Marathon Oil Company

Perry A Argabright

John S Rhudy

C Travis Presley

Brian L Phillips

Robert D Sydansk

Charles B Wenger

Wayne E Luetzelschwab

Larry M Echelberger

A water-soluble inorganic non-crosslinking salt is incorporated in an aqueous gel-like solution of a water-soluble uncrosslinked polymer at an initial higher polymer concentration. The salt accelerates the dilution of the polymer solution with an aqueous diluent to an aqueous polymer solution at a predetermined lower polymer concentration. The gel-like polymer solution is diluted without substantially degrading the polymer so that it retains desirable properties for use in a hydrocarbon recovery process.

Method of diluting a concentrated polymer solution for use in a

Conformance improvement is achieved in a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation using a gel comprising a high molecular weight, water-soluble, carboxylate-containing polymer, a chromium III/carboxylate complex capable of crosslinking the polymer and an aqueous solvent. The gel components are combined at the surface and injected into the desired treatment zone via a wellbore to form a continuous single-phase gel.

Conformance improvement in a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation

An on-site, in-line process and system for recovering oil from oil-bearing subterranean formations which involves the production, modification, dilution and injection of a polymer solution, preferably consisting essentially of an aqueous solution of a partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, having injectivity and mobility properties capable of meeting the specific permeability requirements of substantially any subterranean formation to be achieved. The polymer solutions prepared by the process and system can be used as drive fluids for displacing oil (secondary polymer flood) in an oil-bearing formation, as mobility buffers to follow micellar dispersion floods in the conjoint presence of chemical reagents in other chemical floods (e.g., surfactant, caustic, etc.), or they can follow a water flood. The solutions can also be used to promote pipelining of high viscosity crude oil. Irrespective of the use to which the solutions are put, the process and system enable the polymer solutions to be customized, or tailor-make, so to speak, to meet the performance demands of the environment in which they are to be used, whether it be an oil-bearing formation or a pipeline.

Oil recovery process and system

Conformance improvement is achieved in a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation using a gel comprised of a high molecular weight water-soluble acrylamide polymer, a chromium III/carboxylate complex capable of crosslinking the polymer and an aqueous solvent. The gel components are combined at the surface and injected into the desired treatment zone via a wellbore to form a continuous single-phase gel. The gel is tailored to a specific subterranean application by first determining the treatment demands of the desired subterranean zone, then predetermining the gelation rate and resultant gel strength and stability which are required of a gel to meet the demands, and finally producing the gel having the required predetermined properties under controlled surface conditions by utilizing observed correlations between specific controllable gelation parameters and resultant gel properties.

An on-site, in-line process and system for recovering oil from oil-bearing subterranean formations which involves the production, modification, dilution and injection of a polymer solution, preferably consisting essentially of an aqueous solution of a partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, having injectivity and mobility properties capable of meeting the specific permeability requirements of substantially any subterranean formation to be achieved. The polymer solutions prepared by the process and system can be used as drive fluids for displacing oil (secondary polymer flood) in an oil-bearing formation, as mobility buffers to follow micellar dispersion floods in the conjoint presence of chemical reagents in other chemical floods (e.g., surfactant, caustic, etc.), or they can follow a water flood. The solutions can also be used to promote pipelining of high viscosity crude oil. Irrespective of the use to which the solutions are put, the process and system enable the polymer solutions to be customized, or tail-made, so to speak, to meet the performance demands of the environment in which they are to be used, whether it be an oil-bearing formation or a pipeline.

An on-site, in-line process and system for recovering oil from oil-bearing subterranean formations which involves the production, modification, dilution and injection of a polymer solution, preferably consisting essentially of an aqueous solution of a partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, having injectivity and mobility properties capable of meeting the specific permeability requirements of substantially any subterranean formation to be achieved. The polymer solutions prepared by the process and system can be used as drive fluids for displacing oil (secondary polymer flood) in an oil-bearing formation, as mobility buffers to follow micellar dispersion floods in the conjoint presence of chemical reagents in other chemical floods (e.g., surfactant, caustic, etc.), or they can follow a water flood. The solutions can also be used to promote pipelining of high viscosity crude oil. Irrespective of the use to which the solutions are put, the process and system enable the polymer solutions to be customized, or tailor-made, so to speak, to meet the performance demands of the environment in which they are to be used, whether it be an oil-bearing formation or a pipeline.

Oil recovery process

A method of reducing the fluid flow friction loss of fluid waste materials in the conduits of sanitary sewer systems while at the same time maintaining the solid materials in the fluid in a flowable condition by introducing into a sewer system about 1 to about 10,000 ppm of an aqueous solution of a partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymer having a preselected average molecular weight and molecular weight distribution.

Treatment of sanitary sewer systems

Polymer mobility control agents useful in supplemental oil recovery processes, which give improved reciprocal relative mobilities, are prepared by initiating the polymerization of a monomer containing a vinyl group with a catalyst comprising a persulfate and ferrous ammonium sulfate. The vinyl monomer is an acrylyl, a vinyl cyanide, a styryl and water soluble salts thereof.

Mobility control agent

Improved injectivity profiles and/or vertical conformance in flooding heterogeneous formations containing high permeability zones is obtained by injecting an aqueous polyacrylamide solution and an aqueous formaldehyde solution into the formation and allowing the polyacrylamide to react with the formaldehyde in the relatively high permeability zones to form a gel. Thereafter, improved sweep efficiency is realized in displacing hydrocarbon from the lesser permeability zones.

Method of improving injectivity profiles and/or vertical conformance in

Loose particles are consolidated, e.g., to prevent them from falling into well bores in producing wells, by contacting the loose particles with a solution having a pH above 7 containing water-soluble polymer, e.g., polyvinyl alcohol and hydroxyethyl cellulose, and a polyisocyanurate salt and maintaining said contact for a time sufficient to cause the formation of a consolidating matrix.

Method of consolidating particles

Metals can be removed from aqueous solutions by contacting such solutions with a composition formed by reacting polyisocyanurate salts with synthetic resins. The resulting composition contains polyisocyanurate salt groups which act as exchange sites for removing the metals from solution. Regeneration by treatment with suitable inorganic metal salts and use of chloromethylated synthetic resins in the forming of the polymer are utilized in preferred embodiments.

Ion exchange of metals from aqueous solutions using compositions of

A mixture of molecules containing all of the following groups exhibit surface activity: isocyanurate, metal-substituted isocyanurate, and at least one group selected from the class consisting of a monovalent organic radical selected from the following: isocyanate (--NCO), urethane (--NHCO.sub.2 R'), urea (--NHCONHR'), amino (--NH.sub.2, --NHR', or --NR.sub.2 ').

Growing community of inventors

Larkspur, CO, United States of America

Perry A Argabright