IPTC 17226

Development of a Polymer Gel System for Improved Sweep Efficiency and

Injection Profile Modification of IOR/EOR Treatments
Freddy Crespo, B. R. Reddy, Larry Eoff, Christopher Lewis, and Natalie Pascarella, SPE, Halliburton

Copyright 2014, International Petroleum Technology Conference

This paper was prepared for presentation at the International Petroleum Technology Conference held in Doha, Qatar, 20–22 January 2014.

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Abstract
The existence of high-permeability features, such as fissures, fractures, and eroded-out zones, diminishes the sweep
efficiency of any water, gas, or polymer flooding operation. Placing crosslinked conformance polymer gels or other types of
blocking agents in injection and/or production wells can generate the necessary flow diversion for increasing the recovery
factor of enhanced oil recovery/improved oil recovery (EOR/IOR) treatments.
This paper evaluates a high-molecular-weight (HMW) organically crosslinked polymer (OCP) (referred to as HMW-
OCP) gel system for such scenarios. This conformance technology is the result of crosslinking reactions between HMW
polyacrylamide and polyethylenimine (PEI). The relatively medium viscosities of the fluids caused by the HMW of the
components of the system allows for in-depth gel placement in fractures and high-perm channels, without invading the matrix
of the rock. A low-molecular version of this polymer system has proven to successfully control water production in matrix
applications.
This HMW-OCP system gelation occurs gradually with time and temperature and can be designed to suit the need for
short and long placement times. Optimization of gelation times using chemical activators and bimodal distribution of
polymer molecular weights (MWs) is discussed. Fast hydration of the base polymer provides on-the-fly mixing capabilities.
Also, the use of all liquid polymers and additives allows ease of transportation, handling, and storage and mixing of large
volumes of material usually necessary for this type of treatment. Laboratory test results show long-term plugging capabilities,
thermal stability, and fluid-loss control.

Introduction
Inadequate profile injection and sweep efficiency are key challenges when trying to achieve reasonable recovery factors with
IOR/EOR treatments. Fractures, high-permeability channels, and other heterogeneities present in reservoirs are very likely to
provide preferential paths of least resistance to the fluid being injected to sweep hydrocarbons causing premature injected-
fluid breakthrough. A common way to mitigate this problem and to maximize the amounts of swept oil from the reservoir is
to place sealants or blocking agents in such flow paths. Polymer gels and other types of conformance materials are
permeability-reducing agents that can fill fractures and high-permeability channels at the injector or producing well to
generate flow diversion and increase sweep efficiency.
There are several technologies that can be used to reduce injected-fluid production and increase sweep efficiency in
fractured reservoirs.
• Crosslinked polymer gels.
• In situ swellable particulate polymers (or preformed gel particles).
• Triggered in situ activation of nano-sized gel particle emulsions.
• Silicate systems.

Conformance solutions based on crosslinked polymer gel systems have been used with considerable success in EOR/IOR
applications (Sydansk and Southwell 2000; Honnert et al. 2006; Norman et al. 2006; Saez et al. 2012). This type of system is
comprised mainly of a base polymer and a crosslinker. Once both are mixed in water at the desired base polymer/crosslinker
ratios and concentrations, the mix is pumped downhole. A crosslinking reaction between base polymer and crosslinker occurs
that creates a strong gel barrier, which fills the porosity of channels in the target zone, providing the desired seal and flow
2 IPTC 17226

diversion for subsequent sweeping-fluid injection. Fig. 1 shows the three main problem areas for which crosslinked polymer
gel systems are suitable.

Fig. 1—Main applications of crosslinked polymer gel systems: (a) interwell communication through a high-permeability channel, (b)
poor sweep efficiency, and (c) fractures connecting injector to producer.

The crosslinked polymer gels that have been used for EOR applications have comprised either metals, such as Al (III) and
Cr (III), organic crosslinkers, such as PEI, or a combination of a phenol source, such as phenyl acetate, phenol, or
hydroquinone and a formaldehyde source, such as hexamethylenetetramine or paraformaldehyde (Borling et al. 1994;
Frampton et al. 2004; Sydansk 1988). The base polymers varied from synthetic polymers, such as partially hydrolyzed
polyacrylamide, polyacrylamide with low hydrolysis levels, acrylamide copolymers with co-monomers, such as t-
butylacrylate, or 2-acryamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) to biopolymers, such as xanthan.
The base polymer MW is a critical parameter to the success of crosslinked polymer gels in EOR applications. Solutions of
low-MW polymers, even at high polymer loading (≥ 3%), have low viscosities, and can enter into relatively low-permeability
matrix instead of becoming localized in the high-permeability portions of the formation, thereby limiting the access of the
entire matrix to the subsequent flooding treatment. On the contrary, HMW polymers have low matrix injectivity even at
concentrations as low as 0.3 wt% and have viscosities suitable for injecting deep into the formation by means of permeability
pathways. Table 1 shows an overview of the types of permeability-dependent applications of polymer gels based on base
polymer MWs.

