INDEX

Summary
Introduction
Chapter [Link] injection in enhanced recovery
Description of the polymer injection process
Factors that favor polymer injection
Unfavorable factors considered for the process:
Procedure for enhanced recovery with polymer drainage
Factors that control polymer injection recovery
Geometry of the deposit
Types of injection
Peripheral or external injection
Injection in arrayso dispersa
Porosity
Permeability
Depth and temperature
Initial water saturation
Water salinity
Spacing between wells
Optimal time for the start of the injection process of polymers
Properties that a well must have for polymer injection
Main parameters that characterize well arrangements
CHAPTERII Field experience in injectione ppolymers
General situation
Characteristics of the deposit
Project development
Results
Chapter III:
Properties and characteristics of polymers in the environmento pgolden
Polymer retention
Pore volume (PV)
Reduction of permeability
Injectability characteristics of polymers in RMH processes
Heterogeneous deposits
Characteristics of fluids
Ventajas y desventajas de la inyeccion de polimeros
Types of polymers used in recoveryn mimproved
Polyacrylamides
Polysaccharides
Common problems in injection de poligomers

Conclusions
Bibliographic references
 SUMMARY

It includes information regarding the application of polymers in a reservoir, taking into account
account for important factors of it in order to proceed with a polymer injection and with
the purpose of successful recovery; it also describes what relates to the process of
injection of polymers into the well.

The characteristics that the polymer must meet for selection are mentioned.
of polymers in order to maximize production and minimize volume cost
of chemicals injected into the reservoir; also, verify the conditions of the crude oil that
remains at the site to determine if it is correct to apply a drainage of
chemicals.

.
 INTRODUCTION

There is currently a great need to recover the crude oil that exists in the
declining wells, as this represents 60 to 80% of the total crude that arrives at
to produce a well, that is to say, it is necessary to extract that last part of hydrocarbon
contained in these and that cannot be achieved with conventional methods, in addition to
which makes it very difficult and uneconomical to extract it, for this reason there are options for
recovery calls enhanced or assisted, which is a great challenge for the
companies that are in charge of crude extraction implement new methods of
recovery, one of these is recovery through the immiscible drainage of
polymers and surfactants, so assisted recovery is of paramount importance
importance in working with the well to make the most of performance
economic of the same.

El método de drenaje inmiscible con soluciones de polímeros consiste en mejorar la

efficiency of crude displacement through porous space by reduction
from capillary forces, the use of solvents miscible with crude oil can be cited
the obtaining of low interfacial tension with alkaline solutions or solutions.
improving sweep efficiency can reduce the viscosity of the crude through
heating, increasing the viscosity of water with water-soluble polymers or plugging
the preferential paths for example with foam.
GENERAL OBJECTIVE

Study the possibilities of recovering the maximum amount of oil

crude that is found in a declining well, when with the recovery
Primary and secondary extraction methods are no longer feasible.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Analyze the suitability of applying polymer solutions in recovery

improved to achieve the extraction of oil in greater proportion.
Review the various studies conducted to carry out the method of
tertiary recovery and determine whether its use is feasible or not
method.
Propose the implementation of the enhanced recovery method, outlined in wells.
that contain heavy and extra heavy crude oil.
POLYMER INJECTION IN ENHANCED RECOVERY
POLYMER INJECTION IN ENHANCED RECOVERY

The introduction of chemicals into a well is preceded by the

pre-cleaning (this consists of injecting low salinity water or contents
salts determined by adding specific amounts to it, to produce
a water-based solution compatible between the high salinity reservoir and the solutions
chemicals, which can be adversely affected by salts in solution. The
chemical additives are of the detergent type (usually petroleum sulfonates),
organic polymers (to increase the effectiveness of removal in a reservoir
heterogeneous) and micellar solutions. The alkaline solution or other solutions are
injected after the well has been cleaned. This injection is found
followed by the injection of a polymer solution (usually a
polyacrylamide or polysaccharide) to increase the viscosity of the fluid, gain
space and minimize losses due to dilution. Finally, the salinity of the water
added that follows the polymer injection is increased regarding the
normal concentration that characterizes petrochemical fluids, this procedure
injection is shown in Figure

