Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Micron-Size Polyacrylamide Elastic Microspheres (MPEMs): Underlying Mechanisms and Displacement Experiments

Micron-size polyacrylamide elastic microsphere (MPEM) is a newly developed profile control and oil displacement agent for enhanced oil recovery in heterogeneous reservoirs. In this study, laboratory experiments were performed to characterize the viscoelastic properties of MPEMs in brine water. A transparent sandpack micromodel was used to observe the microscopic flow and displacement mechanisms, and parallel-sandpack models were used to investigate the profile control and oil displacement performance using MPEMs in heterogeneous reservoirs. The results indicate that MPEMs almost do not increase the viscosity of injection water and can be conveniently injected using the original water injection pipelines. The microscopic profile control and oil displacement mechanisms of MPEMs in porous media mainly behave as selective-plugging in large pores, fluid diversion after MPEMs plugging, oil drainage caused by MPEMs breakthrough, and the mechanism of oil droplets converging into oil flow. MPEMs have a high plugging strength, which can tolerate a long-term water flushing. MPEMs can selectively enter and plug the large pores and pore-throats in high permeability sandpack, but almost do not damage the low permeability sandpack. MPEMs can effectively divert the water flow from the high permeability sandpack to the low permeability sandpack and improve the sweep efficiency of low permeability sandpack and low permeability area in the high permeability sandpack. The results also confirm the dynamic process of profile control and oil displacement using MPEMs in heterogeneous reservoirs.