A Study of Polyacrylamide-Based Gels
Crosslinked With Polyethyleneimine
Ghaithan A. Al-Muntasheri, SPE, Saudi Aramco; Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din, SPE, Texas A&M University;
Khalid R. Al-Noaimi, SPE, Saudi Aramco and Stanford University; and Pacelli L.J. Zitha,
SPE, Delft University of Technology
Summary
Organically crosslinked gels have been used to control water
production in high-temperature reservoirs. Most of these gels con-
sist of a polyacrylamide-based polymer and an organic crosslin-
ker. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) has been used as an organic
crosslinker for polyacrylamide tertiary butyl acrylate (PAtBA)
copolymer. Literature reported that PEI can also form ringing gels
with polyacrylamide (PAM) copolymers in addition to simple
PAM homopolymers.
We report a comparative study of two water-control gel sys-
tems (i.e., PAtBA copolymer and PAM crosslinked with PEI).
Several techniques were used in the present study, including gas
chromatography (GC), carbon 13 nuclear-magnetic-resonance
(C13 NMR) spectroscopy, and steady-shear viscometry. The gases
produced during the reaction, structural changes, and gelation-
time data were all integrated to provide further insights into dif-
ferences between the two gelling systems.
The evolution of isobutene gas was identified at temperatures
as low as 60
C during the formation of PAtBA/PEI gels. In addi-
tion, GC studies revealed the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a
product of thermal decomposition of the tBA groups on PAtBA
during PAtBA/PEI gelation.
Lower initial pH values were found to delay the gelation time
of the two systems. Salts were found to increase the gelation time.
This paper summarizes these results and investigates the main
reaction mechanisms involved. It also discusses how these new
findings will affect the application of these gels in the field.
Introduction
Excessive water production is a serious issue in maturing oil and
gas reservoirs. It leads to additional costs in terms of constructing
larger gas/oil separation plants. Additionally, scale formation,
emulsion, bacteria and corrosion problems may arise because of
high water cut. The oil industry worldwide spends USD billions
every year to address the problem of excess water production
(Bailey et al. 2000).
Various water-control techniques exist. They include mechan-
ical and chemical means. Among the available chemical water-
control techniques, polymer gels have been used widely for
lowering water relative permeability while keeping oil relative
permeability unaffected through disproportionate permeability re-
duction (Zaitoun and Kohler 1988; Liang et al. 1995; Seright 2006)
or for completely blocking water flow from water-producing zones
(Seright et al. 2003). For a given well candidate, several factors,
including reservoir temperature, lithology, and salinity of the for-
mation water, affect the selection of the required polymer-gel
treatment. PAM-based polymers have been used in most water-
control gels. Depending upon the crosslinker used, gelling systems
can be classified into two categories—inorganically and organical-
ly crosslinked gels.
Inorganically crosslinked gels rely mainly on the ionic interac-
tion between the trivalent cation (such as Cr+3 and Al+3) and the
carboxylate groups on the partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide
Copyright ã 2009 Society of Petroleum Engineers
This paper (SPE 105925) was accepted for presentation at the International Symposium on
Oilfield Chemistry, Houston, 28 February–2 March 2007, and revised for publication. Origi-
nal manuscript received for review 9 January 2007. Revised manuscript received for review
26 October 2008. Paper peer approved 8 December 2008.
June 2009 SPE Journal
(PHPA) (Prud’homme et al. 1983; Lockhart 1994; te Nijenhuis
et al. 2003). This class of polymer gels is stable and can be used in
reservoirs of low temperatures. When the temperature of the trea-
ted water-producing zone increases, the effectiveness of inorgani-
cally crosslinked gels diminishes considerably because of the
weakening of the ionic bonds (Moradi-Araghi 2000).
At high temperatures, stable polymer gels are needed. Exam-
ples include PAM-based copolymers crosslinked with phenol/
formaldehyde (Moradi-Araghi 1993) and PHPA crosslinked with
Cr+3 (Sydansk and Southwell 2000). The covalent bonding be-
tween the polymer and the crosslinker renders these gels stable at
high temperatures (Moradi-Araghi 2000).