Conventional arrangement of enhanced recovery with polymer injection

DESCRIPTION OF THE POLYMER INJECTION PROCESS

In polymer injection, a portion of polymer solution is injected inside

from the deposit with a prior injection of a portion of low salinity brine
(fresh water). The portion of polymer is followed by another portion of fresh water and
followed by water injection. Since many times the formation water affects
adversely to the polymers, the polymeric solution (the salinity of the water decreases
the viscosity of the polymer solution) is often preceded by a solution
of low salinity (pre-washing) as already mentioned. The solution is usually
injected as a viscous solution, followed by low salinity water and with water of
high salinity used to displace low salinity water. This procedure is
it is carried out to reduce the mixture of the polymeric solution with high salinity water. For
decrease the mobility contrast between the polymeric solution and the water behind it
the polymer concentration can be gradually reduced at the end of the injection of
viscous solution.
The primary effect of the polymer is to make water viscous, so that it is more
efficient in transporting oil.
During the polymer injection process, a low amount of efficiency of
vertical sweeping can be improved, because polymeric solutions flow first.
through the paths prepared by water and then due to its high viscosity they tend to
block these parts of the deposit, so the crude that was previously
immobile begins to flow. The pressure gradient in the reservoir increases and,
especially in the area where the fluid was initially stationary, increases in
a polymer injection process.
The polymer is not injected at a constant concentration, rather in a sequence of
stages of concentration reduction. The objective of this sequence is to reduce the
total amount of polymer used and prevent or at least reduce viscous digitization
of low concentration fluid within regions of higher concentrations. The
viscous digitization occurs because each reduction in polymer concentration is
accompanied by a reduction in the apparent viscosity of the solution.
FACTORS THAT FAVOUR POLYMER INJECTION

Appropriate conditions for the injection ofwater.

High saturation ofoilmovable.
High capacity ofstorage.

FACTORS CONSIDERED UNFAVORABLE FOR THE PROCESS

Extensive fractures.
Strong push of water.
Cover ofgas.
High permeability contrast.
Highly saline formation water.

PROCEDURE FOR IMPROVED RECOVERY WITH DRAINAGE

POLYMER
 Injection of micellar polymers

This method consists of successively injecting different fluids. Each injection of

a different fluid is called 'slug' (in English) to indicate that it
move slowly like a block). In the sequence of plugs, each one must
ideally move in a piston-type flow, meaning that each new fluid must
push the fluid that precedes it.
Indicate the different plugs existing between the injector well and the well.
producer. The numbers correspond to the states of the deposit before, during and
after the course of the polymer and surfactant plug. The following describes the
polymer injection process.

Front

DISPOSITION OF A POLYMER DRAIN IN ENHANCED RECOVERY

It is the area that corresponds to the initial state of the deposit after drainage with
water. The oil saturation is typically 30%, just a little above saturation.
of used oil in English (SOR). It can be said that the oil is found
in the form of disconnected globules trapped in the pores by capillary forces.

This area indicates the part of the oil bank, referring to a state in which both
Fluids exhibit continuity. In this area, a two-phase flow occurs.

(3) is pushing forward a certain amount of mobilized oil. This oil

coalesce with the trapped oil and increase the saturation. greater than SOR and the bank of
oil spreads throughout the reservoir; however, the saturation is much higher
in front of the surfactant plug, typically on the order of 50-60%.
(3) Finally, the polymer plug is pushed with an injection of water. The taken are
necessary precautions for the phenomena of digitization and water penetration in
the polymer stopper should be as mild as possible. A polymer stopper is used with
"decreasing tail" and a low injection speed.

The polymer is not injected at a constant concentration; rather, it is a sequence of

stages of concentration reduction. The goal of this sequence is to reduce the
total amount of polymer used and prevent, or at least reduce, the digitization
low concentration fluid viscosity within regions of higher concentrations.

