SODIUM SILICATE GELS FOR WATER SHUT-OFF IN OIL RESERVOIRS

Abstract

This work is dedicated to the problem of reducing the permeability of oil reservoirs to water. An experimental study was conducted, the results of which show that the gel based on liquid glass and hydrochloric acid is partially washed out from the model of water flooded oil reservoir under a pressure gradient of approximately 14 MPa/m, which in practice will lead to a decrease in efficiency. However, adding laponite nano-clay to the solution of liquid glass and hydrochloric acid allows solving this problem and achieving a 400-fold reduction in the permeability of the model of water flooded oil reservoir at a pressure gradient of approximately 33 MPa/m. This result can be explained by the fact that adding laponite to the solution of liquid glass and hydrochloric acid leads to an increase in the mechanical strength of the gel. For example, adding 1% laponite to the solution of liquid glass and hydrochloric acid increased the Young’s modulus from 550 to 1280 Pa. The results of this work demonstrate the potential application of liquid glass gels with fillers to increase the efficiency of plugging agents in operations to reduce water production in oil wells. Future research will focus on conducting filtration experiments on fractured models.