Enhancement of Polymer Flooding Performance by the Use of Clay Nanoparticles

Enhancement of Polymer Flooding Performance by the Use of Clay Nanoparticles

Laboratory investigations and field applications have proved injection of polymer solution to be an effective means to improve oil recovery for reservoirs of medium oil viscosity. The incremental oil produced in this case is the result of an increase in areal and vertical sweep efficiencies. Biopolymers and synthetic polymers are the major categories used in the petroleum industry for specific reasons. Biopolymers like xanthan are limited in their application as they are more susceptible to biodegradation. Synthetic polymers like Hydrolyzed PolyAcrylaMide (HPAM) have a much wider application as they are less susceptible to biodegradation. Furthermore, development of nanotechnology has successfully provided technical and economical viable alternatives for present materials. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of combining Nano-clay particles with polymer solution on oil recovery. This paper includes a history match of two-dimensional (2D) polymer flood using a three- dimensional numerical model for fluid flow and mass transport. Results indicated that the amount of oil recovery, breakthrough time, and water-cut improved when Nano-clay particles were added to the PAM solution.