión (FOT). La alta producción de polímero, por razones diferentes a canalizaciones severas, generalmente se reportan en proyectos a escala comercial. Por otra parte, el impacto de la composición y geoquímica del crudo y de la salinidad del agua en la formación de emulsiones agua:petróleo:polímero ha sido subestimado en estudios de in...

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“…Because of the decreasing mobility ratio and flow diversion into adjacent layers, the velocity of water-soluble polymers was slower than that of water, and wider dispersion and later breakthrough compared with those tracers with water injection were observed. From the difference in breakthrough times between tracer and produced polymers, ranges for adsorption (7.8 to 26 mg/g), inaccessible pore volume (0 to 0.3), and dispersivity (1 to 12 m) were determined (Laoroongroj et al 2015). In S-66, an increase in oil cut of approximately 5% can be associated with polymers injected in S-81.…”

Section: Reservoir Effects Of Polymer-solution Injectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The oil cut and the polymer concentration seem to have leveled off. Along the flow paths, incremental recovery of more than 10% was calculated and improvement of sweep efficiency was determined [for details, see Laoroongroj et al (2015)]. In S-95, an improvement because of polymer injection was observed from October 2013 onward.…”

Section: Reservoir Effects Of Polymer-solution Injectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operational Challenges and Monitoring of a Polymer Pilot, Matzen Field, Austria

Lüftenegger

Kadnar

Puls

et al. 2016

SPE Production &Amp; Operations

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Four main areas of uncertainty can be described in polymer-injection projects:1. Are we able to deliver the polymer solutions at the required quality to the wellhead? 2. Are we able to inject polymers at the required quantity and quality? 3. Are we producing sufficient incremental oil? 4. Are we able to separate and treat oil and water cost-effectively after polymer breakthrough? The monitoring program that was developed for the polymerinjection pilot aims to reduce the uncertainty and quickly identify operational difficulties, as described in the following:• Polymer quality at the wellhead: The polymer concentration and viscosity of the "source" solution and injected polymer solution were measured at various locations in the surface facilities. A quality check of the delivered polymer (including a filter ratio test of the dissolved polymer) was performed, the biological activity monitored, iron content measured, and polymer solution investigated for "fish eyes." The monitoring program enabled us to identify challenges related to shearing the polymers after changing the operating envelope, to identify problems related to biological activity, and to ensure data quality for interpretation of the pilot. • Injectivity and degradation: Monitoring involved wellheadand bottomhole-pressure measurements, repeated falloff tests, and visual observation of the polymer solutions in the well. The results showed the mobility reduction of the polymer solutions and an indication of induced fractures. Combining the various measurements led to identification of an operational issue-the injectivity decreased more than expected from polymer rheology and prepilot water-quality assessment. The reason was the combination of fines and small oil droplets existing in the injection water with polymer-and biologicalgenerated mass that plugged the pores during injection.

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Determination of the In-Situ Polymer Viscosity from Fall-Off Tests

Cited by 13 publications

References 32 publications

Using Tracer Data to Determine Polymer Flooding Effects in a Heterogeneous Reservoir, 8 TH Reservoir, Matzen Field, Austria

Using Tracer Data to Determine Polymer Flooding Effects in a Heterogeneous Reservoir, 8 TH Reservoir, Matzen Field, Austria

Historical and recent observations in polymer floods: An update review

Operational Challenges and Monitoring of a Polymer Pilot, Matzen Field, Austria

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