PEI has been used as the organic crosslinker to form gels with
PAtBA (Morgan et al. 1997; Hardy et al. 1999) and mixtures of
acrylamide and acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid and N,
N-dimethyl acrylamide (Vasquez et al. 2005). Allison and Purka-
ple (1988) have reported that PEI can form gels with PHPA at
room temperature. A recent study by our group has indicated the
possibility of crosslinking a simple PAM with PEI at high temper-
atures (Al-Muntasheri et al. 2008).
The gelation kinetics of the PAtBA and PAM crosslinked with
PEI was studied in detail at temperatures ranging from 80 to 140
C
(Al-Muntasheri et al. 2007, 2008). Fig. 1 shows the molecular for-
mulas of PAtBA, PAM, and PHPA. The crosslinking reaction be-
tween PEI and PAM is believed to occur between the imine nitrogen
on PEI and the amide groups on the PAM (transamidation), as
shown in Fig. 2. On the other hand, the crosslinking of PAtBA
with PEI is thought to rely heavily on nucleophilic substitution
reactions of the tBA part, as described in Fig. 3. Detailed studies on
these mechanisms are reported elsewhere (Al-Muntasheri et al.
2006).
The objective of the present study is to provide a comparison
between PAtBA and PAM crosslinked with PEI, considering the
following factors: (1) polymer hydrolysis, (2) gelation-time de-
pendence on the initial pH value and salinity level, and (3) analy-
sis of reaction gas products. To achieve this objective, the present
experimental study combines GC, C13 NMR spectroscopy, and
steady-shear viscometry.
Experimental Studies
Materials. Properties of the PAtBA and PAM used in this study
are listed in Table 1. Both polymers were received as concen-
trated solutions, and they were used without further treatment.
The degree of esterfication for the PAtBA, E, is
s
E¼  100; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(1)
sþaþc
where s is the molar concentration of the tBA (ester) groups on the
PAtBA copolymer chain, a is the molar concentration of amide
groups on PAtBA, and c is the molar concentration of the carbox-
ylate groups on the PAtBA chains. The degree of esterfication was
determined to be 4.7  0.2 mol% by use of C13 NMR spectrosco-
py, with procedures and equipment described by Al-Muntasheri
et al. (2006).
The degree of hydrolysis for the PAtBA, t, is
c
t¼  100; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
sþaþc
245

Fig. 1—Chemical structures of the (a) PAtBA, (b) PAM, and
(c) PHPA.
where c is the molar concentration of carboxylate groups on the
polymer chains. Eq. 2 was also used for determining the degree of
hydrolysis of the PAM (with s = 0). The degree of hydrolysis
of PAtBA and PAM was found to be less than 0.1 mol% by use
of C13 NMR spectroscopy. The crosslinker employed in the gela-
tion experiments was PEI with a molecular weight of 70 kg/mol
(as disclosed by the supplier). The activity of PEI was determined
to be 33  1 wt% using thermogravimetric analysis. Its pH was
measured as 11.0. Nitrogen gas was used to pressurize the vis-
cometer and the see-through cell (STC). The viscometer and STC
will be described in the next subsection. Solutions that contained
either 3 N NaOH or 20 wt% HCl were used to adjust the initial pH
value of the polymer gelling solutions. In order to examine the
effect of simple salts on the gelation time, sodium chloride (NaCl)
was used. This was an American Chemical Society-grade chemi-
cal obtained from Baker Chemical Company.
Fig. 3—Gelation mechanism between PAtBA and PEI (Reddy
et al. 2003; Al-Muntasheri et al. 2006).
246
Fig. 2—Gelation mechanism between PAM and PEI (Reddy
et al. 2003; Al-Muntasheri et al. 2006).
Equipment and Methods. The pH was measured using an Orion
520 pH meter (Thermo Scientific; Waltham, Massachusetts; 2009).
The steady-shear viscosity measurements were performed using a
PVS model rheometer (Brookfield; Middleboro, Massachusetts;
2009) with Couette geometry. The outer and inner radii of the cup
and bob were 3.8 and 3.4 cm, respectively. The sample volume was
30 mL.
