Polymerflooding is one of the more promising chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques that features high incremental oil recovery factor, low cost, and wide reservoir applicability. This paper helps clarify ideas regarding polymerflooding implementation based on theory and practice in China.
Introduction
Laboratory studies aimed at increasing understanding of polymerflooding involve criteria for matching polymer with porous media, the polymer viscoelasticity effect on residual oil saturation (ROS), and displacement efficiency and synthesis of new polymers with better viscosifying capacity compared with typical partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM). The plugging of injectors in many oil fields is becoming increasingly common in many commercial blocks. This problem is especially serious for high-concentration polymer‑injection blocks in fields such as Daqing, Xinjiang, and Henan. Understanding this phenomenon involves aligning the polymer and porous-media parameters such as permeability and pore size.
