Critical review of alkaline-polymer flooding

Field performance shows that the incremental oil recovery factor from alkaline projects was low. Chemical EOR experience tells us that the mobility control is very important. Thus, the combination of alkaline flooding and polymer flooding is expected to improve alkaline flooding performance. This paper is to provide a critical review of alkaline-polymer (AP) flooding. The following subjects are covered. Interaction of alkali-polymerTechnical screening criteriaLaboratory and simulation workSummary of field projectsFurther discussionThe data and analysis presented in this paper will give readers updated information about alkaline-polymer flooding. This paper suggests the AP synergy need to be further studied with more experimental measurement, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation study.