Waterflooding is a way of life in the Pennsylvanian Tyler formation in Central Montana; but not without problems. The heterogeneous nature of Tyler sandstone causes premature water breakthrough, water recycling, poor aerial and vertical sweep, and low oil recovery.

New technology to address these problems and improve waterflood performance has been implemented in six Tyler reservoirs in the past ten years. Polymers coupled with gelling agents are used to improve vertical conformance and flood efficiency. Much has been learned on how to better flood the Tyler.

This paper:

  1. Reviews the engineered oil recovery projects by defining the program, showing performance and evaluating the success of each project.

  2. Discusses the volumetric sweep improvement technology used and improvements made.

  3. Makes recommendations on "How to Flood the Tyler".

Keywords:
injection, polymer injection, wor, water injection, upstream oil & gas, waterflooding, oil recovery, reservoir, augmented process, producer
Subjects:
Improved and Enhanced Recovery, Waterflooding
Copyright 1989, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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