FACTORS THAT CONTROL POLYMER INJECTION RECOVERY

Geometry of the deposit

An important aspect to determine if a deposit is feasible to apply a

recuperación mejorada, es determinar su geometría, pues la estructura y la estratigrafía
they control the location of the wells and largely determine the methods by which
Which deposit is exploited through injection methods.

Types of injection

According to the position of the injection and production wells, the water injection
it can be carried out in two different ways:

Peripheral or external injection

It consists of injecting water outside the oil zone, on the flanks of the reservoir. It
also known as traditional injection and in this case, water is injected into the
aquifer near the water-oil contact.
 Injection in arrays or sparse

It consists of injecting water into the oil zone. The water invades this area and
it displaces the fluids from the invaded volume towards the production wells. This type of
injection is also known as internal water injection, as the fluid is injected
in the oil zone through a considerable number of injection wells that form
a geometric arrangement with the producing wells as shown below in the

Porosity

The amount of oil produced in a reservoir is dependent on porosity, due to

to determine the amount of oil present for any percentage of
given oil saturation. If there is sufficient data on this aspect, it can be
construir mapas de distribución de porosidades, que pueden ser ponderados de área o
volume to provide a true total porosity. Similarly, if there were data
sufficient core samples, statistical analyses of porosities could be performed
permeabilities to improve the future use of this information. Several records of
wells also produce good measurements of porosity such as: electrical profile or
induction.
 Permeability
The magnitude of the permeability of a reservoir largely controls the rate of
injection that can be found in a well, however, in the determination of the
feasibility of polymer injection, it is necessary to know: the maximum pressure of
recommended injection, taking into account the depth of the deposit.

Profiles and permeability distribution

Depth and temperature

The effectiveness of using polymers in enhanced recovery processes is

restricted by the depth and temperature conditions of the deposit.
When polymer injection is required, it is essential to verify the depth of the
deposit since it is necessary to take its depth into account and not exceed it
pressure to which the well can be subjected.

Initial water saturation

The initial water saturation is the amount of water that exists in the reservoir when
moment of its discovery, it is considered as the amount of remaining water
which was initially deposited in the formation and which, due to the forces of pressure
existing capillaries, I cannot move with the hydrocarbons when they migrated to the
reservoir. When water is injected into a reservoir, the water that is present
Originally in the well varies in terms of its composition.
 Water salinity
The salinity of the brine from the deposit can have a favorable or unfavorable effect.
in some polymers, this depends on the total salt concentration, taking into account
the monovalence or divalence of this and the concentration of the polymer used.
The sample shows the behavior of salt concentration in ppm vs viscosity of the
polymeric solution, this relationship is inversely proportional, in addition two are shown
commercial polyacrylamides PAPH-500 and PAPH-700, it is observed that the latter is better.
PAPH-700 as it supports higher salt concentrations unlike the PAPH-
500.

Effect of salinity on the viscosity of polymer solutions

Spacing between wells

Another important point is the spacing between the wells to have a greater
effectiveness in enhanced recovery processes. The average spacing that is
it is recommended to carry out the injection of any chemical at a distance of 330 feet (100 m) to
470 feet (143 m), which eliminates the likelihood of resorting to the incorporation of others.
enhanced recovery methods for these projects, such as thermal processes,
which need a much more compact spacing to have a good
effectiveness.
 Optimal time for the start of the polymer injection process

The start of the polymer injection process, in the same way as in injection
of water, is a function of different variables of the deposits, among which are
they find the following:
the initial pressure.
the mechanisms of production.
the presence and size of aquifers and/or gas cap.
and the properties of fluids, in particular, bubble pressure.