TABLE 1—OVERVIEW OF CONFORMANCE GEL TREATMENT APPLICATIONS

BASED ON MW OF BASE POLYMER
MW of
Permeability Type of
Treatment Base Depth of Type of
Range of Permeability
Classification Polymer Applications Treatment Well to be
Application Channel to be
Based on MW (Million Penetration treated
(darcies) Treated
Dalton)
Fractures and Improve sweep
Intermediate to Injector and
High >8 >2 high-perm efficiency, water/gas
deep producer
channels fracture shutoff
Improve sweep Between near-
Between 4 Between 0.2 and High-perm matrix Injector and
Intermediate efficiency, water/gas wellbore (NWB) to
and 8 2 rock producer
shutoff intermediate
Water/gas shutoff,
coning, channeling Injector and
Low <2 < 0.2 Matrix rock NWB
behind casing, zone producer
abandonment

Of the organic crosslinkers employed when forming crosslinked polymer gels with acrylamide polymers for fluid-flow
profile modification applications, PEI offers simplified treatment fluid design with great versatility. The gels can be designed
for a wide range of temperatures, lithologies, permeabilities, salinities, and pH variations. Since their introduction for
commercial use, the crosslinkable fluids based on acrylamide polymers and PEI have been employed for injection into NWB
matrix. This fluid system contained a low-MW acrylamide copolymer at high polymer loadings (4 to 7%) and the treatment
fluids were of low viscosity (~20 cp) and used primarily for water shutoff. A review of the wide range of field applications
for which fluid system was applied has been published (Eoff et al. 2007).
The acrylamide copolymers employed for forming metal-crosslinked gels for EOR applications are of high MW (>8
million Dalton) and used in sequentially increasing polymer concentrations from 0.3 to about 1.0%. Additionally, the base
polymer, most frequently partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PHPA), with the degree of hydrolysis ranging from 2 to 3 to
about 30%, is used in solid form and hydrated before mixing with the metal crosslinker. Hydration of solid PHPA polymer
requires caution and diligence because of the possibility of forming “fish eyes” if the polymer is added to water too rapidly.
The duration of time required for complete hydration can be several hours, occasionally exceeding 24 hours, depending on
the agitation conditions, such as paddle design, tank volume, and the state of polymer bead aggregation. To reduce the time
IPTC 17226 3

of hydration, special solid delivery equipment has been designed by some vendors and offered to operators at an additional
cost.
A field-suitable crosslinkable polymer gel system for EOR applications is expected to have the following features:
• Base polymer and crosslinker are available in liquid form as aqueous solution, non-aqueous emulsions, or both
for ease of on-the-fly metering of the components.
• Base polymer is already hydrated or can be instantly hydrated on mixing with water.
• The ratio of base polymer to crosslinker is adjustable on-the-fly to address field requirements for a range of gel
times and polymer loadings.
• The gel formed at minimum base polymer loading has low fluid loss into the matrix that will be swept by a
subsequent flood treatment.
• All the crosslinked gels are deformable, “tonguing/lipping” types of gels that can be squeezed deep into the
fractures, fissures etc., under pump pressure, and yet block the flow of subsequent flood treatment.
• Viscosity buildup attributed to crosslinking should be gradually spread over a prolonged period of time and not
be a sharp, “right-angle” increase.
• Fluid viscosity during injection should be such that the fluid should be capable of near plug-flow or laminar flow
through a fracture without slumping caused by gravity.

