SPE 165105

Evaluation of RPMs in Heterogeneous Cores - Fracture Scale do Matter

Alejandro Restrepo, Equion Energia Ltd; Sergio Lopera, Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Alonso Ocampo,
Eber Castro, Equion Energia Ltd

Copyright 2013, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE European Formation Damage Conference and Exhibition held in Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 5–7 June 2013.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been
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Abstract

From theoretical work related to production mechanisms to the development and application of preventative and remedial
technologies, water control has been and continues to be a broadly studied subject in the oil industry. Although the last word
appears to be elusive and trial and error approaches have led to mixed results, there are recent encouraging advances
especially in complex systems such as those related to fractures where water arrival can seriously compromise field
development plans.

The present work focuses on the study of polymer based RPMs in different petrophysical systems. Laboratory tests at
reservoir conditions are documented for homogeneous, macro fractured and micro fractured sandstone cores representative
from fields located in Colombian foothills, where active tectonics and compositional fluids are present.

According to relative permeability mesurements taken before and after treatment, RPMs performance can widely vary
depending on the type of rock and water saturation range. Results suggest that a critical Sw exists in macrofractured systems
above which RPM "swithches" its behaviour promoting higher Kw. Although this effect is not noted in homogeneous nor
microfractured cores, there seems to be higher benefits in the last one in terms of kw reduction and final recovery.

Observations derived from this study are now of key value for planning and executing field tests throughout subject fields
allowing to clasiffy target areas and tune expected benefits based on laboratory results.

Introduction

Water production is a natural and common aspect of almost every reservoir and its impact on project deliverability
normally depends on production mechanism, aquifer or water source size, pressure and distance to producing horizons,
petrophysical and fluids properties and lifting mechanism. Problems associated to wáter encroachment include but are not
limited to Ko and Kg reduction by Sw increase inside the reservoir, poor lifting due to increased hydrostatic in production
tubing and water management limitations or over costs. Several techniques have been proposed for wáter control; chemical or
mechanical approaches are used depending on the working environment and problem severity. Among chemical systems,
RPMs are of special interest given its broad spectrum of application in terms of environments and deployment options.

One of the advantages of RPMs when compared to other mechanical or chemical applcations is that they do not represent
a serious compromise to hydrocarbon production after treatment injection. Even though and depending on chemical type,
changes on PH, salinity and production drawdown can be induced after treatment affecting its efficiency and durability.

The following study summarizes a set of laboratory experiments conducted on quartzarenite reservoir cores
petrophysically different. The performance of an RPM application was evaluated in homogeneous, artificially fractured
(macro fractured) and microfractured reservoir cores. Testing protocol included the measurement of effective and relative
permeabilities to water and oil.
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Theoretical Background

RPMs are hydrophilic polymer systems soluble in water which once hydrated adhere to the pore media through long
chains occupying a fraction of the volume open to flow. Due to its hydrophilic character, they keep a preference for wáter and
for this reason they are able to restrict water flow whitout major impact on hydrocarbon flow capacity.

Once injected and adsorbed on the rock, RPMs are able to increase the resistance to water flow between 5 and 10 times.
This effect, known as Residual Resistance Factor RRF is defined as:
Kjbefore
RRFj =
Kjafter
Sj

Where:

RRFj: Residual resistance factor for the phase j at a given Sj saturation condition

Kj, before: Effective permeability to phase j at Sj saturation condition before treatment application

Kj, after: Effective permeability to phase j at Sj saturation condition after treatment application

Figure 1. Schematic of the RPMs hydrophilic polymer chains adhered to rock surface and promoting water containment
in the presence of oil.

As schematically shown in figure 1, RPMs are polymeric branched solutions and most of them use branched organic
polymers of high molecular weight. Branches are preferably hidrophilic and the polymer contains ionic groups that attract or
repel certain types of surfaces, suspended solids, chemicals and/or transport fluids.

