Doctoral Dissertations

Ze Wang

Keywords and Phrases

Dehydration; Fractures; Gel treatment; Preformed particle gel; Water management

Abstract

"Preformed particle gels (PPG) has been successfully applied to combat the water channeling caused by fractures or fracture-like channels. Understanding the placement and plugging of PPG in fractures is crucial for gel treatment design. The objective of the dissertation is to explore the plugging performance of three PPG products in two types of fracture models, the partially and fully open fractures. The following studies has been conducted and conclusions have been drawn based on the results and analysis. First, the placement and plugging performance of conventional PPG was investigated using core flooding experiments conducted partially open fractures. The plugging efficiency of PPG was revealed to be greater in this specific type of fractures than the treatment conducted in fully open fractures. Second, supplementary core flooding experiments were performed to study the effect of fracture dimensions, matrix permeability, and residual oil on the PPG behaviors in partially open fractures. The dehydration of placed PPG positively related to the placement volume in fracture volume. Third, a novel CO2-responsive preformed particle gel (CR-PPG) was examined using swelling tests to characterize the CO2-responsive swelling and using supercritical CO2 flooding to evaluate the CO2-plugging performance in open fractures. The CR-PPG could effectively plug CO2 and achieved a significant residual resistance factor. Finally, a novel re-crosslinkable preformed particle gel (RPPG) was evaluated as an agent specifically designed for healing large fractures. The evaluation of oxidizing breakers for the re-crosslinked RPPG was provided. Among the tested breakers, NaOH-activated Na2S2O8 was most effective one with relatively wider practical ranges in breaker concentration and gel concentration"--Abstract, page iv.

Advisor(s)

Bai, Baojun

Committee Member(s)

Dunn-Norman, Shari
Wei, Mingzhen
Imqam, Abdulmohsin
Neogi, P. (Partho), 1951-

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Petroleum Engineering

Sponsor(s)

United States. Department of Energy

Comments

Funding for this project is provided by United States Department of Energy, project # DE-FE0024558.

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Spring 2019

Journal article titles appearing in thesis/dissertation

  • Preformed-particle-gel placement and plugging performance in fractures with tips
  • Effect of multiple factors on preformed particle gel placement, dehydration, and plugging performance in partially open fractures
  • An investigation of CO₂-responsive preformed particle gel for conformance control of CO₂ flooding in reservoirs with fractures or fracture-like channels
  • Evaluation of oxidizing breakers for a polyacrylamide-based re-crosslinkable preformed particle gel

Pagination

xiv, 159 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographic references.

Rights

© 2019 Ze Wang, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 11558

Electronic OCLC #

1105154944

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