The OCP gels based on acrylamide copolymers as base polymer and PEI as the organic crosslinker described employs
both the reactants as aqueous fluids. However, the gels with suitable gel times and gel strengths require high polymer
concentrations (3 to 5%) and the gel times show “right-angle” viscosity buildup. Additionally, the gels are stiff, “ringing”
type gels, which fracture irreversibly when deformed under shear. The initial viscosity of the fluid composition is low enough
for the fluid to enter low-permeability matrix juxtaposed with the high-permeability thief zones.
The objective of the present work is to alter the compositions of acrylamide copolymer base polymer/PEI based fluids
such that the fluid system meets the requirements for use as an EOR crosslinked polymer gel system. For this purpose, a
liquid form of HMW PHPA (HMW-PHPA), available as a water-in-oil emulsion (invert emulsion), is employed in
combination with an aqueous solution of PEI to form HMW-OCP gels. The hydration of the PHPA polymer on addition to
water is accelerated with the aid of surfactant to minimize the duration of polymer hydration while retaining the benefits of
using only liquid additives.

Materials and Methods

The HMW-OCP system uses all additives, including base polymer (invert emulsion), crosslinker (aqueous solution), and
surfactant to invert the invert emulsion (water-miscible organic solvent) in liquid form. The base polymer is an invert-
emulsion of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, PHPA, with a MW of ~15 million Dalton and a hydrolysis level of ≤ 8%,
with a polymer concentration of 50% by weight of the emulsion. The crosslinker is an aqueous solution of PEI. The
surfactant is a non-ionic surfactant in an alcoholic solvent.
The base polymer was hydrated by addition of emulsion to a stirred (800 rev/min) aqueous solution containing the
inverting surfactant in a Waring blender at room temperature. The degree of hydration was measured by taking aliquots of the
hydrating mixture periodically and measuring the viscosities. Gel times were measured using a Brookfield viscometer set at a
desired temperature and stirred at 10 rev/min. Rheologies of polymer solutions were measured on Chandler 3500 apparatus.
Permeability reduction measurements were performed on sand pack columns prepared with 20/40-mesh sand or a calcium
carbonate column prepared with 16 US Mesh CaCO3. The initial permeabilities of the columns were measured by flowing
2% KCl solution. Then, the column was treated with four pore volumes of treatment. The treated columns were heated to test
temperature and shut in for at least 24 hours. In the case of calcium carbonate packs, long-term performance of the gel for its
ability to provide reduced permeability to water was measured by shutting in the packed column at test temperature and
periodically measuring the permeability to 2% KCl over a period of 15 weeks. Fluid loss measurements were performed by
measuring the fluid flow rates of uncrosslinked gel mixtures (140 mL) through synthetic ceramic discs of different porosities
and permeabilities under a pressure of 50 psi at test temperature (180°F) to simulate fluid loss into the matrix during the
pumping phase of the treatment before crosslinking. Temperature dependence of gel integrity of crosslinked gels was
evaluated by observing syneresis of gels in test tubes kept at different temperatures, and measuring the volumes of separated
free water over a period of time. Formulations at temperatures higher than 180°F also contained an oxygen-scavenger
additive to minimize polymer degradation.

Results and Discussion

Emulsified Polymer Hydration. Addition of surfactant to mix water before the addition of concentrated polymer emulsion
significantly accelerated the rate of polymer hydration and reached complete hydration in less than 3 minutes compared to a
duration longer than 35 minutes when no surfactant was used, as shown in Fig. 2a. The completion of hydration can also be
visually observed by the closing of the vortex in the blender stirring at 800 rev/min. The base polymer can be mixed in fresh
water, seawater, and KCl/NaCl brines. Fig. 2b shows hydration of HMW-PHPA base polymer emulsion in 2% KCl water in a
4 IPTC 17226

Waring blender. The rapid hydration of polymer in the liquid emulsion allows on-the-fly pumping of the treatment fluids,
which is very useful when large treatment volumes are used, and considerably simplifies the operational equipment
requirements. Additionally, use of polymer hydration proceeded without formation of any “fish eyes,” which is a common
problem when solid polymer forms, such as powders or beads, are used.

Fig. 2—Hydration of 7500-ppm HMW-PHPA added as invert emulsion to 2% KCl: (a) viscosity vs. time and (b) physical appearance
during stirring in a lab blender at relatively low shear.

Rheology Measurements. Experiments were undertaken to study the rheological properties of the uncrosslinked HMW-OCP
system at room temperature. Tests were conducted with fully hydrated base polymer in 2% KCl solution mixed with PEI at
room temperature. Three different crosslinker concentrations were used (0.41, 0.79, and 1.2% PEI by weight). Fig. 3a
presents flow behavior of the system showing considerable shear thinning for all formulations, allowing the system to be
easily pumped downhole and placed deep in the formation. Fig. 3b shows shear stress vs. shear rate behavior of the polymer
mixture before crosslinking. The shear thinning behavior is important for placement considerations because, at the end of the
injection period, when the shear is absent, the fluid viscosity increases and prevents the fluid from slumping to the low side,
which would be the case for Newtonian type of crosslinkable fluids. The high fluid viscosities at low shear rates also helps to
minimize fluid loss into matrix permeability during injection.