Polymers used in RPMs generally comprises combinations of hydrocarbon radicals and heterogroups. These polymers
also contains ionic groups, which can be cationic, anionic, amhpoteric, neutral or ionically balanced. The ionic groups
usually contain hetero-atoms or groups which may be composed of oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus which controls
electrostatic interactions. The ionic groups may also contain different types of alkaline, alkaline-earth metals and those from
groups IV, V and VII of the periodic table and may also include groups, aromatic, heterocyclic and type hydroxyl, carboxyl,
amino, sulfa and carbonyl. The composition of the polymer is very important, since it provides a substantial increase in the
viscosity of treatment, which also leads to an increased injection pressure requirement for a given treatment.

Mechanisms of action of RPMs

Despite the clear effects of RPM´s in the porous media, there are several theories explaining the mechanisms of action.
Many authors have tried to explain this phenomenon through laboratory testing and mathematical modeling reaching
different conclusions being the following the most broadly recognized mechanisms:
SPE 165105 3

Gravitational effects: this mechanism of action is based on the difference of densities. In the case of the brine, particles
of the gel and the brine has a similar density, which favors the transport of these particles and clogging of pores of smaller
diameter than the particle diameter. When there is oil flow, density difference originates gel particles to be kept far from the
pore throat, keeping the relative permeability to oil.

Lubrication effect: an attenuation occurs in the roughness of rock and a film of water is formed in the walls of each pore,
this brings an sliding effect of the oil on the water film. This effect has been difficult to prove, but there has been progress in
the explanation of this through the balance of power principle.

Swelling and deswelling: this mechanism of action relies on the gels tendency to swell in the presence of water and to
shrink in the presence of oil.

Differential flow channels: a differentiated reduction in permeability to oil and water is related to segregated patterns of
flow. In scenarios where the fractional water flow is high, most of the water flows through the channels while a small part of
the flow of water is fixed, either by scattered drops of oil or water still interconnected. This mechanism suggests that gel
passes first through the channels that have high water saturation and fails to pass by those saturated oil, leaving it with greater
mobility.

Wall effect hypothesis: this hypothesis is valid only in strongly water wet systems. It is based on the adhesion of polymers
of high molecular weight to the wall of the porous medium due to the well-known power of absorption in minerals. By this
principle, the macromolecules adheres to the porous medium in multiple points of contact. On a contact by contact basis, the
bond is weak altough the conjunction of all these points results in a strong bond. This adhesion phenomena promotes the
appearance of a hydrophilic layer along the pore, which restricts and diminishes the passage of water.

Finally, it is important to note that RPMs can be degraded after deployment due to the following mechanisms:

Mechanical shear: this effect is nornally related to high flow rates and velocities which in general will promote high shear
stresses acting on the polymer structures an causing its mechanical beraking.

Chemical oxidation and bacteria attack: The presence of oxygen provides a means for the fertilization and reproduction
of bacteria, promoting the degradation of polymeric solutions. As the temperature increases the degradation of the polymer
by dissolved oxygen is faster.

Thermal Degradation: In general, higher temperatures promote viscosity reduction of the polymer solution which affects
treatment durability also depending on polymer nature, rock mineralogy and operative conditions.

In summary, the satibility of branched polymers in RPMs is a function of its fixation capacity to the mineral surface. For
this reason, a branched polymer should be stable enough in environments exhibiting high temperatures, presence of acids and
oxidizers, hydrolisis effects or shear..

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Experimental Setup and Testing Protocol

Basic experimental set up is shown in figure 2. It includes a positive displacement pump, accumulation cilinders for working
fluids, the coreholder, an oven, transducer, backpressure system and collecting recipients for effluents. Corefloods were done
at constant rate measuring pressure differential variations throughout the experiment. In the case of heterogeneous cores, a
fracture closure curve is also constructed in order to determine the fracture regime as a function of effective stress, i.e,
hydrostatic (overburden) pressure minus pore pressure. Table 1 summarizes basic properties of used cores. Figure 3 shows all
core photographs. Figure 4 is a petrographic analysis performed by flourescence of a sample taken 11 ft below the
microfractured plug depth used in the present study (sample No. 4 in table 1). Figures 5 and 6 show fracture closure curves
for macro and microfractured cores. Tests were conducted at 255 degF.

