New Polymer Gels for Reducing Water Production in High-Temperature Reservoirs

Abstract

ABSTRACT Selected complexing agents are used to achieve the delayed gelation of Cr(III) crosslinked acrylamide polymer compositions to temperatures as high as 150°C. With these retarding agents formulations based entirely on inexpensive, commercially available materials have been developed that display gelation characteristics suitable for a wide range of reservoir treatments at elevated temperature. Studies on Cr(III) acetate show that Cr(III) propagation in porous media degrades sharply at elevated temperature. The presence of the retarding agents significantly reduces Cr(III) retention and enhances the stability of Cr(III) in solution. The mechanisms underlying this behavior and the implications for gel treatments in reservoirs at elevated temperature are discussed.