The high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) STC was used
for heating the gelling solutions under a nitrogen atmosphere to
prevent oxidation. A schematic of the STC and the gas-sampling
system is shown in Fig. 4. The gelling solution (80 mL) was
transferred to an HP/HT graduated cylinder, which was placed in
the STC. Then, the pressure was increased to 23.4 bars (340 psig)
using nitrogen gas. After that, the cell was heated using a sur-
rounding electrical heating tape. After a certain time (depending
on temperature, as will be discussed later), the reaction gases were
collected using a stainless-steel gas-sampling cylinder with a vol-
ume of 150 mL. Finally, the gas sample was analyzed using a
6890N GC (Agilent Technologies; Santa Clara, California; 2009).
A thermal conductivity detector (TCD) was used to obtain a quan-
titative composition of the gas samples. The carrier gas of the GC
chromatograph was helium. The column used was a Chromosorb
column with a mesh size of 80/100.
HP/HT glass tubes were used for heating the polymer samples.
They had screw-thread caps, which were closed before heating the
samples in a silicone-oil heating bath to prevent sample evaporation.
Then, the samples were analyzed using C13 NMR spectroscopy.
Gels were prepared by adding the needed amount of the poly-
mer to water while stirring the solution continuously. Then, the
desired amount of PEI was added drop by drop while stirring,
which lasted for 10 minutes before loading the sample into the
viscometer or the STC.
The gelation time is defined as the time corresponding to an
inflection point in the viscosity-vs.-time curves. This procedure
was used by several authors to determine the gelation time (Bro-
seta et al. 2000; Reddy et al. 2003).
Results and Discussion
Viscosity of Gelling Solutions. A PAtBA/PEI gelling solution
was prepared according to the procedures already outlined such
that it contained 7 wt% PAtBA and 1 wt% PEI (active material
present in solution) in distilled water. Then, its viscosity was
measured at 25
C as a function of shear rate. The data are shown
in Fig. 5 with that of a PAM/PEI solution prepared at the same
June 2009 SPE Journal
concentrations and following the same procedure. It is clear from
Fig. 5 that the two systems show an viscosity behavior indepen-
dent of the shear rate (Newtonian behavior) over the shear-rate
range examined. The viscosity of the PAM/PEI system was
greater than that of the PAtBA/PEI for the overall shear rates
examined (by almost a factor of 2).
Reaction Products of PAtBA With PEI. Hardy et al. (1999)
proposed that PAtBA hydrolysis produces tertiary butanol (tert-
BUOH). In addition, they proposed isobutene release as per the
reaction given in Fig. 6 at temperatures greater than 100
C and at
high pH conditions. However, no data were given in their study to
support this claim. We have shown in a previous paper that tert-
BUOH is produced by means of hydrolysis of the tBA groups on
the PAtBA (Al-Muntasheri et al. 2006). Previous studies on hy-
drolysis reaction products of the PAtBA copolymer were limited
to the aqueous phase. Hence, the reaction gas products will be
examined in this section. To the best of the authors’ knowledge,
the only study in the literature reporting on the possible PAtBA
thermolysis products was that of Hardy et al. (1999).
Gelling solutions with a PAtBA content of 7 wt% and 1 wt% of
PEI were prepared. Then, these solutions were loaded into the STC
shown in Fig. 4. The gelling solution was heated under a nitrogen
atmosphere. After a certain time, depending on temperature, the
gases produced from the reaction were collected and analyzed by
use of GC. Table 2 gives the gas composition as a function of
temperature. It should be mentioned that all of these experiments
produced ringing gels. To confirm reproducibility of these tests,
each experiment was conducted at least twice. Then, the results
were averaged and reported in Table 2. Gas-analysis results in
Table 2 confirm the presence of isobutene as per the reaction
shown in Fig. 6, at all temperatures from 60 to 130
C. This is the
first study to identify isobutene as a thermal-decomposition
product of tBA groups on PAtBA over this temperature range.
Previously, it was thought that isobutene is produced only at
Fig. 4—A schematic of the STC and the gas-sampling system.
June 2009 SPE Journal
temperatures greater than 100
C (Hardy et al. 1999). Our data in
Table 2 show that the content of isobutene in produced gases in-
creases with temperature. The difference in heating times (Table 2)
of these gas experiments is because of the variation of the gelation
time with respect to temperature.
