Characteristics and mechanism of smart fluid for sweep-controlling during CO_(2) flooding

A smart response fluid was designed and developed to overcome the challenges of gas channeling during CO_(2)flooding in low-permeability,tight oil reservoirs.The fluid is based on Gemini surfactant with self-assembly capabilities,and the tertiary amine group serves as the response component.The responsive characteristics and corresponding mechanism of the smart fluid during the interaction with CO_(2)/oil were studied,followed by the shear characteristics of the thickened aggregates obtained by the smart fluid responding to CO_(2).The temperature and salt resistance of the smart fluid and the aggregates were evaluated,and their feasibility and effectiveness in sweep-controlling during the CO_(2)flooding were confirmed.This research reveals:(1)Thickened aggregates could be assembled since the smart fluid interacted with CO_(2).When the mass fraction of the smart fluid ranged from 0.05%to 2.50%,the thickening ratio changed from 9 to 246,with viscosity reaching 13 to 3100 mPas.As a result,the sweep efficiency in low-permeability core models could be increased in our experiments.(2)When the smart fluid(0.5%to 1.0%)was exposed to simulated oil,the oil/fluid interfacial tension decreased to the level of 1×10^(-2)mN/m.Furthermore,the vesicle-like micelles in the smart fluid completely transformed into spherical micelles when the fluid was exposed to simulated oil with the saturation greater than 10%.As a result,the smart fluid could maintain low oil/fluid interfacial tension,and would not be thickened after oil exposure.(3)When the smart fluid interacted with CO_(2),the aggregates showed self-healing properties in terms of shear-thinning,static-thickening,and structural integrity after several shear-static cycles.Therefore,this fluid is safe to be placed in deep reservoirs.(4)The long-term temperature and salt resistance of the smart fluid and thickened aggregates have been confirmed.