WHAT IS GEL CONFORMANCE?

Conformance is a measure of the uniformity of the flood front as the water flood or polymerized water (EOR) pushes and sweeps the oil from the reservoir rock toward the production wells

A conformance problem is when the injected water or polymerized water “break-through” to the producer(s). When this happens the oil well produces less oil and excess water which continuously increases until the well becomes uneconomic and is prematurely shut-in or suspended.

The path in which the water short circuits from the injection well to the production well is called a conformance feature. The feature initiates as a viscous finger and in unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs can develop into a “worm hole”. Polymer Gel is pumped into this feature and allowed to set via a short shut in period.

Once the polymer gel sets, the production of water diminishes and more oil is produced.