The following is the summary of the testing protocol:

1. Rock and fluid samples preparation: rock is cleaned and dryed and fluids are filtered.
2. Kabs measurement: absolute permeability to water is determined.
3. Ko measurement.
4. Kw and Kr curves construction before treatment according to the JBN method. In this step, an estimation of base
RRF to water and oil are calculated.
5. Treatment injection.
4 SPE 165105

6. Soaking time. In this step polymer adsorption / retention is promoted according to the RPM provider recomendation.
7. Kw measurement after treatment.
8. Ko measurement after treatment.
9. Kw and Kr curves construction after treatment according to the JBN method. In this step, an estimation of RRF to
water and oil are calculated after treatment.

Figure 2. Experimental set up for coreflood tests.

SAMPLE Lenght Diameter Pore Porosity Kabs @ 4500 psi OB Type of Rock
(cm) (cm) Volume (%) (md)
3
(cm )
49 3.81 3.74 3.68 9.0 52.4 Homogeneous
BKD-1 5.2 3.82 8.87 15 32 Macro Fractured
4 4.7 3.84 0.8 3.7 0.008 Micro Fractured

Table 1. Summary of core plug properties. Mirador formation.

Homogeneous Core Macro Fractured Core Micro Fractured Core

Figure 3. Photographs of core plugs used during RPMs experiments.

SPE 165105 5

Figure 4. Fluorescence petrographic analysis of a Mirador rock sample taken at 14957,9 ft. (Depth of sample 4, used for the
study: 14948,5 ft). Note the high degree of micro fracturing.

Figure 5. Permeability variation as a function of effective stress in BKD-1 Macro Fractured Sample.
6 SPE 165105

Figure 6. Permeability variation as a function of effective stress in No.4 Micro Fractured Sample.

Results and discussion

Table 2 and figure 7 summarizes results obtained after RPM injection on each of the cores evaluated. Kw, Ko, Sor, Swr and
Krw at Sor and Kro at Swr are reported before and after treatment. It is worth mentioning that in the case of fractured cores,
results are reported only on the open fracture regime, i.e, in the effective stress range of 500 psi (see closure curves in figures
5 and 6). Altough tests were also performed in the close fracture regime, results are not reported as behavior resembles the
homogeneous core case both for macro and micro fractured cores.

Homogeneous Core Macro Fractured Core Micro Fractured Core

% of Difference % of Difference % of Difference

Variable Before RPM After RPM Homogeneous Before RPM After RPM Macro Fractured Before RPM After RPM Micro Fractured
Core Core Core

Kw 17.4 10.69 -39% 1.53 1.47 -4% 0.165 0.04 -76%

Ko 5.1 5.24 3% 2.82 2.59 -8% 0.175 0.06 -66%
Swr 0.16 0.45 181% 0.18 0.29 61% 0.275 0.38 38%
Kro at Swr 0.1 0.1 0% 0.75 0.75 0% 0.88 0.32 -64%
Sor 0.39 0.11 -72% 0.28 0.15 -46% 0.49 0.1 -80%
Krw at Sor 0.33 0.27 -18% 0.42 0.61 45% 0.6 0.1 -83%

*% of Difference: [(Measurement After RPM - Measurement Before RPM)/Measurement Before RPM]

Table 2. Summary of RPM effect on homogeneous, macro fractured and micro fractured cores. Red values indicate reduction
of the variable after treatment.
SPE 165105 7

Figure 7. Summary of RPM effect on homogeneous, macro fractured and micro fractured cores.

Relative permeability curves are shown in figures 8, 9 and 10 before and after treatment for homogeneous, macro and micro
fractured cores respectively.

Effective Permeabilities, Kw and Ko

As shown in table 2 and figure 7, it is noted that Kw is reduced after treatment in all 3 types of cores. This effect though is
maximum in micro fractured cores and minimum in macro fractured ones possibly due to a higher level of connectivity
between flow paths in the first case (fig 4 micro fractured system) and less in the case of macro fractured systems. In general,
it is proposed that RPM placement is affected in macro fractured systems as the matrix might not be totally covered by the
treatment staying at the fracture instead. On the other hand, Ko seems to get diminished as the rock becomes fractured,
reaching its maximum reduction in the case of a microfractured rock. The hypothesis for this is related to capillary effects
dominating in very low K, low f environments as that of the micro fractured core (K < 0.1 md, see table 1). Pore size and
microfractures size distribution would also play a role in the reduction of Ko in the presence of aviscosus water phase
represented by the RPM.