In addition to isobutene, CO2 was noticed in trace amounts
(less than 0.05 mol%) at 120 and 130
C. Dhal and Babu (1984)
studied the thermal decomposition of glycidyl methacrylate copo-
lymerized with tBA. Similar to PAtBA, their polymer contained
tBA. For the tBA part of their copolymer, in addition to isobutene,
the authors noticed the formation of CO2, and the reaction given
in Fig. 7 was proposed to explain CO2 release. We believe that the
same mechanism can be used to explain the formation of CO2
noted in our PAtBA/PEI gelation experiments.
Effect of Polymer Type on the Gelation Time. To examine the
differences in the gelation time between the two systems, steady-
shear viscometry at high temperature and pressure was used.
Fig. 8 shows the viscosity evolution of PAtBA/PEI and PAM/
PEI systems. The solutions contained 7 wt% polymer and 1 wt%
PEI prepared in distilled water. The initial pH value of both solu-
tions at these conditions was 9.9. The shear rate and temperature
were kept constant at 10 rev/min (17.03 seconds-1) and 120
C,
respectively. The zero time was taken as the time at which the
Couette setup (containing the sample) was placed in the oil bath,
which was set at 120
C.
The curves in Fig. 8 show an induction period during which
the viscosity remained constant. Then, viscosity monotonically
increased, which indicated the onset of gelation. The gelation time
of the PAM/PEI system (13.5 minutes) was shorter than that of the
PAtBA/PEI system (28 minutes). This indicates the availability
of more-accessible crosslinking sites on the PAM than on the
PAtBA. From Fig. 8, both systems reached the maximum measur-
able viscosity (18 Pas). In bulk, under the same temperature,
ringing gels were obtained for both systems.
These gelation times are not adequate for field application.
However, the gelation time can be adjusted by using lower con-
centrations of PEI or the polymer. The injection of a preflush to
cool down the treated zone can be used to increase the gelation
time. As will be discussed in the next subsection, inorganic salts
can also be used to retard the gelation reaction (Al-Muntasheri
et al. 2008).
Fig. 5—Viscosity vs. shear rate for PAtBA/PEI and PAM/PEI
gelling solutions (7 wt% polymer, 1 wt% PEI, 25
C).
247
 Fig. 6—Thermolysis of tBA part of PAtBA at temperatures greater than 100
C (Hardy et al. 1999).
The reaction mechanisms of the PAtBA/PEI and PAM/PEI
gels are different. In the PAtBA/PEI, imine nitrogen on PEI nu-
cleophilically substitutes the ester groups on the carbonyl carbon
of tBA. On the other hand, the PAM/PEI gels are thought to form
through a transamidation reaction between the PEI imine nitrogen
and the amide groups on the PAM. The PAtBA/PEI gels can also
form through the transamidation-reaction pathway because the
PAtBA contains 95.3 mol% of amide groups. In fact, it has been
shown that ringing gels can be obtained with PAtBA polymers
containing zero tBA (Al-Muntasheri et al. 2006).
Effect of NaCl on the Gelation Time. The effect of salts on the
gelation time was examined for the two gelling systems. The two
gelling solutions were prepared in water containing sodium chlo-
ride (NaCl) in such a way that it contained 15000 mg/L of Na in
the final gelling solutions. The pH of the gelling solutions at these
conditions was 10.0. Then, the viscosity of these samples was
measured as a function of time, and the results are given in
Fig. 9. The results clearly show that both systems exhibited a
delay in the gelation time. The two polymers have an initial
degree of hydrolysis less than 0.1 mol%. The two polymers hydro-
lyzed producing carboxylate groups. The positive Na ions shield
the negative charges on the produced carboxylates, collapsing the
polymer network (Tam and Tiu 1989; Ghannam 1999). We postu-
late that the shrinkage of the polymer network resulted in fewer
crosslinking sites accessible to PEI, which increased the induction
period and resulted in longer gelation times.
Fig. 7—Thermal decomposition of tBA part of glycidyl methacrylate-tert-butyl acrylate copolymer (Dhal and Babu 1984).
