A study on the mitigation of formation damage caused by excessive silica-based gel application in water shut-off treatments

Abstract

This study investigated the mitigation of formation damage caused by silica-based gels. The historical development of water shut-off treatments in the oil and gas industry was also discussed in the paper. The authors highlighted the importance of silicate methods in reservoir conformance control and enhanced oil recovery. They also discussed the recent resurgence of interest in silicates due to their eco-friendly properties and potential for high-temperature applications. Weight loss experiments and sandpack flooding experiments were conducted to assess the removal efficiency of blocking under reservoir conditions. The results showed that a 1% NaOH-containing aqueous solution can completely dissolve the bulk gel within a relatively short timeframe. İt is noteworthy that 10-12 hours is typically sufficient to eliminate the gel responsible for formation damage in the bulk phase. In sandpack flooding experiments, it was found that NaOH injection can effectively remove gel blockages, but it may require multiple injections to achieve complete removal. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of the mitigation of formation damage caused by silica-based gels. The results of this study can be used to improve the design and implementation of gel-based water shut-off treatments in the oil and gas industry. Keywords: silica gel; water shut-off; formation damage; sandpack; gel block.