Enhanced Oil Recovery Mechanism and Technical Boundary of Gel Foam Profile Control System for Heterogeneous Reservoirs in Changqing

Abstract

The gel plugging and flooding system has a long history of being researched and applied, but the Changqing reservoir geological characteristics are complex, and the synergistic performance of the composite gel foam plugging system is not fully understood, resulting in poor field application. Additionally, the technique boundary chart of the heterogeneous reservoir plugging system has hardly appeared. In this work, reservoir models of porous, fracture, and pore-fracture were constructed, a composite gel foam plugging system was developed, and its static injection and dynamic profile control and oil displacement performance were evaluated. Finally, combined with the experimental studies, a technical boundary chart of plugging systems for heterogeneous reservoirs is proposed. The research results show that the adsorption effect of microspheres (WQ-100) on the surface of elastic gel particles-1 (PEG-1) is more potent than that of pre-crosslinked particle gel (PPG) and the deposition is mainly on the surface of PPG. The adsorption effect of PEG-1 on the surface of PPG is not apparent, primarily manifested as deposition stacking. The gel was synthesized with 0.2% hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) + 0.2% organic chromium cross-linking agent, and the strength of enhanced gel with WQ-100 was higher than that of PEG-1 and PPG. The comprehensive value of WQ-100 reinforced foam is greater than that of PEG-1, and PPG reinforced foam, and the enhanced foam with gel has a thick liquid film and poor foaming effect. For the heterogeneous porous reservoir with the permeability of 5/100 mD, the enhanced foam with WQ-100 shows better performance in plugging control and flooding, and the recovery factor increases by 28.05%. The improved foam with gel enhances the fluid flow diversion ability and the recovery factor of fractured reservoirs with fracture widths of 50 μm and 180 μm increases by 29.41% and 24.39%, respectively. For pore-fractured reservoirs with a permeability of 52/167 mD, the PEG + WQ-100 microsphere and enhanced foam with WQ-100 systems show better plugging and recovering performance, and the recovery factor increases are 20.52% and 17.08%, 24.44%, and 21.43%, respectively. The smaller the particle size of the prefabricated gel, the more uniform the adsorption on the foam liquid film and the stronger the stability of the foam system. The plugging performance of the composite gel system is stronger than that of the enhanced gel with foam, but the oil displacement performance of the gel-enhanced foam is better than that of the composite gel system due to the “plug-flooding-integrated” feature of the foam. Combined with the plugging and flooding performance of each plugging system, a technique boundary chart for the plugging system was established for the coexisting porous, fracture, and pore-fracture heterogeneous reservoirs in Changqing Oilfield.

Study on the Profile Control and Oil Displacement Mechanism of a Polymer Nano-microsphere for Oilfield

“…Many studies on the deep profile control of polymer nano-microsphere have been carried out by several experts at home and abroad in recent years. − The dynamic migration rules of polymer microspheres in the reservoir pores were systematically studied using a long artificial core by Li et al The deep-profile control mechanism of polymer microspheres was further clarified by oil displacement experiments and the characterization of the saturation distribution of the remaining oil. Various experiments were conducted to investigate the main performance of microspheres such as temperature resistance, salt resistance, and hydration swelling properties .…”

Optimization of Carbon Dioxide Foam Fracturing Technology for Shale Gas Reservoir

“…The buried depth of the gas reservoir was 3400-3650 meters underground. After fracturing, the natural gas production has increased by approximately 12 times [10]. By the 1990s, about 90% of gas wells and 30% of oil wells in the United States and Canada had adopted CO 2 foam fracturing technology [11].…”

Experimental Evaluation of the Rheological Properties and Influencing Factors of Gel Fracturing Fluid Mixed with CO2 for Shale Gas Reservoir Stimulation

“…Gel and foam systems, as the two most widely used plugging agents for lost circulation control, have achieved positive progress in both laboratory experiments and field applications in recent decades [ 6 , 7 ]. Wang et al (2022) developed a composite gel foam plugging system, which is used to plug and control flooding for heterogeneous reservoirs, and it showed better plugging and recovering performance for field applications [ 8 ].…”