Candidate Well Selection for PPG Injection: A Simulation Case Study

Excess water production is a global problem that shrinks the wells' economic life and leads to environmental issues. Preformed particle gels (PPGs) have been used widely to improve reservoir sweep efficiency and control water production during water flooding in the mature oil field. The PPGs classifies cost-effective, environmentally friendly and robust gel chemistries and can resist harsh conditions such as high temperatures and formation salinity. PPG is able to reduce the permeability difference of fractures with various widths. They are prepared and swelled at the surface, then injected to the well and some of the problems of the in-situ gelation systems, such as lack of control over the gelation time, gelling uncertainty due to shear degradation, chromatographic fractionation or change of gallant compositions, and dilution by formation water are not observed in this method. Successful PPG applications in oilfields require appropriate well selection.