Polymer Gels for Water Control in Oil Reservoirs: A Review

Polymeric gel systems have been widely used for excessive water management in recent years for enhanced oil recovery applications These gels have been proved useful for profile control and reducing excess water production from hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs. There are three common methods to improve water shut-off performance, which are increasing the viscosity of the flooding fluid, reducing the permeability of high-permeability streaks present in the reservoir and increasing the permeability of low-permeable zones. Among all water control processes, chemical water shut-off treatment is one which has shown its feasibility and practicality in oilfields for decades. Polymeric gel systems are usually composed of a water-soluble polymer or monomer crosslinked with an organic or inorganic crosslinker.