Polymer Flooding in Heterogeneous Heavy Oil Reservoirs: Experimental and Simulation Studies

Area of Science:

• Petroleum Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Reservoir Engineering

Background:

• Polymer flooding (PF) is crucial for enhancing oil recovery in heterogeneous heavy oil reservoirs.
• Understanding polymer degradation and non-Newtonian fluid behavior is essential for optimizing PF.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of polymer degradation and non-Newtonian flow on PF in heterogeneous heavy oil reservoirs.
• To develop and validate a novel mathematical model and simulator for PF.

Main Methods:

• Experimental determination of polymer degradation, fluid rheology, and porous media flow.
• Development and validation of a new polymer flooding simulator based on experimental data.
• Simulation studies to analyze the effects of degradation, shear thinning, and threshold pressure gradient.

Main Results:

• Polymer dynamic degradation is faster than static degradation.
• Polymer solutions exhibit shear thinning, while heavy oil shows Bingham fluid properties.
• Heavy oil exhibits a higher threshold pressure gradient in low-permeability media.

Conclusions:

• The developed simulator accurately models polymer degradation and non-Newtonian flow.
• Polymer degradation, shear thinning, and heavy oil threshold pressure gradient negatively affect PF efficiency.
• These findings are critical for improving heavy oil recovery strategies.