PROPERTIES THAT A WELL MUST HAVE

Various selection criteria can be found to consider whether a deposit is or

no candidate for a polymer injection process. The characteristics of the field
must be: the temperature of the reservoir, the mobility relationships of the fluids
contents in it and the properties of the oil, as these are considered favorable for
moment to identify their willingness to improved recovery processes.
Table II.1 presented below shows the selection criteria for
identify the deposits that are candidates. When these criteria are chosen, it is taken into account
it accounts for an important point, its selection speed; however, on many occasions
it leads to an incorrect selection.
 Oil
Gravity API 15 ° API, < 40 ° API
Viscosity < 150 cP (preferably < 100)
Deposit
Oil saturation 10% of the VP of motor oil
Depth < 9000 feet
Mobility of oil 2–40
Permeability 20 mD
Temperature < 200°F
Lithology Preferably sandstones.
High limestone should be avoided.
porosity
Water
Salinity Preferably low.

Mobility controls the relative ease with which fluids can flow in a medium.
porous. Given that the relative permeabilities to oil and water are a function of
saturation, the mobilities also depend on saturation.
The mobility ratio is the quotient of the mobility of the displacing fluid (water) and the
mobility of the displaced fluid (oil).
If M < 1: The displacement is favorable.
If M > 1: The displacement is unfavorable.
MAIN PARAMETERS THAT CHARACTERIZE WELL ARRANGEMENTS

The main parameters that characterize well arrangements are:

The relationship d/a, where:

d: it is the shortest distance between lines of wells of different types, located one to
continuation of the other in the same column.

the shortest distance between wells of the same type found in the same row,
one after the other.

The reason injection wells to production wells, R pi/pp :

This reason is calculated by dividing the number of injection wells that directly affect
to each producer, among the number of producing wells that receive a direct effect from a
injector. For example, in a 6-well production injection array, affecting
Each producing well has 6 injector wells, therefore the ratio is 1.

The unit of the array:

It is the smallest portion of the array that represents it. It is also known as an element of
symmetry of the arrangement and must include at least one injector well and one producer. All the
Studies are being conducted on this element.

CHAPTER II
EXPERIENCE IN POLYMER INJECTION FIELD

Results of two pilot injection tests in the central area of the Daqing field in the
Heilongjiang province, China.
 Location of the Daqing field, China

The proposal was made with the purpose of:

(1) Study the economic benefits of polymer injection in reservoirs
heterogeneous thickness and

provide some technical and practical experiences to expand this technique towards
other areas of the Daqing Field.
Daqing is one of the largest sandstone fields in the world, and has 52
oil and gas wells covering an area of 6,000 square kilometers.

General situation

The selection of the polymers in the pilot tests consisted of a pilot test 1
In the East with a single layer in the Putaoahua formation and a pilot test 2 (PP2)
in the West area with two layers, Saertu formation. The distance between these 2 areas was
approximately 150m. Each piloting consisted of 4 inverted '5 spots', as well as
2 observation wells for sampling. The area of each pilot test was
approximately 90m. 2
In the classic "five spot" with the injector well at the center as indicated in the gradient of
pressure is exerted directly between the injection well and each production well and, therefore,
thus, it varies considerably from one point to another of the deposit.
All these factors mean that the multiphase flow cannot be considered of type
piston at the scale of the deposit and that the sweep efficiency can be notably
reduced by the existence of preferential pathways.

Arrangement "five spots", layout of 1 injector well in the center and 4 producing wells
around
 Characteristics of the deposit

The formations are channels of sandstones with thickness layers of 2.3 to 11.6 meters with
promedio de 6.1m y 11.6 a 19.2m con promedio en 15m. Promedio de permeabilidad de
1100 milliDarcy (Saertu formation) and 1400 mD in the PP1 area and coefficient of
permeability of 0.5 and 0.7 mD (Saertu formation) and interval of 0.6 to 0.8 mD (formation
Temperatures of 43°C for both formations. Viscosities of
9.5 cp. Salinity around 7,000 ppm for formation water and from 800 to 1,300.
ppm for injected water and from 2,000 to 4,000 for produced water.

