ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY

TECHNIQUES

VFSTR
IV YEAR B.TECH PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
I-SEMISTER
UNIT-IV
 ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY TECHNIQUES
Polymer flooding
Introduction:
• The use of water soluble polymers is one of the promising EOR
types to improve the relative mobility ratios of the oil-water
front for increase of sweep efficiency.
• The research and development has helped enormously the usage
of polymers in EOR more economically.
• This chapter is organized into two sections as follows:
1. Polymer products and theory of use
a) description of water soluble polymers
b) properties of polymer solutions
c) mobility control processes
d) wellbore profile control processes
 ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY TECHNIQUES
Polymer flooding
2. Planning polymer flood projects
a) screening tests
b) process design
c) equipment and operations
d) the economics of polymer projects
 The first section covers a general description of polymers
including some polymer chemistry and theory involved in
mobility control with commonly used polymers.
 The second section presents general guidelines on field
projects of various stages and design along with the
economics of polymer flooding.
POLYMER PRODUCTS AND THEORY OF USE
o Polymers mean many parts: A Polymer, a chemical composed of
a number of individual molecules attached in units in a pattern,
repeats itself throughout the length of each polymer.
o The repeating units are called monomers and the polymer can be
either a homopolymer (one monomer) , a dimer (two
monomers), etc. Joining of two different monomers is copolymer.
o A polymer should have a M.W> 200 & at least 8 or more repeating units
o Polymer flooding operations use high M.W ( several millions)
organic chemicals to alter the flow of water in the formation.
o These large molecules are soluble in water or water dispersable.
The size of the hydrated polymer molecule is important in
designing a polymer flood for a specific formation.
o A few polymer chemicals meet the requirements necessary for
use in EOR processes. Of the four, (Tab.7.1), only two types,
Polyacrylamides & xanthan gums are commonly in the fields
Cellulosics:
 Hydroxyetylcellulose (HEC, non-ionic ) & Carboxymethylcellulose
(CMC anionic) are two types of cellulosic polymers have been
used in flooding. Most grades for flooding use have higher M.W
which give higher viscosities in water.
 Most HEC polymers are completely soluble in high salinity oil field
brines. Both CMC & HSC solutions are non-Newtonian, the
solution viscosity decreases with increasing shear rates.
Cellulosics have temperature stabilities in the 2500 F range but
lose viscosity rapidly as the temperature increases.
 At the higher concentrations (1000-5000 ppm) the polymer
solutions tend to lose injectivity and can cause plugging in wells.
Polymer retention within the wellbore is higher because of the
relatively high polymer concentrations required for adequate
viscosity, in comparison to Xanthan gum and Polyacrylamide.
 Cellulosics are easily crosslinked with multivalent cations.
Polyacrylates (PAC)
 Water soluble acrylate polymers and copolymers are synthetic
materials that have found limited usage in EOR applications.
 The PAC products offered for polymer flooding have shown resistance
to mechanical shear degradation, have adequate injectivity, are
compatible with some brines & higher thermal stability.
 Because high-hardness & less in non-Newtonian in solution, the use
of PAC products have not much success.
Polyacrylamides (PAM)
 PAM polymers, very high molecular wt. & high degree of non-
Newtonian viscosity can be modified for EOR by copolymerization
with ionic substituent to the carboxylic acid group (Fig.7.1)
 As the degree of hydrolysis increases, the water solubility increases
and the viscosity of the solution at a given concentration decreases.
 Also commonly used processes are crosslinked or gelled PAM systems
 The hydrolyzed PAM interacts with polyvalent metals, Fe, Al, Cr to
form 3-D gel networks.
  Polyacrylamides are supplied in solid powder or in emulsion
form as liquids with concentrations 30-50% by wt.
 In high salinity systems, the use of a surfactant to promote
hydration may be necessary.
 Polyacrylamides are supplied in solid powder or in emulsion form
as liquids with concentrations 30-50% by wt.
 In high salinity systems, the use of a surfactant to promote
hydration may be necessary.
Xanthan gum (XG)
• The XG is a high mol.wt. natural carbohydrate (polysaccharide)
manufactured by a bacterial fermentation process. Commercial XG
is obtained from mutant bacterial strains chosen to yield.
XG is a polysaccharide (differing sugar molecules) with unique
intramolecular hydrogen bonding by side chains. It contains side
chains which hold the molecule in a rigid, helical structure (Fig.7.2).
