Essentials of Polymer Flooding Technique

Chapter three Polymer Flooding

Viscous water injection, also known as polymer flooding (PF), will be the focus of this chapter. The technological concept will be discussed along with general concerns raised by the injection of viscous water.

3.1. Introduction

Among chemical enhanced oil recovery methods (CEOR), polymer flooding (PF) is an intuitive technique with a long commercial history and many field‐proven results. During recovery of oil with a variety of viscosities, it's only natural to consider a recovery process in which injection water is viscosified. The envelope of PF application has widened greatly over the years thanks to numerous improvements in chemistry, formulation, design, and implementation. Polymer flooding consists of injecting polymer‐augmented water that exhibits an increased fluid viscosity, improving the sweep efficiency of the reservoir flood by providing mobility control between water and resident hydrocarbons.

The first significant commercial uses of polymers to improve the oil recovery factor of oil reservoirs can be traced back to the 1970s in the United States during a crude oil price‐control period. At that time, economic incentive programs played an important role in the rapid development and implementation of CEOR processes. Direct financial support was provided by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) and the ...