Regular Article
A comprehensive review of in situ polymer hydrogels for conformance control of oil reservoirs
1
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Institute of Macromolecules, Horácio Macedo Avenue, 2030-Block J, 21941-598 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Program of Materials and Metallurgy Engineering/COPPE, Horácio Macedo Avenue, 2030-Block F, 21941-598 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* Corresponding author: kellypinho@ima.ufrj.br
Received:
9
October
2019
Accepted:
11
December
2019
In fractured reservoirs, fluids injected Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) are channeled through the fracture zones and travel through highly permeable regions, failing to displace part of the oil, and decreasing oil recovery efficiency. To solve these problems, the conformance control technique is now widely used, as it allows the reservoir to be swept totally, similar to the ideal condition. In this context, polyacrylamide-based polymer gel systems can be used to block the high-permeability regions of the rock matrix, forming in situ hydrogels that block the rock pores, avoiding the channeling of the fluids, and increasing the oil production. These polyacrylamide-based hydrogels can be crosslinked by inorganic (metal ions) or organic substances, and various systems are used for conformance control. Due to the greater stability of the bond formed between the polymer and the organic crosslinker, these systems are now used in higher temperature reservoirs. In order to produce hydrogels with higher resistance to severe salinity and temperature conditions, nanoparticles are applied to form systems with good mechanical resistance, and high thermal stability. These have presented promising results for conformance control.
© K.L.N. Pinho de Aguiar et al., published by IFP Energies nouvelles, 2020
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