The side chains shield the backbone of the polymer molecule and
protect against enzymatic attack . Thermal stability is also
improved and sensivity to salt is also greatly reduced even though
the molecule is anionic in character
Properties of Polymer Solutions:
o Both PAM & XG polymer solutions give high viscosities at relatively
low concentrations. Tab. 7.II shows a comparison of concentrations
of material needed to give 10 cP solutions in tap water.
o Viscosity is also affected by salinity & divalent ions, Ca, Mg. Hard
waters will also cause decrease in viscosity of solutions of PAM
polymers to a much greater extent than those with XG.
Hydratability:
• Dry powders are difficult to mix efficiently in the field. The formation of
fish-eyes or microgels (dry powder surrounded by wetted powder) are to
be avoided.
• PAM & XG can be supplied as either liquid, water-based products or as
dry materials. PAM is also available as emulsion or as a hydrated, gelled
log, which also cause difficulty (oil wet dispersion).
• Surfactants have been used to assist in dispersing dry powders, thereby
allowing better hydration of each polymer particle. Care is to be taken
that any particular treatment has not impaired the functionality of the
polymer.
Rheology:
o Both PAM & XG solutions are shear thinning; as the shear rate increases,
the relative viscosity decreases. Plots of typical viscosity vs. shear rate
development for both PAM & XG are shown in Fig. 7.3 & 7.4. The
viscosity of polymer solutions decrease with increasing temp. The loss in
viscosity is reversible unless thermal degradation occurs. At moderate
temps, this change in polymer viscosity with temp is less than the drop in
brine water viscosity caused by the increase in temp.
Stability :
 Stability refers to the maintenance of the integrity of the
polymer molecule during oilfield operations. Polymers must have
1. Mechanical strength.
2. Thermal stability
3. Bacteriological stability
4. Chemical stability
Mechanical Strength:
 Under most circumstances, XG solutions are shear stable, but
PAM can be degraded by mechanical shear, such as in mixing
equipment. Mixing shears and flow rates within the formation,
therefore, can be of extreme importance to the economics of
the EOR process.
Thermal Stability:
 PAM and XG solutions are relatively thermally stable to above
2000 F if protected against catalytic degradation by O2
 The temp stabilizers thiourea, isopropyl alcohol, N2 purges,
sulfates, propylene glycol , formaldehyde and acetone have
been recommended to retard the degradation of EOR polymers.
 XG solutions are not as stable thermally as are PAM at above 2250 F.
 Both polymers can be protected to extend their usefulness at
elevated temps for many months or even years.
 Most lab tests have not shown long term temp stability much
higher than 2500 F for either polymer.
Bacteriological Stability:
• XG solutions are more susceptible to microbial attack than PAM.
• Bacterial protection may well be needed in any water/ polymer flooding.
• Aerobic bacteria can grow in surface systems causing polymer degradation and
injectivity problems.
• Anaerobic bacteria can flourish within the formation causing plugging problems,
polymer degradation and reportedly can change a sweet crude to sour.
• Tab. 7.III shows some times of bactericides that can be used in oilfield waters
Chemical Stability:
o Both PAM & XG are compatible with modest concentrations
found in oilfield brines. Polyacrylamides are less tolerant to
high concentrations of divalent cations, such as Ca and Mg.
o Trivalent cations such as Fe, Cr, Al react with the polymers to
form gels. Quaternary amine chemicals have a deleterious
effect on polymer performance, i.e., loss of viscosity.
o The viscosity of PAM solutions is sensitive to pH. At low values
of pH, the carboxylic side group is nonionic. As pH increases
the side group is converted to the anionic carboxylate ion.
o At pH values above 10.5, hydrolysis of Polyacrylamide side
chains occurs even at room temp. Xanthan gum solutions stable
at the pH values found in oilfields.
o Both the type of polymer and the polymer flooding technique
to be used can then be tailored to the water in the candidate
reservoir.
Mobility Control and Profile Control Processes:
 Polymer flooding can be used in place of waterflooding.
 In mobility control processes, the polymer is used to alter the
fractional flow characteristics of the water phase which is
displacing the oil.
 In profile control processes, polymer gels are used to block
water channels and divert flow to portions of the reservoir
which have not been properly swept.
Mobility control:
The conditions required for polymer mobility control in EOR:
 Correct polymer type depending on field conditions.