The formations that contain hydrocarbons consist of several sandy layers and
Many times these layers are defined in the deposit as geological units.
independent; and are characterized by variations in porosity, permeability and
fluid saturation. The criterion for defining a productive net thickness is sometimes
arbitrary.

Project development

A proposal for water injection prior to the polymer injection process was
carried out with the purpose of:
1) The communication between the injectors and producers and the productivity of the
producers can be obtained to provide a basis for the project design
of polymer injection.
2) Decrease the salinity of the formation water so that a high value of
the viscosity of the polymer solution is maintained in the reservoir.

For its part, the polymer used in the pilot tests was a powder of polyacrylamide.
partially hydrolyzed with a molecular weight of 10 million. The polymer solution
it has good viscosity and injectability. These activities began in 1990 and
they finished in 1992.
Pilot One.- The injection of polymer solution began on August 5, 1990, and ended
On February 20, 1992. The cumulative injection of polymer solution was 213,019.
m3 is equal to 66.7% of the pore volume in the pilot unit. The average rate of the
3 in each well. The amount of polymer solution injected
the injection was 100 m/d
It was 504 ppm •VP.
Pilot Two.- The injection of polymer solution began on November 7, 1990 and
it ended on February 24, 1992. The accumulated injection was 335,225 m and 3equal to
57.6% of the pore volume. The average injection rate was 200 m/d of each 3
well, because there were two oil fields. The amount of polymer solution
injected was 491 ppm •VP.
Before the polymer injection, 1,000 ppm of formaldehyde solution was injected.
each well per day according to the water injection rate. In the injection process of
polymers, 100 ppm of formaldehyde solution and 150 ppm of a chelating agent
added to the polymer solution in order to increase the stability of the solution and
maintain its high viscosity.
The chelating agents are used to treat or remove deposits or thickening agents in
drilling fluids of reservoirs. During acid treatments or removal of
inclusions, different compounds can be dissolved in the treatment fluid. A
as the acid reacts and the pH increases, products can precipitate out.
reaction as an insoluble gelatinous mass. If this occurs within the matrix of
formation, it is almost impossible to remove and can cause permeability damage
permanent. Chelating agents prevent precipitation by keeping the ions in
soluble form until the treatment fluid can flow back from the
formation during cleaning. Typical chelating agents for the oil field
includes EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), HEDTA (hydroxyethyl ethylenediamine)
triacetic), NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid) and citric acid.

Results

The polymer injection increased the injection pressure and adjusted the profiles of
injection.
The polymer injection significantly reduced water cut and
oil production increased in the producing wells. The production of
The accumulated oil from the 'Pilot Unit One' was 119,556 tons.
the increase in oil production due to polymer injection was
59,767 tons and 209 tons of crude oil per ton of polymer
injected.
The polymer injection reduced water consumption, increased the coefficient of
water usage and accelerated the oil production rate. For each ton
of crude oil produced, the amount of water injected was 29.5 m and 3

7.6 m3for polymer injections. The polymer injection increased the

proportion of water stored in the deposit.
The injection of polymers expanded the swept volume and increased efficiency
displacement.
 PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYMERS IN THE POROUS MEDIUM

Polymer retention

When a polymer flows through the pores of the rock, the amount of
retained polymer. However, this is not entirely true, as small amounts of
polymer can be removed from the porous medium. Retention causes loss of
polymer of the solution, which may cause the efficiency in the control of the
reduced mobility.

Pore volume (PV)

Polymer molecules are larger than water molecules and are more
larger than some pores in the porous medium. Because of this, the polymers do not flow to
throughout the porous space in contact with the brine.

Reduction of permeability

Polymers reduce the apparent permeability of the rock. The reduction of the
permeability depends on the type of polymer, the amount of polymer retained, the
distribution of pore size and the average size of the polymer in relation to the
pores of the rock.

