Preformed Particle Gel Propagation and Dehydration through Semi-Transparent Fractures and their Effect on Water Flow
Abstract
Polymer gels have been widely applied to plug high permeability streaks or fractures, and to improve sweep efficiency of chase waterfloods. This work constructed semi-transparent fracture models to investigate gel propagation and dehydration behaviors using preformed particle gel (PPG) in open fractures. Roubidoux sandstone slabs were used in the models because they could better model the roughness of fractures and PPG dehydration in a real fracture system, which was rarely reported in earlier studies. Injection rate, fracture width, particle size, brine and gel concentration were taken into account to understand their effects on particle gel extrusion. Experimental results showed PPG propagated like a piston along a fracture when the fracture width was smaller than or similar to the particle size; and gravity will dominate the PPG movement when the fracture width was larger than the particle size. PPG dehydration decreased with the increasing gel injection rate, fracture width, and brine concentration used to prepare PPG. Higher PPG injection rates and lower injection rates for chase waterfloods are recommended to improve the sweep efficiency in the matrix. This study could provide an insight into the particular PPG gel treatment for conformance improvement.
Recommended Citation
Z. Song et al., "Preformed Particle Gel Propagation and Dehydration through Semi-Transparent Fractures and their Effect on Water Flow," Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, vol. 167, pp. 549 - 558, Elsevier B.V., Aug 2018.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2018.04.044
Department(s)
Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Conformance improvement; Dehydration behavior; Enhanced oil recovery; Open fracture; Preformed particle gel
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0920-4105
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Aug 2018
Comments
Funding for this project was provided by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) , the US Department of Energy ( 07123-02 ), and the China Scholarship Council.