248
Hydrolysis of PAtBA and PAM. The effect of NaCl was signif-
icant on the gelation time. Hence, it was decided to study the
hydrolysis behavior of both polymers. Fig. 10 shows the degree
of hydrolysis as a function of heating time. These data were
collected for neat (as received from the suppliers) PAtBA and
PAM, with initial pH adjusted to 11.2 using a few drops of
3 N NaOH solution. Then, the samples were heated according to
the procedures outlined previously. Finally, the samples were ana-
lyzed with C13 NMR spectroscopy, and the degree of hydrolysis
was determined using integration of the resonance peaks of the
C13 NMR spectra at 179.6–184 ppm (Truong et al. 1986). From
Fig. 10, the degree of hydrolysis of PAM and PAtBA increased
from zero to 43.4 and 25.5 mol%, respectively. The PAtBA
contained 4.7 mol% of tBA groups that hydrolyzed completely in
1.2 hours. The hydrolysis of the tBA part produces tert-BUOH
(Al-Muntasheri et al. 2006). The tBA part undergoes another
reaction (specifically, thermal decomposition producing isobutene
and traces of CO2). The amide groups hydrolysis of PAtBA was
20.8 mol% after 72 hours of heating. On the other hand, the PAM
hydrolyzed into ammonia and carboxylate groups, as shown in
Fig. 11. (Parker and Lezzi 1993; Kurenkov et al. 2001).
Both polymers hydrolyze to an appreciable extent. In the same
time, the degree of hydrolysis of PAM (43.4 mol%) after 3 days of
thermal treatment gave a greater value than that of PAtBA (25.5
mol%). This indicates that the presence of tBA groups hinders the
hydrolysis of the amide groups on PAtBA. This could be a result
of the presence of CO2 produced from the thermal decomposition
of tBA groups. CO2 gas could lower the pH of the solution, which
June 2009 SPE Journal
Fig. 8—Viscosity evolution of PAtBA/PEI and PAM/PEI (120
C,
7 wt% polymer, 1 wt% PEI, initial pH = 9.9).
results in a slower hydrolysis rate of amide groups on PAtBA.
A polymer with less hydrolysis extent is more likely to be stable
than a polymer with more hydrolysis extent at the same conditions
(Moradi-Araghi 2000).
Effect of the Initial pH Value on the Gelation Time. The pH of
the gelling solution can change because of dilution with formation
fluids, the presence of sour gases, and contact with the reservoir
rocks. Hence, it is important to examine the effect of the initial pH
on the gelation time. Gelling solutions (PAM/PEI and PAtBA/PEI
at 7:1 wt% content) were prepared, and their pH was adjusted to
7.7 using 20 wt% hydrochloric acid. Then, the viscosity was
measured as a function of time. For the PAM/PEI system, Fig. 12
shows the viscosity vs. time for two runs obtained at pH of 9.9 (as
is) and 7.7. The data clearly show an increase in the induction
period and, hence, a longer gelation time at an initial pH value of
7.7. The viscosity buildup was similar in both cases. Hydrolysis
reactions are strong functions of the catalyzing anion (OH-) con-
centration. Therefore, we postulate that the PAM hydrolysis rate
is slower at an initial pH value of 7.7. The lower hydrolysis rate
could decrease the negative charges on the polymer, leading to
less polymer-network stretching. That gives fewer accessible
crosslinking sites on the PAM network. Hence, longer gelation
times were obtained at lower initial pH values.
Similar tests were conducted for the PAtBA/PEI system. Data
are shown in Fig. 13, where the gelation time increased for this
Fig. 10—Degree of hydrolysis vs. time (at an initial pH value of
11.2 and at 120
C) of PAtBA and PAM (neat chemicals).
June 2009 SPE Journal
Fig. 9—Viscosity evolution for PAtBA/PEI and PAM/PEI with
15000 mg/L of Na (initial pH = 10.0).
system at a pH value of 7.7. Similar trends were noted by Hardy
et al. (1999) for this system at temperatures below 100
C. The
viscosity buildup for this system was not smooth. In fact, viscosity
did not exceed 14 Pas, while at an initial pH of 10, the maximum
measurable viscosity (18 Pas) was reached. The reproducibility
of these data was checked, and similar trends were observed. The
same trends were observed by Hardy et al. (1999).
