Performance evaluation of a new nanocomposite polymer gel for water shutoff in petroleum reservoirs

A new polymer gel nanocomposite is fabricated for excess water production control (water shut off) in petroleum reservoirs and its rheological behavior is evaluated in the presence of sea water and formation water at the temperature of 100 degrees C. It is shown that at a high salinity without using SiO2 nanoparticles, the elastic modulus of synthesized polymer gel in the presence of sea water and formation water are 12.5 Pa and 9.8 Pa respectively. However by incorporation of SiO2 nanoparticles in the polymer gel matrix, the elastic modulus of synthesized polymer gel in the presence of sea water and formation water can be improved to 13.56 Pa and 11.57 Pa respectively, which is quite interesting from reservoir engineering viewpoint. Equilibrium Swelling Ratio (ESR) of the nanocomposite polymer gel in sea water and formation water decreases as the concentration of the SiO2 increases. Thermal stability of the polymer gel is investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The inflexion temperature of the polymer gel is improved by incorporation of 2000 ppm SiO2 nanoparticles. The fabricated polymer gel nanocomposite in this work can have potential application in reduction of excess water production during enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations in petroleum industry.