 Type of polymer process
 Polymer solutions must be well understood
 Viscosity effects and viscosity stability
 Consideration of injectivity & residual resistance factor
Mobility Definition:
 The function of any type of water soluble polymer in EOR
operations is to increase the viscosity of a brine and to reduce
the relative permeability to water in the formation.
 If the flow of brine in a porous medium is decreased in relation
to the flow of oil, then the oil’s relative flow is improved.
 Mobility is a measure of the flow of a fluid through a permeable
formation.
 It is the ratio of the relative permeability of the fluid to the
apparent viscosity of the fluid.
 Relative mobility is the ratio of the displaced fluid’s mobility to
the mobility of the displacing fluid.
M = kr / µa & Mr = MO / MW
where kr = relative permeability, mD; µa = apparent viscosity, cP;
Mo = Mobility of oil (=kro /µao ), Mw = Mobility to water(=krw /kaw )
 An areal view of an inverted 5-spot with water injection into the center
well as created channels to the producing wells, causing early breakthrough
of injection brine to those wells. Most of the oil in the pattern is left
unproduced.
 The same pattern response to injection of fluid with reduced mobility in
relation to the OIP. In this case, the brine-polymer bank sweeps evenly out
from the injection well resulting in increased sweep efficiency with more oil
production & less produced brine. .
,
The same phenomenon occurs in the vertical plane of the well
 The poor sweep efficiency of w/i is made pronounced by the
vertical permeability variation in most reservoirs.
 Polymers improve oil recovery by changing the flow characteristics
of the oil and water flowing through the porous media.
 Volumetric SE is improved because of the decreased mobility ratio.
 Large mobility ratios denote inefficient displacements.
Resistance factor:
 Resistance factor is the relative pr drop caused by Polyacrylamide solutions in porous media.
 If a solution of PAM is passed through a reservoir core at a constant rate, pr drop of the system is much greater than would be calculated by the
viscosity change using Darcy’s law.
Injectivity Behavior:
Polymer solutions with good injectivity are required for successful
field use. Poor injectivity behavior may be caused by:
1. Incompatibility between the polymer and its makeup brine.
2. Incompatibility between the polymer solution & formation rock.
3. Contamination.
Wellbore profile control:
 Improvement of vertical SE around the vicinity of polymer
injection wellbores is next important function.
 Water diverting techniques ( profile correction, conformation
improvement, etc.,) have been performed for many years.
 A &B

• The top one shows the flood water fingering through a high
permeability streak. The bottom one shows gelled solution
treated which improves SE in the rest of the formation.
• Viscosity of polymer solutions can be increased by adding
gelling agent (surface gels) to create a 3-D polymer gel network.
• Viscosity enhancement by gelling (in-situ gels) can also be
achieved by crosslinking the polymer within the formation.
• Sequential injection of polymer and crosslinking agent to create
a chemical which adsorbs on the walls of the formation pores.
PLANNING POLYMER FLOOD PROJECTS:
 The salinity injection and formation of waters dictate both the type
and the concentration of polymer to be used. Water must be of high
quality to avoid injection well plugging. The amount of water
needed depends on the response of producing zones.
 Fig. 7.9 shows the development of a project in simplified form.
 The initial studies identify the most promising reservoir candidate
for polymer flooding. The major reservoir characteristics are
determined in the screening studies ( lab tests & field reviews).
 In stage 2 initial process design worked out from the data evolved
from lab and engineering studies. Performance predictions are
made & simplified design is made from process economics.
 Stage 3 consists of a field test of the EOR process. If necessary,
process design is changed to accommodate reservoir characteristics
 Stage 4 is field development. The EOR injection facility is planned
during this stage. A field wide simulation study is performed.
Stage 1 Initial Screening: Taber & Martin have compiled generally accepted into
guidelines for polymer flooding design as well as EOR processes. (Table 7. V)
Stage 1 Initial Screening: Table 7. V (continued)
• To avoid the violation of the suggested guidelines lab screening test
data should be collected for the specific reservoir so that accurate
information is available for decision making.
• The screening program must determine the following variables.
1. The best process.
2. The best location
3. The proper operating conditions
4. The project’s performance estimate.
• Polymer screening programs consists of
1.Laboratory screening tests. 2. Field reviews. 3. Core analysis Studies
• Laboratory screening: 1. Characterization of crude oil. (Tab.7.VI) 2.
Analysis of the injection brine 3. Bacterial contamination.