Fig. 14 shows a comparison of the two systems at an initial pH of
7.7. From Fig. 14, it is clear that the gelation of the PAtBA/PEI
system was faster than that of the PAM/PEI. This is because the
reduction of the initial pH to 7.7 increased the gelation time of the
PAM/PEI system by a factor of 8 compared with a factor of 2 for
the PAtBA/PEI. Therefore, the reduction in the initial pH values has
more retarding effect on the PAM/PEI compared with the PAtBA/
PEI system. This can be explained by keeping in mind that the tBA
part of PAtBA undergoes thermal decomposition producing isobu-
tene and CO2, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The presence of these
carboxylate groups could provide crosslinking sites for the PEI to
form a gel. On the other hand, the amide groups of PAM mainly
undergo hydrolysis, which is slowed by lowering the initial pH
values (this also applies to the amide groups on PAtBA that undergo
hydrolysis only). Therefore, fewer crosslinking sites could be pro-
duced at the PAM compared to PAtBA under the conditions set in
Fig. 14. Note that the viscosity of PAtBA/PEI system with an initial
pH of 7.7 decreased to 2 Pas after 450 minutes (7.5 hours). Hardy
et al. (1999) reported similar trends for the PAtBA/PEI system at
temperatures below 100
C. On the other hand, the sample of PAM/
PEI system under the same conditions reached the maximum mea-
surable viscosity of 18 Pas. The trends for having weak PAtBA/PEI
gels compared to PAM/PEI could be explained by the fact that PEI
becomes less effective in crosslinking tBA groups (through nucleo-
philic attack) on PAtBA at low-pH conditions, as previously
reported by Hardy et al. (1999). We speculate that crosslinking took
place at the amide groups of PAM, thus producing stronger gels
compared to PAtBA crosslinked with PEI.
Conclusions
The present study examined two polymers (PAtBA and PAM)
crosslinked with PEI. The following conclusions can be drawn:
• Isobutene gas was detected during the crosslinking reaction
between PAtBA and PEI over the temperature range of 60 to
130
C.
• Trace amounts of CO2 gas were noted during the crosslinking
reaction between PAtBA and PEI at 120 and 130
C.
• NaCl delayed the gelation time for the PAtBA/PEI and PAM/
PEI gel systems.
• Lower initial-pH values increased the gelation time of the
PAtB/PEI and PAM/PEI systems by factors of 2 and 8, respec-
249
 Fig. 11—Alkaline hydrolysis of amide groups (Parker and Lezzi 1993; Kurenkov et al. 2001).
tively. This is because of the difference in hydrolysis rates of
the PAtBA and PAM.
• Lower viscosities of the PAtBA/PEI were observed at an initial
pH of 7.7 as a result of less nucleophility of the imine nitrogen
on PEI.
Nomenclature
a = molar content of amide groups, mol/L
c = molar content of carboxylate groups, mol/L
E = ester content, mol%
s = molar content of tBA groups, mol/L
t = degree of hydrolysis, mol%
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Saudi Aramco for permission to
publish this work. The Delft University of Technology is also
acknowledged for its support. The technical reviewers of this paper
are highly appreciated for their comments. Nabeel Y. Al-Ajaj, Saudi
Petroleum Overseas Limited, and Nabeel S. Al-Habib, Exploration
and Petroleum Engineering Center—Advanced Research Center,
are highly appreciated for their support. Mohammed Sajjad, Ali Al-
Yami, and Awadh Al-Harbi of the Hydrocarbon Phase Behavior
Unit at the Saudi Aramco Research and Development Center are
highly appreciated for the gas analysis. Mohammad Al-Ghamid of
the Analytical Support Division is highly appreciated for the C13
NMR measurements. Thanks to Halliburton Energy Services for
providing the PAtBA and PEI samples and to SNF-Floerger for
providing the PAM samples.
