Paper: POLYMER GEL USED TO REDUCE PRODUCED WATER

The use of a polymer gel to reduce large volumes of water production in an aquifer-supported oil reservoir will be presented. Water invasion from the underlying aquifer had begun to water out the completion and repeated plug backs and cement squeeze attempts failed to block the water movement into the wellbore. A vertical permeability channel to the upper perforations in the near wellbore region was suspected to be the cause. A polymer gel treatment through the bottom perforations was selected to shut-off or divert the water. The gel (developed by Marathon Oil Co.) reduces the permeability thus creating a "blockage" in the formation channel. The job was successfully performed, and resulted in an 87% decrease in water production with no impact to oil production.