Fig. 3—Rheological measurements for 7500-ppm HMW-PHPA in 2% KCl, varying concentration of PEI (0.41, 0.79, and 1.2% PEI by
weight) at room temperature: (a) viscosity vs. shear rate and (b) shear stress vs. shear rate.

Gel Formation and Gel times. Crosslinking chemistry between acrylamide copolymers and PEI has been discussed in
several previous papers. The crosslinking reactions take place by transamidation reactions between the amine groups,
predominantly the primary amine groups of PEI and acrylamide groups, as shown in Fig. 4.
IPTC 17226 5

Fig. 4—Schematic representation of transamidation sites between PEI and PHPA.

When the base polymer MWs are low, higher polymer concentrations are required to form gels with reasonable gel times,
and viscosity buildup attributed to crosslinking is very sharp, approaching a right angle set. However, when MWs are high,
lower polymer concentrations are used and the gel strength buildup is gradual, and can take several minutes to hours to reach
full strength. This is beneficial in EOR applications where large fluid volumes are used to reach deep into the formations.
Sharp gel times and stiff, undeformable gel formation while injecting the fluids can prematurely prevent injection of design-
required fluid volumes. For this reason, it is customary to inject gellable fluids with increasing polymer concentrations with
tail-in formulations containing the maximum polymer concentration. The slow gel strength buildup of HMW, low-
concentration base polymer formulation compared to the sharp right-angle set of low-MW, high-concentration base polymer
formulation typically used for water shutoff application is shown in Fig. 5. It can be seen that it takes about 7 to10 hours of
continuous viscosity build to reach the final gel time for the HMW, low-polymer concentration formulation; whereas, it takes
0.5 to 1 hour for the low-MW, high-polymer concentration.

Fig. 5—Comparison of gel times for low-MW, high-concentration base polymer formulation with HMW, low concentration (0.75 wt%).

Treatment formulations can be designed to suit the need for short and long placing times. The OCP system has been
tested at temperatures ranging from 140 to 225°F. Fig. 6 shows gelation times for 7500-ppm base polymer loading
formulations in the lower temperature range (140 to 180°F). Gelation times can be optimized by varying the base polymer
loading, crosslinker concentration, and salinity of mixing brine. Fig. 7 depicts delay in gel times by using a sodium carbonate
retarder at temperatures above 180°F.
6 IPTC 17226

Fig. 6—Gel time vs. temperature for 7500-ppm HMW-PHPA in 2% KCl and varying concentrations of PEI (0.3, 0.5, 0.76 wt% PEI).

Fig. 7—Gel time vs. temperature for 7500-ppm HMW-PHPA, 0.41% PEI in 2% KCl, and varying concentrations of sodium carbonate
retarder.

Permeability Measurements. Packed column flow tests were conducted to evaluate the short-term effectiveness of the OCP
system to reduce water permeability at 180°F. The first test was conducted in a high-permeability sand pack. The packed
column was treated with sufficient fluid (4 pore volumes), and enough time (24 hours) was allowed for the treatment to be
fully crosslinked. Test results show that effective permeability to water was reduced by almost 100%. Table 2 provides
details of the flow test.

TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF TEST PARAMETERS FOR SHORT-TERM CORE FLOW TEST

IN SANDSTONE
Testing temperature, °F 180
Gelation time at 180°F, hr 8
Lithology 20/40-mesh Sand
Test sequence Water/treatment/water
Absolute water permeability, md 125,000
Water permeability after treatment, md 147
Percent permeability reduction (PPR), % 99.9%
7500-ppm PHPA, 0.47 wt%
Treatment formulation
PEI, in 2% KCl
Treatment volume, PV 4 (76 mL)

A separate test was conducted to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the OCP gel system to block water flow at
225°F in a carbonate column. A carbonate pack was prepared with 16 US Mesh calcium carbonate and treated with the
gelling formulation. Long-term gel performance was evaluated for a period of 15 weeks while the packed column was
maintained at test temperature. The results showed that effective permeability to water post-treatment was reduced to 94% at
IPTC 17226 7

the time of publishing this paper. More details of this core flow test are presented in Table 3. The permeability reduction
trends over the extended period are shown in Fig. 8.

TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF TEST PARAMETERS FOR LONG-TERM CORE FLOW TEST IN

CARBONATE
Testing temperature, °F 225
Gelation time at 225°F, hr 1.5
Lithology BARACARB (16 mesh)
Test sequence Water/treatment/water
Initial absolute water permeability, md 126,000 md
Water permeability after treatment, md 7560 md
PPR, % 94%
7500-ppm PHPA, 0.41 wt% PEI, 5
Treatment formulation lbm/Mgal sodium carbonate in 2%
KCl
Treatment volume, PV 4 (76 mL)

Fig. 8—Permeability reduction of 16-mesh BARACARB with 7500-ppm PHPA, 0.41 wt% PEI, 5 lbm/Mgal sodium carbonate in 2% KCl
at 225ºF.

Fluid Leakoff Measurements. Given the HMW nature of this polymer system (~15 million Dalton), it is expected that the
fluid does not undergo significant matrix penetration. To demonstrate this concept, static fluid loss tests were conducted with
different mean pore diameter ceramic disks, and the results are shown in Fig. 9. For comparison, fluid-loss measurements
were also performed with a low-MW base polymer formulation at high polymer loading using a 5-micron disc. As expected,
the results show higher fluid-leakoff rates with higher pore diameter discs. For a given pore diameter disc (5 µ), the low-MW
polymer had significantly higher fluid-leakoff rates.

Fig. 9—Static fluid loss tests with 7500-ppm formulations at 180ºF and 50 psi using varying mean pore diameter of ceramic disks.
8 IPTC 17226

Long-term Gel Thermal Stability. Gel syneresis has been a long standing problem with gels from chromium crosslinked
polyacrylamide systems. Several papers have been published about different approaches to control the gel syneresis (McCool
et al. 2007). Even though it appears reasonable to assume that syneresis can affect the integrity and performance of the
polymer gel system, in some studies, it has been pointed out that the in situ gel syneresis might not be detrimental to the
ability of the gel to block water flow in the formation (Vargas-Vasquez and Romero-Zeron 2008). The mechanism of gel
syneresis in chromium crosslinked gels remains poorly understood. Overcrosslinking is often cited as the culprit. It appeared
possible that organically crosslinked systems might be more resistant to gel syneresis. Figs. 10 and 11 show stability tests
conducted from 180 to 225°F for different formulations aged over a period of several months. Formulation details for tests
conducted at different temperatures are provided in Tables 4 and 5. In the case of formulations designed for testing at 225°F,
an inorganic oxygen scavenger was added to the formulation. Results show that no syneresis of the polymer gel system is
observed at 180 to 225°F during the aging tests, irrespective of salinity or retarder addition.

TABLE 4—FLUID FORMULATIONS FOR SYNERESIS STUDIES AT 180°F

Salinity Base Polymer Concentration, 0.75 wt%; Crosslinker Concentration, 0.35 wt%
Fresh water Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
1.0% KCl Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6
2.0% KCl Sample 7 Sample 8 Sample 9

Fig. 10—Stability tests at 180ºF after 90 days of testing 0.75% PHPA and 0.47 wt% PEI with variable salinities.

TABLE 5—FLUID FORMULATIONS FOR SYNERESIS STUDIES AT 225°F

Retarder Concentration (wt%)
Crosslinker
Concentration 0.0 lbm/Mgal 5.0 lbm/Mgal 10.0 lbm/Mgal
Sodium Carbonate Sodium Carbonate Sodium Carbonate
6.5 gal/Mgal Sample A Sample B Sample C
12 gal/Mgal Sample D Sample E Sample F

Fig. 11—Stability tests at 225ºF after 90 days of testing of formulations containing(7500ppm PHPA + oxygen scavenger solution +
PEI (variable amounts) + Gel time retarder (variable amounts) in 2% KCl solution.
IPTC 17226 9

Field Design for EOR

In many cases, it is preferred that the crosslinkable polymer composition be designed such that formulations containing the
lowest base polymer concentration are pumped first followed by gradually increasing polymer concentrations. For example,
in one such case, it was requested that the formulation be designed beginning with a 3000-ppm (0.3 wt%) base polymer
formulation, followed by an increase of the base polymer concentration in increments of 1500 ppm. The gel strength
requirements at the end of crosslinking period were specified by a letter code, as shown in Table 6.

