Essentials of Polymer Flooding Technique

Chapter nine Field Cases

In this chapter, we will discuss some interesting aspects of a few key field cases using polymer, surfactant–polymer, and alkali‐surfactant‐polymer flooding (P, SP, ASP). There have been – and still are – many ongoing polymer floods around the world. Reviewing them all would be an arduous and time‐consuming exercise and would not provide much additional knowledge. Every case is different, especially since limited information is made public; even though some comparisons can be drawn, it is always better to build a business case with ground science and common sense, rather than just copying what has been done in the past. It is important to build on experience and, more importantly, to keep an open mind and a fresh eye on all technological developments available for implementation. An old precept says that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for life. So, let's build (on) knowledge.

9.1. Introduction

In 2016, more than 50 polymer floods were operating worldwide, not including projects still in the design phase or about ready for deployment in the field. Every reservoir has its own constraints, and the injection strategy should be adapted accordingly. Several papers summarize chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects throughout the world, with varying degree of detail [1–6]. A list ...