Preparation of polymer microspheres as oil displacement agent for extra-high temperature and extra-high salinity reservoirs

Based on the difficult problem that conventional polymer and gel can't be used for enhancing oil recovery in extra-high temperature (200 °C) and extra-high salinity (2 ×105 mg/L) reservoirs,an anti-temperature anti-salinity microspheres was prepared with 2,2′-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl] propane (BAPP), 3, 3′, 4, 4′-diphenyl ether dianhydride (ODPA) and phthalic anhydride (PA) as the monomers. The FTIR results showed that the temperature- and salt-resistant polyimide (PI) microspheres were prepared as target product. TGA showed that thermal decomposition of the unaged and aged PI-2 microspheres occurred over 281 °C and 252 °C, respectively; These values greatly exceed those of commercial HPAM, weak gel particles and pre-crosslinked gel particles. After the polyimide microspheres were aged for 120 d, the enhanced oil recovery of the PI-2 microspheres does not decrease significantly, so the long-term stability of two polyimide microspheres are very good at 200 °C and total dissolved solids (TDS) = 2 × 105 mg/L. The PI-2 microspheres had better properties than the conventional polymer and gel as profile control agent and water plugging agent. The microspheres possess the characteristics of being able to inject, block, and move, resulting in excellent oil displacement efficiency. The results of core displacement experiments revealed that PI-2 microspheres are highly efficient in oil displacement and have a strong ability to improve the water injection profile. Therefore, PI-2 microspheres can be used as an oil displacement agent in reservoirs with extremely high temperature and salt content.