• Table 7.VI: Criteria for Crude oil testing:
a) BS& W, b) Viscosity of dead oil, c) API gravity, d) Corrosion inhibitors
e) Acid number f) Asphaltene content g) Avg. mol.wt. J) paraffin
Stage 2 –Field reviews: A study of the EOR potential for the candidate reservoir. The
EOR specialist visit the site along with his team and collect samples of oil and water.
The data needed for field review are shown in table 7.VII .
To characterize the reservoir, 4 key parameters are identified. 1) Volume of oil-in
–place, 2) Reservoir transmittance, 3) Reservoir permeability variation, 4) Rock
wettability. Table 7.VII
Core analysis: Table 7.VIII defines routine & special core analysis tests.
Lab evaluations: Lab testing techniques which can be used to select a polymer (Tab 7.IX)
1) Compatibility tests with the field oil and brine. 2) Core testing with polymer solutions
to get more information on injectivity, polymer retention & oil recovery efficiency. T 7.IX
Stage 3 Pilot testing: To increase the accuracy of reservoir simulators,
pilot field trials are often run. This provides useful additional data;
1) More complete definition of the project area
2) Testing all phases of the flooding process in an economical .
Stage 4 Field development: If all studies show that the polymer process
is a viable option, then the project proceeds to Stage 4. the following
sections concentrate on the facilities design aspects of field
development.
 Equipment and operations: Facilities design is a significant cost of the
project The type of facilities differs for each process.
a) W/I facilities ( Fig. 7.13)
b) Polymer injection facilities ( Fig. 7.14)
c) Field laboratories.
a)
POLYACRYLAMIDES: Introduction: Polyacrylamide(PAM) is frequently used for
better mobility and permeability control in EOR schemes. By far, poly(acrylamide-co-
acrylic acid), nomenclature PAM/AA. PAM is made by the polymerization of
acrylamide monomer, where as PAM/AA is manufactured either by copolymerizing
acrylic acid or via hydrolysis of the homopolymer. The structures are shown in
Fig.8.1
Polymerization of acrylamide:
 It may be polymerized via radical initiation or
by an anionic mechanism which provides the
high mol. wt. homopolymers and copolymers
best in EOR. Mol. wt. distributions may vary
depending on the catalyst system used.
 Acrylamide is unique that its overall rate of
polymerization in water is very high.
 It is proportional to the propagation rate over
the half power of the transfer rate kp / (kt )1/2 .
 The reported measurement of this parameter
is about 5.
POLYACRYLAMIDE CHEMISTRY: General properties:
 PAM, a water soluble polymer lies in the solution properties, rheology,
ability to hydrogen bond to various surfaces. The polymer in the solid
state is brittle and not a good film former.
 The stability of PAM in solutions is affected by pH. At very low or high
pH some of the amides are converted to carboxylates via hydrolysis.
 Viscosity losses in water on aging are not observed in ethylene glycol.
Methods of manufacture:
 While acrylamide may be polymerized in organic solvents, or in solid
state for making PAMs for EOR.
 Acrylamide is dissolved in high-solids aqueous and polymerized in two
phase inverse emulsion system. Another type of inverse microemulsion
of PAM/AA has also been proposed for use in EOR.
 A high mol. wt. PAM, a high conversion of the monomer is targeted in
order to keep the residual monomer in system to a minimum.
Molecular weight distribution (MWD):
o Inasmuch as PAM is used mainly to reduce the mobility of injection water during EOR.
The rheology is most sensitive to the avg. MW & MWD.
o There are many existing methods for MW determination, but for PAM/AA most of
them are tedious and difficult to implement on a routine basis.
Copolymers of acrylamide:
o Anionic PAMs were preferred as EOR polymers because of the improved mobility
reduction and lower adsorption onto reservoir rocks.
o Resistance factors in unconsolidated sandpacks were improved with hydrolysis.
Electrolyte effects were also investigated. The polymers used were prepared by
hydrolysis of homopolymers with alkaline reagents.
Modified Polyacrylamides:
o A number of substituted and modified PAMs (graft structures) have been reported
except to provide marginal improvement. These polymer systems have yet to
challenge PAM/AA commercially.
Thermal and oxidative stability:
o In thermal stabilities of PAMs distinctions must be drawn between solution and bulk
properties, aerobic & anaerobic conditions, temps of composition & polymer
compositions. High temp (>500 C) leads to increased hydrolysis of these polymers,
with viscosity increasing in most cases, need to exclude O 2 during lab evaluation.
