Optimizing the strength and size of preformed particle gels for better.pdf

Fuel 148 (2015) 178–185Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Fuel journal homepage: www.elsevier .com/locate / fuelOptimizing the strength and size of preformed particle gels for better conformance control treatment/10.1016/j.fuel.2015.01.022 0016-2361/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ? Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 (573) 341 4016. E-mail address: baib@ (B. Bai).Abdulmohsin Imqam, Baojun Bai ? Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri, United States h i g h l i g h t s  Permeable gel-pack was formed in the large fluid channels by gel particles.  A better gel blocking efficiency gained by optimizing gel strength and particle size.  Gel pack permeability was a few hundred millidarcies before the load pressure.  PPG is compressible and its compressibility was between 0.0003 psi1 and 0.003 psi1.  PPG formed internal channels when subjected to a continuous load pressure.a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 11 November 2014 Received in revised form 31 December 2014 Accepted 8 January 2015 Available online 9 February 2015 Keywords: Preformed particle gel Fluid channel Gel treatment Water management Conformance controla b s t r a c t A newer trend in gel treatments is using preformed particle gel (PPG) to reduce fluid channels through super-high permeability streaks/fractures and thus to decrease water production and increase sweep efficiency for mature oilfields. The success of a PPG treatment mainly depends on whether or not the PPG can effectively reduce the permeability of the channels to an appropriate level. This work sought to determine what factors significantly influence the blocking efficiency of PPG in fluid channels. A trans- parent filtration model was designed to observe the compression of gel particles in fluid channels at several differential pressures and to study the effect of various parameters, such as brine concentrations and particle sizes, on PPG blocking efficiency. The results suggested that rathe