A Survey of Polymer Flooding in Western Canada

Abstract

Abstract Polymer flooding is becoming increasingly more common and more successful in western Canada. In the year 2011, western Canada produced over 1,600,000 m3 of oil using polymer flooding. In the statistical study reported here, production, injection, reservoir, and operating data were gathered from 32 polymer floods of heavy and medium oil in western Canada. Success was highly variable. Incremental recovery ranged from 0.5 to 14% of the original oil in place over periods lasting between 1 and 9 years. Half of the polymer floods in the project showed a decline in water cut. Oils of very high viscosity and low gravity—as high as 5,000 mPa-s for dead oil and as low as 15°API gravity — were successfully flooded using a polymer solution. Operational factors that were most significant to flooding success were injection volumes and rates; inclusion of horizontal wells, in particular injection wells; and water quality. Water quality was a major issue, suggesting that the success of many projects comes down to handling operational issues rather than project concept or design. Polymer integrity and injectivity led to many of the operational difficulties.