INJECTABILITY CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYMERS IN RMH PROCESSES

Maintaining the mobility conditions in this process is essential. However, when

increasing the injection of viscosifying agents can reduce injectability, decay
slow liquid and delayed oil production from the injection patterns.
The concept of variation in permeability related to heterogeneity of the
The deposit is better than permeability only for determining areas where it
it can carry out a polymer injection. The heterogeneous reservoirs are
good candidates for this process for two reasons:
Polymeric solutions reduce the permeability of the rock.
the solution has a tendency to divert towards areas of the deposit that have not
swept areas and areas where water injection results in a sweep
unsatisfactory.
HETEROGENEOUS DEPOSITS

If the reservoir is heterogeneous, the properties of the reservoir vary depending on the
spatial localization. These properties can include permeability, porosity, thickness,
saturation, failures, fractures, among others. For an appropriate description of a
deposit, it is necessary to predict the variation of these properties as a function of
spatial locations.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FLUIDS

Water can become more viscous.

Improvement in the water/oil mobility relationship.
At low salinities, the PAPH show a greater mobility ratio due to
middle of the increase in the viscosity of water and the decrease of the
water permeability of the formation.
Biopolymers are less sensitive to the effects of salinity; however, they are
more expensive due to the pretreatment processes they require.

For the selection of polymers, the following should be considered:

Polymers that at low concentrations and under reservoir conditions maintain

a high viscosity.
They should not be susceptible to degradation and should be thermally stable.
Mobility does not decrease with the increase in water salinity. The consequence
directly will be an alteration of mobility and with this, the efficiency of
sweep of the site.
 DISADVANTAGES

They are sensitive to salinity.

Tamponade that originates in the formation.

Susceptible to bacterial attack.

They are very expensive when having problems.

They do not withstand high temperatures.

ADVANTAGES
They improve the vertical sweep.

They improve the water-oil mobility ratio.

They are the most applicable in field tests.

TYPES OF POLYMERS USED IN ENHANCED RECOVERY

Polymers are classified in various ways, which generally depend on their use.
they want to give them, either by their origin, composition or application; those that are used in
The oil industry for enhanced recovery processes can be classified into two.
groups: polyacrylamides and polysaccharides (biopolymers).

Polyacrylamides

Polyacrylamides are water-soluble polymers that are produced in different ways.

and for different purposes; for example, as flocculating agents in treatment of
wastewater. They are made up of monomeric units of acrylamide. The monomer
Acrylamide is a component derived from acrylic acid.

Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides are polymers found in nature and it is said that they are the
most abundant organic matter. The most important are starch and cellulose, which
supplies the material of the cell walls.
In chemical injection processes, the most commonly used is hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC)
and xanthan gum.
COMMON PROBLEMS IN POLYMER INJECTION:

When a polymer injection is performed, there are various problems during the
development stage largely depending on the type of polymer that will be used for the
injection.
Most of these problems can be solved by injecting additives into the solution.
polymeric or also through the injection monitoring, however, if these
problems not detected in time can lead to a serious failure problem in the
oil recovery.
 CONCLUSIONS

The study concludes that the best polymer to be used in enhanced recovery is the
Partially Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide (PAPH), because at low concentrations, of the order
From 500 to 1500 ppm the yield is great; because the viscosity of water increases.
quickly. It is also used for its low costs, compared to Hydroxyethylcellulose whose
Prices are high and large concentrations are also required to make water viscous.

Most studies for the application of polymer injection worldwide have been conducted
in sandstone deposits, but nationally the majority of these are characterized by having a
matrix of naturally fractured carbonates which poses a challenge for the study of the
feasibility of performing a polymer and surfactant injection to avoid a poor injection
effective from the polymeric solution in addition to mechanical degradation, so it must be carried out
a detailed study of the well fractures and to verify if they do not cover a very extensive area of the
deposit.

If the injection of polymers is carried out without taking into account the fractures of the reservoir, one runs the risk
the risk that production will decline in a very short time, caused by the loss of the
Polymeric solution in the fractures of the reservoir generating high costs due to its loss.
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Enhanced Hydrocarbon Recovery Page 27