Resistance to biodegradation:
 Two main concerns with PAM/AA in EOR are possible biodegradation during
application in the field and the fate of residual polymer after injection.
 Often biocides are used to retard bacterial action. Formaldehyde may serve as
a stabilizer for PAM solutions when oxygen is present.
APPLICATION OF PAM/AA in EOR:
 PAM/AA is used in two main areas in EOR: mobility control and profile
modification. A small amount of high-molecular wt PAM/AA is added to the
injection water to increase the viscosity and to improve the mobility ratio,
 M = λw / λo = (kw/µw) / (ko/µo) ………….. 8.1
 Where λ is the mobility of the fluid, k is the permeability of the medium
calculated by using Darcy’s law (eqn. 8.2); µ is the fluid viscosity; subscripts w
& o represent the injection fluid and the oil phase respectively.
 K = 14.7qµ ∆x / A ∆p ………………………. 8.2
 Where q = flow rate (ml/s); µ = viscosity (cP); ∆x = length (cm); A = cross-
sectional area (cm2); ∆p = pressure drop (psi); k = permeability (darcy).
 By making M closer to 1 the overall SE can be improved. The objective is to
reduce the mobility of the injection water, so it does not bypass the oil phase
during flooding.
The following data is to be obtained in the laboratory for EOR design process.
1) Porous media flow properties.
2) Interactions between the polymer & the candidate core sample on-site.
3) Influence of dissolved ions.
4) Hydrodynamic degradation and
5) Aging characteristics of the solution under reservoir conditions.
Solution Preparation: The rheological properties of a AM/AA solution is very
sensitive to the way it is prepared. Different preparation schemes can
result in solutions having widely different flow properties, when shear is
introduced in the dissolution process. Shearing a polymer solution usually
lowers the mean MW and shifts the MWD.
The following stages are to be included for the dissolution of PAM/AA.
1) Initial hydration of the individual granules from the diffusion of solvent
into the polymer networks, which swells the particles.
2) Fragmentation of the swollen particles by shear and
3) Diffusion of the outer polymer layer into the solvent.
Solution Properties: The viscosity of a solution is directly related to the avg. size
of the polymer. It depends on the degree of polymerization, level of
substitution, dissolved ion conc., pH, & temp. The larger the molecule, the
more effective it is in increasing the solution viscosity.
Effect of polymer concentration: One measure of avg. polymer size in a given
solvent is the intrinsic viscosity or limiting viscosity number, [ɳ], ratio of
volume over wt. with units in dl/g.
[ɳ] = limit µsp/C where C→0 ………………………………….. 8.3
Where µsp = (µsolution -- µsolvent)/ µsolvent , & C = polymer Concentration.
The solution viscosity can be approximated by the relation:
µ = µsolvent (1+ C[ɳ]) ………………………………………………… 8.4
Polyelectrolyte effect: PAM/AA exists as a polyelectrolyte in aqueous solutions.
The negatively charged AAs on the PAM/AA backbone repel each other
because of Coulombic interactions. This intra-chain repulsion causes the
polymer chain to expand. The net result is a lowering of effective charge of
the polymer and a lower viscosity. In general, the higher the salt conc., the
lower the solution viscosity.
AFFECTING FLOW IN POROUS MEDIA: Rheology:
 Reservoir rock is a complex mixture of rock and mineral particles cemented
together into a 3-D network. The oil to be recovered is situated in the
interstitial space. The flow behavior of a high-MW polymer solution through
porous media is necessarily complex.
 This is further complicated by interfering factors such as polymer retention
and degradation. Retention reduces the permeability of the medium,
whereas degradation lowers the solution viscosity.
 The dilatant (shear thickening) behavior in porous media causes the
apparent viscosity to increase rapidly as a function of fluid velocity.
 The resistance factor (RF) of a polymer solution is the ratio of the mobility
of the water to the mobility of the polymer solution:
 RF = λw / λp = (kw /µw ) / (kp / µp ) ………………………………… 8.5
where λ is mobility of the fluid, k is the permeability of the medium, µ is
the apparent viscosity. RF is function of polymer conc. & shear rate.
 The screen viscometer (Fig.8.4) is used to measure the screen factor SF =
tp / tw ………….8.6 where tp & tw are the respective flow times in seconds
for a fixed volume of a polymer solution & water to pass through S viscometer .
• The SF of particular polymer solution
has been shown to correlate well with
its RF when tests were carried out
under similar conditions.
• The screen viscometer is one of the
characterization tools of the polymer.
