Effect of reservoirs heterogeneity on injection pressure and placement of preformed particle gel for conformance control

Preformed particle gels (PPG) have been successfully applied as a plugging agent for plugging fractures and then divert displacing fluid into poorly swept zones. However, PPG propagation and plugging mechanisms through open fractures have not been studied thoroughly. This work investigated the influence of some factors (particle size, brine concentration, heterogeneity, and brine salinity) on gel injectivity, plugging performance for water flow through open fractures. Five-foot tubes were used to mimic open fractures. Three models were designed to conduct the work, including (1) single fracture with uniform fracture width, (2) single fracture with different widths, and (3) two parallel fractures with different width ratios. Results from single uniform fracture experiments showed that PPG injection pressure was more sensitive to gel strength than gel particle size. When large PPG size and high gel strength were used, high injection pressure and large injection pore volume were required for PPG and brine to reach fracture outlets. Results from single heterogeneous fracture model experiments showed PPG injection pressure increased as the fracture heterogeneity in sections increased. Existence of choke point caused injection pressure to increase accordingly. Furthermore, results showed that injecting lower salinity water, which was less than the brine salinity that was used to prepare PPG, would improve the PPG plugging efficiency for water flow. Parallel fracture models results showed that gel strength and fracture width ratio can effect PPG injection selectivity. In summary, this work demonstrated a few important impacting elements of gel propagation and water flow for different heterogeneous open fractures situations --Abstract, page iii