Conformance control for production optimisation using polymer nanocomposite hydrogels

Conformance control is a major challenge in hydrocarbon recovery operations. One of the effective technologies for improving the conformance of a flood front and modifying the injected fluid profile is the application of polymer hydrogels. In this technique, polymer hydrogels are prepared as gel particles, which are injected into the reservoir to block-off preferential flow paths and thief zones, such as fractures and high permeability zones. Subsequently, the fluid injected as part of oil recovery operation would be directed and forced to pass through low permeable zones and sweep more hydrocarbon mass towards the production wells. Depending on the situation, this technology can result in a considerable incremental hydrocarbon recovery from a reservoir. In the present research, nanotechnology was combined with polymer engineering to develop a novel polymer nanocomposite hydrogel with supreme properties, as confirmed using advanced rheological characterisation. Subsequently, the performance of the newly developed nanocomposite hydrogel was tested using a specially designed core flooding setup and procedure. The core flooding results showed that the application of this novel hydrogel could increase the oil recovery by up to 16% under laboratory conditions.