中国工程科学 (Feb 2024)
Investigation and Application of Chemical Compound Flooding for Heavy Oil
Abstract
China has considerable heavy oil reserves, with 60% being deep heavy oil. However, the mainstream thermal recovery technologies, such as cyclic steam stimulation, have a recovery rate of less than 20%. The development potential of heavy oil resources is enormous, and actively exploring new development methods to improve the recovery rate is an inevitable choice for the high-quality development of the petroleum industry. This study focuses on the construction of a chemical compound flooding technology system for heavy oil and its field application, providing an effective solution for the development of green and low-cost sequential technologies for deep heavy oil. Based on the analysis of the components of heavy oil, this study elaborates on the structural viscous mechanism and the recovery improving mechanisms (i.e., chemical viscosity reduction, starting pressure gradient reduction, and oil displacement efficiency improvement mechanisms), which enriches the theoretical understanding. In response to urgent need of engineering applications, this study breaks through the green chemical flooding system for heavy oil from two aspects:the design and synthesis of water-soluble viscosity reducers and the development of self-assembling plugging agents. The developed chemical compound flooding technology for heavy oil has been successfully applied in three demonstration projects, achieving good results in increasing oil production and controlling water cut. Furthermore, this study outlines the key points for the subsequent development of molecular oil recovery theory and technology, as well as percolation theory and numerical simulation technology, providing inspiration and reference for research on green and efficient development technologies for deep heavy oil and the promotion of chemical compound flooding technology for heavy oil.
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