Influence of Polymer Viscoelasticity on Microscopic Remaining Oil Production

Abstract

To investigate the impact of polymer viscoelasticity on microscopic remaining oil production, this study used microscopic oil displacement visualisation technology, numerical simulations in PolyFlow software, and core seepage experiments to study the viscoelasticity of polymers and their elastic effects in porous media. We analysed the forces affecting the microscopic remaining oil in different directions, and the influence of polymer viscoelasticity on the displacement efficiency of microscopic remaining oil. The results demonstrated that the greater the viscosity of the polymer, the greater the deformation and the higher the elasticity proportion. In addition, during the creep recovery experiment at low speed, the polymer solution was mainly viscous, while at high speed it was mainly elastic. When the polymer viscosity reached 125 mPa·s, the core effective permeability reached 100 × 10−3 μm2, and the equivalent shear rate exceeded 1000 s−1, the polymer exhibited an elastic effect in the porous medium and the viscosity curve displayed an ‘upward’ phenomenon. Moreover, the difference in the normal deviatoric stress and horizontal stress acting on the microscopic remaining oil increased exponentially as the viscosity of the polymer increased. The greater the viscosity of the polymer, the greater the remaining oil deformation. During the microscopic visualisation flooding experiment, the viscosity of the polymer, the scope of the mainstream line, and the recovery factor all increased. The scope of spread in the shunt line area significantly increased, but the recovery factor was significantly lower than that in the mainstream line. The amount of remaining oil in the unaffected microscopic area also decreased.