After briefly outlining the present state and future developments of polymer flooding, the parameters are defined which influence performance and economics of this flooding process.
Investigation of the impact of those parameters on process performance and economics, and assessment of the degree of knowledge of the most influential parameters, lead to the conclusion that polymer flooding:
Can recover significant amounts of oil not economically recoverable by waterflooding.
Is of similar economic complexity as waterflooding apart from the inclusion of polymer specific parameters.
is technically and economically much less complex than most other EOR-techniques.
Is an efficient, economically attractive stand-alone EOR-technique.
Après avoir décrit dans ses grandes lignes actuelles l'injection des polymères et ses futurs développements, on définit les paramètres qui influencent ses performances et sa rentabilité.
L'examen de l'impact de ces paramètres et l'évaluation du niveau de connaissance des principaux paramètres ont permis de conclure que l'injection de polymères:
Permet de récupérer des quantités importantes de pétrole hors de portée économique de l'injection d'eau.
Présente une complexité économique similaire à celle de l'injection d'eau sauf pour les paramètres spécifiques
Présente une complexité et économie très inférieure à celle de la plupart des autres techniques de RAH.
Constitue une technique de RAH efficace, économique et autonome. des polymères.
Polymer application in enhanced oil recovery makes use of polymeric additives in flood water or treatment water. Specific different types of applications are: (1) In the process of polymer flooding, polymers are added to the flood water in a concentration range of about 250 to 2000 ppm. The polymer solution improves the water-oil mobility ratio by increasing the viscosity of the flood medium and decreasing its relative and effective permeability, respectively.
For practical purposes, the mobility ratio (M) in polymer flooding is often expressed in terms of the effective oil and polymer solution permeabilities (k,, and kRp) and the corresponding viscosities (p, and p.,).
The improvement of oil recovery in polymer flooding due to this more favourable mobility ratio is obvious. It is a generally accepted opinion that polymer flooding does not lower residual oil saturation. (2) In chemicaljooding processes, like surfactant or alkali flooding, polymer is applied as a mobility controlling agent following the fluid which mobilizes residual oil. (3) Frequently, oil displacing fluids and reservoir brine are not compatible, for example because of detrimentally high amounts of divalent ions in the connate