• A SF measurement is important in
assessing the quality of a polymer sol.
• If the SF of a solution is high, there
may be problems with actual
injection.
• The correlation of SF and polymer
viscoelastic transitions has been
established.
• Conventional screen viscometers
operate in the regime where the
polymers are in the highly stretched
state; therefore, they mimic injection
behavior.
Viscoelastic effects:
• Depending on the type of porous media used, a corresponding critical fluid
velocity above which the apparent viscosity of the polymer solution
increases sharply.
• This critical velocity is inversely related to the fluid relaxation time, t, which
is a function of polymer MW, solvent composition, polymer conc.
• έ = β Ṽ/d ………. 8.8 έ = elongational rate, β = proportionality const. d=
avg. grain dia. of the media.
• d = (1– φ)/φ x (180k/ φ)1/2 ……… 8.9
Injectivity:
• A quantity that describes the throughput of an injection is called injectivity,
I = q/∆p ….. 8.9 where q is the volume flow rate in bbl/day, & ∆p is the
applied pressure in psi. The applied pr. should never exceed the fracture pr.
of the formation.
• For PAM/AA solutions, viscoelastic effects play an important role in
determining injectivity. Pr drop profile is divided into two parts 1) the near
wellbore region where a discrete interface exists between the injection fluid
& the porous media, 2) the far-field region where the fluid velocity is
significantly lower.
Mechanical degradation:
o High-MW polymers tend to degrade mechanically which results in lower
fluid viscosity and poorer EOR performance.
o It was observed that 1) HMW fractions of the distribution degrade more
readily, shifting the MWD lower, 2) For a given, MW, there exists a critical
stress rate below bellow which little degradation is observed.
o PAM/AA degradation occurred at a critical flow rate well correlated with
the entrance pressure drop.
Retention:
 Some polymers are inadvertently retained by the porous media during
injection. Profile modifications improves the SE of subsequent flooding. In
cases where simple adsorption is not enough in-situ gelation may be
considered.(Large chief zones exist in in-situ gelation technique)
 The effectiveness of a profile modification process can be expressed by
the residual resistance factor, RRF: RRF = λw,before /λw, after ……… 8.13 λw,before
& λw, after are water mobilities for a given core before and after polymer
treatment. The larger the RRF, better the treatment (no plugging)
FIELD CONSIDERATIONS: Injection tests:
The objectives of these tests, which are important during the design are
1. To develop field design parameters,
2. To demonstrate the proposed polymer concentrations can be injected
at acceptable rates under field operating conditions,
3. To familiarize the production people with the handling, mixing,
chemical testing and injection techniques to be used.
Equipment:
• Injection tests are usually of a short duration of 1 to 4 weeks. So,
portable test units are desirable.
• Inasmuch as the tests are short term, products are generally not
delivered in bulk or truckload.
• A typical injection test skid for emulsion type PAM/AA is available
shown in Fig. 8.6 .
SITE FACTORS:
 Existing Facilities: Before implementing polymer applications, it is good
practice to examine the existing facilities. It is economical to add-on to
the new systems. (Utilities, old injection wells, pipe lines etc.)
 Injection limits: Pressure limits are usually set by the formation parting
pr. It is normal practice to operate waterfloods below this pr level.
 Environmental and safety considerations: Environmental effects need to
be considered, because the range of ambient temps, humidities affect
the design of the polymer storage system.(mainly dry products). Safety
feature to consider in the design of equipment is the need for explosion-
proof equipment is required.
 Transportation: Tpt facilities available at the site can influence the
design. The storage facilities must be designed for a capacity of about
twice the expected delivery volume.
 Well completion: Type of well completion (perforated or open hole) and
tubing coating can affect polymer performance.
 Water quality and treatment: The quality and treatment of the water
is critical in polymer flooding success. All chemical treatments should
be checked for compatibility with the polymer. A chemical oxygen
scavenger be added to the system well before any polymer is injected.
FIELD OPERATION
Emulsion Products:
 An emulsion field mixing system (Fig.8.7) and a typical polymer
storage tanks and pumps (Fig.8.8) are shown.
 Storage tank should be constructed of acceptable material (SS, coated
carbon, or mild steel). Galvanized metal, aluminum, bronze & natural
rubber should be avoided. Teflon or other oil-resistant materials may
be used for gaskets or seals.
 Insulation is advisable to protect against temp variation. Heat tracing
is usually recommended with the PAM/AA for temp at 700 F.