Smart Segmented Polymer Injection Pilot: A Case Study

Abstract Polymer flood is proved an effective method for EOR in China. Traditional segmented polymer injection technique cannot obtain continuous layer parameters. Real-time monitoring is necessary for polymer flood because downhole pressure and flowrate vary more often than waterflood. Existing technique for layered monitoring and flowrate adjustment is wireline test. There is no smart technique which can realize real-time monitoring and automatic flowrate control. In this paper, a smart segmented injection technique for polymer flood well is introduced. A smart distributor is permanently placed in each layer. It is composed of flowmeter, temperature sensor, two pressure sensors, downhole choke and electrical control unit. The special flowmeter is adopted for polymer flowrate test. All the distributors are connected together by a single control line which is set outside of the tubing string. Operator can read the data of each layer and adjust the flowrate whenever needed at any time which makes the technique a smart one. The smart technique for polymer flood wells has been implemented in a polymer well in Daqing oilfield of China. A case study for smart segmented polymer injection pilot is introduced in detail including technical principle, indoor test results, construction process and adjustment process. The application results show that the operator on the ground can easily obtain downhole tubing pressure, layer annulus pressure, temperature and flowrate on line. The sample time can be set to any one between 1-65536s according to geological engineer's advice. There is no limitation caused by battery power because the distributor is powered by cable on the ground. In terms of adjustment, the flowrate can be adjusted according to the target value. And it can also be regulated at any time manually, just needing pushing the mouse in the office. The application also displays that the smart segmented technique has the advantage for polymer injection because of larger change of layered parameters. It can provide more real-time data for oil development engineer and the data are beneficial for better understanding and optimization of the reservoir. Therefore, the smart segmented polymer injection has a great potential for EOR based on polymer flood.