Combining Preformed Particle Gel and Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Conformance Control in Fractured Reservoirs
Abstract
The recovery from fractured reservoirs is usually low. The areal heterogeneity is one result of the fractured reservoir. Low salinity waterflooding (LSWF) and preformed particle gel (PPG) have recently drawn great interest from the oil industry. LSWF can only increase displacement efficiency, and it has little or no effect on sweep efficiency whereas PPG can plug fractures and improve sweep efficiency, but they have little effect on displacement efficiency. The coupled method bypasses the limitations of each method when used individually and improves both displacement and sweep efficiency.
The main objective of this study was to determine whether the combining technologies can improve conformance control in fractured sandstone reservoirs. Before the study was conducted, the effects of low salinity waterflooding, number of fractures, and PPG strength were studied. The PPG was injected into the fracture at a flow rate 2.0 ml/min. Brine was injected at a different flow rate after PPG placement to test the effect of flow rate on the PPG's plugging efficiency. Laboratory experiments showed that the oil recovery factor and the Frrw increased when the concentration of injected brine changed from conventional salinity to low salinity and the areal sweep efficiency was improved. However, the PPG extruded pressure decreased when the PPG swelled in a low-brine concentration. At a high-flow rate, there was no significant effect on the Frrw. Combining two different EOR technologies can improve displacement and sweep efficiency and, in turn, enhance conformance control.
Recommended Citation
X. Sun et al., "Combining Preformed Particle Gel and Low Salinity Waterflooding to Improve Conformance Control in Fractured Reservoirs," Fuel, vol. 221, pp. 501 - 512, Elsevier Ltd, Jun 2018.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2018.02.084
Department(s)
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Conformance control; Fractured reservoirs; Low salinity waterflooding; Preformed particle gel
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0016-2361
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jun 2018
Comments
The authors would like to express their grateful acknowledgement the financial support from DOE under the contract of DE-FE0024558.