Composition and method for recovering hydrocarbon fluids from a subterranean reservoir

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10214679-B2
Application number	US-201514804973-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 21, 2015
Priority date	Jan 27, 2012
Publication date	Feb 26, 2019
Grant date	Feb 26, 2019

Abstract

A composition including crosslinked expandable polymeric microparticles capable of hydrolysis at or below neutral pH and a method of modifying the permeability to water of a subterranean formation by introducing such compositions into the subterranean formation. This disclosure further relates to compositions and methods for the recovery of hydrocarbon fluids from a subterranean reservoir or formation subjected to CO 2 or CO 2 Water Alternating Gas flooding at low pH and increases the mobilization and/or recovery rate of hydrocarbon fluids present in the subterranean formations.

First claim

The claimed invention is:

1. A method of modifying the permeability to water of a subterranean formation, the method comprising:
introducing into the subterranean formation a composition comprising crosslinked expandable polymeric microparticles having an unexpanded volume average particle size diameter from about 0.05 to about 2,000 microns,
wherein the microparticles comprise labile internal crosslinks with a crosslinking agent content from about 50 to about 200,000 ppm of at least one labile crosslinker based on a molar ratio of said polymeric microparticles, wherein the labile crosslinks are capable of cleavage at or below neutral pH,
wherein the microparticles comprise from 0 to about 900 ppm of at least one non-labile crosslinker based on a molar ratio of said polymeric microparticles, and
wherein the at least one labile crosslinker is selected from at least one of the following structures 1-11, 13, and 15-26:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises an aqueous medium introduced into the subterranean formation and wherein the aqueous medium includes from about 100 ppm to about 50,000 ppm of said microparticles based on total weight of the aqueous medium.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition is added to injection water as part of a secondary or tertiary process for the recovery of hydrocarbon from the subterranean formation.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the injection water is added to the subterranean formation at a temperature lower than the temperature of the subterranean formation.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the diameter of the expanded polymeric microparticles is greater than one tenth of the controlling pore throat radius of the rock pores in the subterranean formation.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subterranean formation is a sandstone or carbonate hydrocarbon reservoir.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the composition is used in a carbon dioxide and water tertiary recovery project.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subterranean reservoir was subjected to CO 2 flooding or alternating CO 2 gas and water flooding.

Assignees

• Ecolab Usa Inc

Inventors

• Kurian Pious V
• Wei Mingli
• Chang Kin-Tai

Classifications

• C09K8/588 Primary

  characterised by the use of specific polymers {(polymeric surfactants C09K8/584)} · CPC title

• E21B43/164

  Injecting CO2 or carbonated water (in combination with organic material C09K8/594) · CPC title

• C09K8/594

  Compositions used in combination with injected gas {, e.g. CO2 orcarbonated gas}(C09K8/592 takes precedence) · CPC title

• E21B43/16

  Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons · CPC title

• C09K8/86

  containing organic compounds · CPC title