Phillips Petroleum Company

John Westerman

Max P McDaniel

Marvin M Johnson

Gil R Hawley

Henry L Hsieh

Ahmad Moradi-Araghi

James E Shaw

James H Hedges

Paul D Smith

Geir Bjornson

Allan Stahl

Water-soluble polymers comprising N-vinyl amide such as an N-vinyl lactam are found to be useful in processes wherein the polymer is introduced into a subterranean wellbore. Polymers useful in the recovery of natural resources are prepared by polymerizing an N-vinyl lactam by free radical initiation with polymerization conducted in an aqueous solution polymerization medium preferably containing a mixture of dissolved electrolytes, or in a polymerization medium consisting essentially of a tertiary alkanol. Copolymers of such N-vinyl lactams with unsaturated amides and terpolymers prepared by polymerizing an N-vinyl lactam and an unsaturated amide with a selected termonomer compound are also useful when prepared by these methods. The invention also broadly encompasses utilizing a water-soluble polymer comprising at least one of a hydrophilic vinyl-containing sulfonate, phosphonate or ester and/or hydrophilic N-vinyl lactam for applications under hostile conditions.

Polymers useful in the recovery and processing of natural resources

Polymerization in-situ to effect permeability contrast correction in oil-bearing subterranean formations comprising the injection of at least one water-soluble monomer comprising N-3-oxohydrocarbon-substituted acrylamides, such as diacetone acrylamide, and optionally at least one water-soluble comonomer, such as alpha,beta-unsaturated amides, alpha,beta-unsaturated nitriles, vinyl-containing sulfonates and N-vinyl amides and polymerization initiator to cause polymerization and formation of water-insoluble polymers in high permeability zones.

Permeability contrast correction

Aluminum phosphate having reduced fines is produced by gelling said aluminum phosphate in the presence of an acrylamide polymer. The resulting support is of primary utility as a base for a chromium olefin polymerization catalyst but is also suitable as a support for titanium catalysts such as TiCl.sub.3, TiCl.sub.4 /MgCl.sub.2 and other conventional catalysts typically associated with polymerization of propylene.

Acrylamide polymer used to reduce fines in aluminum phosphate gel

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Bartlesville, OK, United States of America

John Westerman