Mobility control polymers for enhanced oil recovery
AssigneeEcolab USA Inc.
InventorsPeter E. Reed, William J. Andrews, Mingli Wei, Xiaojin Harry Li
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are water-soluble polymers comprising hydrolyzable cross-linked monomer units, and methods for recovering hydrocarbon fluids from a subterranean formation using the water-soluble polymers.
Claims36
A method for recovering a hydrocarbon fluid from a subterranean formation, comprising:
- introducing into the formation an aqueous flooding fluid, the fluid comprising water and a water-soluble polymer having hydrolyzable cross-linked monomer units, the polymer comprising about 1 mol % to about 100 mol % acrylamide monomers, wherein, after introducing the aqueous flooding fluid into the formation, the hydrolyzable cross-linked monomer units are hydrolyzed to produce an aqueous flooding fluid after hydrolysis having a viscosity that is about the same or higher than a viscosity of the aqueous fluid prior to injection.
A method for recovering a hydrocarbon fluid from a subterranean formation, comprising:
- introducing into the formation an aqueous flooding fluid, the fluid comprising water and a water-soluble polymer, and having a viscosity of about 0 cPs to about 100 cPs, wherein, after introducing the aqueous flooding fluid into the formation, the viscosity of the aqueous flooding fluid increases to about 1 cPs to about 5000 cPs.
A water-soluble polymer comprising about 1 mol % to about 100 mol % acrylamide monomers, and further comprising about 0.1 ppm to about 20000 ppm hydrolyzable cross-linked monomer units based on the weight of the water-soluble polymer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.