Comparative analysis of the performance of hydrophobically associating polymer, xanthan and guar gum as mobility control agent, in enhanced oil recovery application

Abstract

This study aimed at evaluating the performance of hydrophobically associating polymer (HAPAM), xanthan gum, and guar gum in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. Their performances in terms of oil recovery applications were investigated through rheological behavior analysis and core flooding experiments. Rheological studies reveal shear thinning characteristics with HAPAM showing superior rheological behavior at elevated shear rates for all concentrations tested. Core flooding tests were conducted on different sandstone core samples with similar petrophysical properties to evaluate the EOR performance using the three polymers. Cumulative oil recovered after waterflood implies that HAPAM shows better oil recovery capability with 41.1, 62.4, and 63.5% oil recovery compared to xanthan achieving 32.8, 33.7, and 56.2% and guar gum achieving 41.8, 57.1, and 61.2% oil recovery using the three concentrations; concentration 1, 2 and 3 (1,000, 4,000 and 6,000 ppm), respectively. The superior performance by HAPAM was also evident in its lesser amount of permeability damage after flooding with 28.3% concentration.

Keywords

• Super-pusher
• Rheology
• Polymers
• Permeability impairment
• Guar gum
• Xanthan gum