Necessity and feasibility of improving the residual resistance factor of polymer flooding in heavy oil reservoirs

The efficiency of water flooding in heavy oil reservoirs would be improved by increasing the viscosity of the displacing phase, but the sweep efficiency is not of significance due to the low mobility of the vicious oil. On the basis of mobility control theory, increasing the residual resistance factor not only reduces the water-oil mobility ratio but also decreases the requirement for viscosity enhancement of the polymer solution. The residual resistance factor caused by hydrophobic associating polymer solution is higher than that caused by polyacrylamide solution in brine containing high concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions. The results of numerical simulations show that the polymer flooding efficiency improved by increasing the residual resistance factor is far better than that by only increasing solution viscosity. The recovery factor of heavy oil reservoirs （70 mPa·s） can be enhanced by hydrophobic associating polymer solution of high residual resistance factor （more than 3） and high effective viscosity （24 mPa·s）. Therefore, increasing the residual resistance factor of the polymer solution not only decreases the requirement for the viscosity of polymer solution injected into heavy oil reservoirs but also is favorable to enhanced oil recovery during polymer flooding.

Stability and water control of nitrogen foam in bulk phase and porous media

Foam is widely used in the petroleum industry thanks to its unique properties and performance. Its application to water control in oil wells has received more and more attention. The stability of nitrogen foam was investigated in pressurized equipment and sand pack. The result indicated that with increasing pressure （0-2 MPa） the stability of foam in the pressurized equipment increased linearly. Increased nitrogen injection pressure caused better dispersion of nitrogen-foaming solution in porous media. The initial residual resistance factor to gas was an exponential function of injection pressure, but the residual resistance factor （to gas and liquid） decreased exponentially with time. The halflife of foam in porous media （expressed in residual resistance factor） was much longer than that in bulk phase （expressed in foam height）. Pore model analysis indicated that good dispersion in porous media and the presence of thick liquid film during dispersion were the main reasons for high stability. Field test indicated that effective residence of foam in the formation not only resulted in much better heat insulation, but also improved steam stimulation by enhancing steam heating.

The influence of water disposal method on the property of chemical oil-displacement agent–taking Guan 109-1 area of Dagang oilfield as example

Aiming at the actual demand of Guan 109-1 block in Dagang oilfield,by means of instrumental analysis,chemical analysis,modern physical simulation,viewing polymer viscosity and seepage characteristic as evaluation index,the experimental research on the influence of water disposal method on the property of chemical oil-displacement agent was carried out.Results showed that through adding scaling agent,scale was formed because of the reaction between scaling agent and Ca^2+,Mg^2+ in the flooding water,which could enhance the viscosity of polymer solution.Through comparing the resistance factor and residual resistance factor of polymer solution which was respectively prepared with flooding water,softened water and scale,the resistance factor and residual resistance factor of polymer solution with scale was the largest,that of polymer solution prepared with softened water was second and that of polymer solution prepared with flooding water came last.Furthermore,scaling agent weakened the gelling effect between cross-linking agent Cr^3+ and polymer molecule chains.The earlier the crosslinking agent Cr^3+ was added,the larger the polymer viscosity,resistance factor and residual resistance factor of Cr3t polymer were.