Technical and economic potential for polymer flooding in Shengli Oilfield

Numerical simulation and economic evaluation were used to study the economic limits under different oil prices and the potential of polymer flooding in Shengli Oilfield. The optimum polymer amount is closely related to the oil price. In terms of economic effectiveness, low oil price requires small amount of polymer, and high oil price requires larger amount. In the present high price, the potential of increasing polymer amount is great in the polymer flooding units. The potential is low in the follow-up water flooding units. There is no potential in the fourth reservoirs for its bad interconnection and pore and void growing. The partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) is unfit in the rich third reservoirs of high temperature and high salinity. By the further study of polymer with temperature resistance and salt tolerance and polymer with one or more types of special chemicals, the polymer flooding technology would be used in the third reservoirs if pilot tests succeed.