Tatneft' imeni V D Shashina : New Technologies of TatNIPIneft

TATNEFT Company is successfully implementing the technology developed by TatNIPIneft to reduce water influx in carbonate reservoirs through application of swellable elastomers.
The engineering development is based on blocking the water flow paths with application of a special elastomeric powder, which, unlike commonly used water-swellable polymers, swells in water in a limited manner, thus maintaining the plugging capacity for a longer time. The powder is injected into a solution of polyacrylamide in order to retain it in suspension.
The most promising area of the technology application is carbonate porous- fractured reservoirs, including those of the Romashkinskoye field. Its application allows reducing the water content of products by at least 30 per cent, while the effect duration lasts at least one year  with additional crude oil production in the amount of not less than 450 tons per well during the year.
Main advantages of the technology include availability of domestically produced chemicals, ease of application and implementation of the technology using standard equipment for repair of wells.
Unlike the conventional water-swellable polymer (WSP) the water-swellable elastomer powder with size 0.25-0.8 mm is practically insoluble and is not destroyed in situ under the influence of reservoir waters, temperature, from the effects of alkalis and acids. This allows gaining multi-fold duration effect of the repairs.
The professionals of JSC TATNEFT have successfully performed pilot tests of the technology in 4 wells. The expected economic effect will be not less than RUB 500 thousand per 1 well operation.