Residual Saturations, Swr and Sor

Residual water saturation, Swr (which in general can be interpreted as the minimum saturation required for water movement)
gets higher after treatment in all 3 core systems. This means that the product is able to effectively retain water regardless of
the flow system geometry altough the effect becomes eroded as we turn into micro fracturing. Residual oil saturation, Sor,
gets decreased in the same order of magnitude in all 3 cases indicating that in general, higher oil recoveries should be
expected in RPM treated zones. This last condition could favour RPM treatments in micro fractured systems despite the Ko
reduction already reported.
8 SPE 165105

Endpoint Permeabilities, Krw at Sor, Kro at Swr

Kro at Swr show no change after treatment for the case of homogeneous and macro fractured systems. This is the optimal
behavior of an RPM as minor effects are expected in terms of oil flow capacity. In the case of the micro fractured rock, the
RPM reduces Kro at Swr inidcating a negative effect over the oil flow capacity. As described above, capillary effects are
proposed as the main damage mechanism to the oil flow. Regarding the Krw at Sor, it is noted that an increase could result
after treatment in the macro fractured case which could limit the applicability of this type of treatments in naturally fractured
reservoirs. In turns, micro fractured rocks seems to get the maximum benefit of Krw reduction, even above homogeneous
rocks.

Kr Curves

For the three cases, and according to the cut point location (i.e, the point at which water and oil exhibit equivalent Kr), a
strong water wet condition is promoted after treatment. In general, curves are displaced to the right indicating higher Swr and
reduced Krw in almost all the ranges of saturation tested. The only exception to this observation is the csae of macro
fractured rock in which there seems to be a critical Sw (~ 60%) above which the Krw curve gets above the base meaning that
water will move easier after RPM treatment (see figure 9). The reason for this behavior is not well understood and will be a
subject of further research. Regarding Kr slopes, homogeneous and macro fractured rocks showed no major changes before
and after treatment. This is not the case for the micro fractured rock where Kro and Krw slope is clearly reduced in the hole
saturation range. This again, would favour RPMs application in microfractured systems as compared to homogeneous or
macro fractured rocks.

Figure 8. Relative permeability curves before and after treatment – homogeneous core.
SPE 165105 9

Figure 9. Relative permeability curves before and after treatment – Macro fractured core.

Figure 10. Relative permeability curves before and after treatment – Micro fractured core.
10 SPE 165105

Conclusions

• Evaluation of an RPM in three different rock types belonging to the same rock system (a highly consolidated
quarzarenite of Mirador formation, foothills fields, Colombia) is reported. Homogeneous, macro fractured
(resembling naturally frctaured sectors of the field) and micro fractured cores were tested according to conventional
protocols at reservoir pressure and temperature in order to evaluate differences in RPM treatment efficiency under
different environments.
• From the variables studied, it can be said that regardless of the type of rock, RPMs will make pore media strongly
water wet and will reduce water relative permeability except for the case of the macro fractured core in which higher
relative permeabilities to water appera above a critical water saturation of around 60%. In this last scenario, RPMs
should be carefully evaluated before deployment.
• Regarding Kr shapes, it is noted that Kro and Krw slopes are kept basically constant after treatment in homogeneous
and macro fractured cores. In micro fractured systems both slopes get strongly reduced indicating a potential
advantage for the application of RPMs in this particular type of system.
• Ko reduction after treatment is reported in microfractured cores probably due to the predominant effect of capillary
forces in very low K, low f, small pore / fracture conduits present in this type of rock. A reduction in the slope of
the Kro and Krw after treatment coupled with the maximum Kw reduction as compared to the other core types
would balance this negative effect favouring RPMs application in microfractured reservoirs.

Acknowledgments

Authors would like to thank Universidad Nacional de Colombia personnel for their creativity and highly professional
support during lab experiments and Equion Energia Ltd for its continuous support and commitment with R&D initiatives in
the well productivity arena.

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