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June 2009 SPE Journal
Ghaithan A. Al-Muntasheri is a petroleum engineer working for
the Explorations and Petroleum Engineering Center (EXPEC)
Advanced Research Center (ARC) of Saudi Aramco in
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Al-Muntasheri has been working
for Saudi Aramco for the last 7 years. email: ghaithan.
muntasheri@aramco.com. He holds BS and MS degrees, both
with honors, in chemical engineering from King Fahd University
of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He holds a
PhD degree in petroleum enigneering, cum laude, from Delft
University of Technology. He has published more than 20
papers. His current research interests include conformance
improvement using polymer gels, rheology, nuclear magnetic
resonance of oilfield polymers, rheological properties of frac-
ture-stimulation fluids (gels and acids) under extreme shear
conditions, and fracture conductivity. Al-Muntasheri serves as
a technical reviewer for SPE Journal, and he is a member of
the Society of Rheology. Hisham A. Nasr-El-Din is a professor
and holder of the Stephen A. Holditch Faculty Fellowship at
Texas A&M University in petroleum engineering. email: hisham.
nasreldin@pe.tamu.edu. Previously, he worked for 15 years as
principal professional and team leader of the Stimulation Re-
search and Technology Team, EXPEC ARC, Saudi Aramco.
Before joining Saudi Aramco, he worked for 4 years as a staff
research engineer with the Petroleum Recovery Institute in
Calgary. He also worked as a research associate with the
University of Saskatchewan, the University of Ottawa, and the
University of Alberta, all in Canada. His research interests in-
clude well stimulation, formation damage, cementing, drilling
fluids, two-phase flow, enhanced oil recovery, rheology, con-
formance control, interfacial properties, adsorption, and non-
damaging fluid technologies. Nasr-El-Din has several patents
and has published more than 360 technical papers. He is an
adjunct professor with The University of Alberta and has super-
vised several MS and PhD students. He has received numerous
awards within Saudi Aramco for significant contributions to
stimulation and treatment-fluid technologies and stimulation
design and for his work in training and mentoring. Nasr-El-Din
holds BS and MS degrees from Cairo University and a PhD
degree from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, all in
chemical engineering. He serves on the SPE steering commit-
tees on corrosion and oilfield chemistry, is review chairperson
for SPE Journal and is a technical editor for SPE Productions
and Operations. He was invited to give keynote presentations
in various SPE and NACE conferences. He received the SPE
Regional Technical Discipline Award for Production and
Operations in 2006, was named a Distinguished SPE Member
in 2007, and received SPE awards for Outstanding Associate
Editor (SPE J.) and Outstanding Technical Editor (SPE Prod &
Oper) in 2008. Khalid R. Al-Noaimi is a research scientist in the
EXPEC ARC of Saudi Aramco. email: noaimikr@aramco.com.
Al-Noaimi has been working for Saudi Aramco for almost 3
years. There, he has been involved in several projects, includ-
ing stimulation design for pre-Khuff (sandstone) reservoirs and
wettability alteration of gas/condensate reservoirs. His current
research interests include addition of noncondensable gases
to improve oil recovery by steamflooding, rheology, and en-
hanced oil recovery (EOR) by polymer injection. Al-Noaimi has
published a paper as a co-author. He holds a BS degree (with
honor) in chemical and process engineering from University of
Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle, UK, and currently is pursuing
a masters degree in petroleum engineering at Stanford Univer-
sity. Pacelli L.J. Zitha is a professor and chairman of Oil and
Gas Production Engineering at Delft University of Technology,
Department of Geotechnology, and senior research advisor
with Shell. He holds an MS degree in theoretical fluid physics
and a PhD degree in condensed matter physics from Pierre
and Marie Curie University. He is the author of more than 70
scientific and technical articles and the editor of two books.
For more than 15 years, he has initiated and has been leading
several international research and development projects in
the areas of water control and foam acid diversion for matrix
stimulation. Between 2002 and 2007, he was director of the
Geotechnology Laboratory. His current research interests in-
clude formation damage and mitigation, improved oil recov-
ery, chemical EOR, heavy oil and gas hydrates. He has served
in various SPE conference committees as session chairman
and conference chairman. He is member of the SPE R&D Ad-
visory Committee.
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