Rheology and Transport in Porous Media of New Water Shutoff/Conformance Control Microgels

Abstract

Abstract The performances of new microgels specifically designed for water shutoff and conformance control were extensively investigated at laboratory scale. These microgels are preformed, stable, fully water soluble, size controlled with a narrow size distribution, and non-toxic. They reduce water permeability by forming adsorbed layers soft enough to be very easily collapsed by oil-water capillary pressure, so that oil permeability is not significantly affected. Since the manufacturing process of these new microgels make possible to vary chemical composition, size and crosslink density, they can be designed as desired to meet the requirements of a given field application. The laboratory results reported in this paper concerns mainly three microgel samples having significantly different crosslink densities. We describe the relevant laboratory methods used to determine main microgel characteristics. The microgels have remarkable mechanical, chemical and thermal stability. Their behavior in porous media have been investigated extensively, showing that: 1) their propagation distance is only limited by the volume injected, 2) their injectivity is facilitated by a shear-thinning behavior and 3) water permeability reduction can be achieved as desired by controlling the thickness of adsorbed layer. Thus, this new microgels, now available at industrial scale, look as very promising tools, not only for water shutoff but also for conformance control in heterogeneous reservoirs.