Hassan Anas M, Al-Shalabi Emad W, Ayoub Mohammed A
Petroleum Engineering Department, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates.
Petroleum Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia.
Polymers (Basel). 2022 May 13;14(10):2001. doi: 10.3390/polym14102001.
The aging of the existing reservoirs makes the hydrocarbon extraction shift toward newer reserves, and harsh conditioned carbonates, which possess high temperature and high salinity (HTHS). Conventional polymer-flooding fails in these HTHS carbonates, due to precipitation, viscosity loss, and polymer adsorption. Therefore, to counteract these challenges, novel polymer-based cEOR alternatives employ optimized polymers, polymer-surfactant, and alkali-surfactant-polymer solutions along with hybrid methods, which have shown a potential to target the residual or remaining oils in carbonates. Consequently, we investigate novel polymers, viz., ATBS, Scleroglucan, NVP-based polymers, and hydrophobic associative polymers, along with bio-polymers. These selected polymers have shown low shear sensitivity, low adsorption, and robust thermal/salinity tolerance. Additionally, adding an alkali-surfactant to polymer solution produces a synergy effect of improved mobility control, wettability alteration, and interfacial-tension reduction. Thus, enhancing the displacement and sweep efficiencies. Moreover, low-salinity water can precondition high-salinity reservoirs before polymer flooding (hybrid method), to decrease polymer adsorption and viscosity loss. Thus, this paper is a reference for novel polymers, and their hybrid techniques, to improve polymer-based cEOR field applications under HTHS conditions in carbonates. Additionally, the recommendations can assist in project designs with reasonable costs and minimal environmental impact. The implication of this work will aid in supplementing the oil and gas energy sector growth, making a positive contribution to the Middle Eastern economy.
现有油藏的老化使得油气开采转向更新的储量以及具有高温高盐（HTHS）恶劣条件的碳酸盐岩。由于沉淀、粘度损失和聚合物吸附，传统的聚合物驱在这些高温高盐碳酸盐岩中失效。因此，为应对这些挑战，新型聚合物基化学强化采油（cEOR）替代方案采用优化的聚合物、聚合物 - 表面活性剂和碱 - 表面活性剂 - 聚合物溶液以及混合方法，这些方法已显示出针对碳酸盐岩中残余油的潜力。因此，我们研究了新型聚合物，即 ATBS、硬葡聚糖、基于 NVP 的聚合物和疏水缔合聚合物以及生物聚合物。这些选定的聚合物表现出低剪切敏感性、低吸附性以及强大的热/盐耐受性。此外，向聚合物溶液中添加碱 - 表面活性剂会产生协同效应，改善流度控制、改变润湿性并降低界面张力。从而提高驱替效率和波及效率。此外，低盐度水可以在聚合物驱之前对高盐度油藏进行预处理（混合方法），以减少聚合物吸附和粘度损失。因此，本文为新型聚合物及其混合技术提供了参考，以改善高温高盐条件下碳酸盐岩中基于聚合物的 cEOR 现场应用。此外，这些建议有助于以合理成本和最小环境影响进行项目设计。这项工作的意义将有助于补充油气能源部门的增长，为中东经济做出积极贡献。