TABLE 6—A FIELD DESIGN OF SEALANT GEL FORMULATIONS FOR EOR APPLICATIONS

Base Polymer concentration Required Gel Strength

(ppm) Rating
4000 D
5500 E
7000 F
8500 G
10000 H

The gel ranking represented by an alphabet code is a system of rating the gel strengths introduced by Sydansk (1988). The
correlation of the gel consistency of a crosslinked gel as originally applied to chromium crosslinked gels is shown in Table 7.

TABLE 7—CROSSLINKED GEL STRENGTH RATING SYSTEM (SYDANSK 1988)

Alphabet Code Observation Description
The gel appears to have the same viscosity as the original polymer solution
A No detectable gel formed
and gels visually detectable.
The gel appears to be only slightly more viscous than the initial polymer
B Highly flowing gel
solution.
Most of the obviously detectable gel flows to bottle cap on inversion of the
C Flowing gel
bottle.
A small portion (about 5 to 15%) of the gel does not readily flow to the bottle
cap upon inversion—usually characterized as a “tonguing/lipping” gel (i.e.,
D Moderately flowing gel
after hanging out of jar, the gel can be made to flow back into the bottle by
slowly turning the bottle upright).
The gel can barely flow to the bottle cap and/or a significant portion (>15%) of
E Barely flowing gel
the gel does not flow on inversion.
Highly deformable non-
F The gel does not flow to the bottle cap on inversion.
flowing gel
Moderately deformable non-
G The gel flows about half way down the bottle on inversion.
flowing gel
Slightly deformable non-
H The gel surface only slightly deforms on inversion.
flowing gel
I Rigid gel There is no gel-surface deformation on inversion.
J Ringing rigid gel A tuning-fork-like mechanical vibration can be felt after tapping the bottle.

For the ease of pumping fluids of different concentrations, the formulation with the highest base formulation can be made
with a specific base polymer/PEI weight ratio at a required salinity and mixed with water or a salt solution on-the-fly to
obtain a fluid containing desired polymer concentrations. In this study, polymer solutions of two different PHPA/PEI
concentrations, namely 1:0.5 and 1:1, were prepared in fresh water, 1% KCl, or 2% KCl solutions, and diluted accordingly to
obtain different polymer concentrations. Bottles containing the polymer solutions were kept in an oven at either 140 or
180°F. The viscosity build was observed as a function of time until the gel strengths stabilized. Selected results and pictures
of gels are shown in Figs. 12 through 14.

Fig. 12—Gel strength vs. base polymer concentration measurements by bottle tests at 140°F at base polymer/crosslinker ratio of
1:0.5.
10 IPTC 17226

Fig. 13—Gel strength vs. base polymer concentration measurements by bottle tests at 140°F at base polymer/crosslinker ratio of
1:1.

Fig.14—Gel strength vs. base polymer concentration measurements by bottle tests at 180°F in 2% KCl at two base
polymer/crosslinker ratios.

The gel strength measurements with PHPA/PEI formulations at two different base polymer/crosslinker ratios (1:0.5 and
1:1) show that the fluid form gels, which meet the strength requirements to be suitable for sealing of fractures or other high-
permeability zones. As expected, gel strengths are higher in fresh water, at higher base polymer concentrations, and at higher
crosslinker concentrations. The results also show that the gel strengths continued increasing with time for a significant
duration past the gel times. This is beneficial for long-term performance of the seal while using low injection pressures
during the gel placement.

Conclusions
This paper introduces a new HMW-OCP gel system for EOR applications. The conclusions from this work are as follow:
• An all-liquid-additives-based gellable fluid systems that meets all requirements for EOR applications was
presented.
• Base polymer was used as invert emulsion, which, in combination with an inverting surfactant, provides on-the-
fly injection possibility.
• The new system is suited to propagate through fractures and high-permeability channels and seal the entire
portion of the reservoir without significant matrix penetration.
• Viscosity buildup attributed to crosslinking during placement is gradual, and the gels are deformable and
“tonguing/lipping,” allowing for deep gel placement.
• The new system is stable to syneresis up to approximately 225°F for at least three months.
• The new system is compatible with sandstone and carbonate rock.
• The new system can be designed to meet needs for long and short placement times and required gel strengths.

Acknowledgements
The authors thank Halliburton for support and permission to publish this work.
IPTC 17226 11

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