J187230 DOI: 10.

2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1944 Total Pages: 13

New Method To Reduce Residual Oil

Saturation by Polymer Flooding
Mehmet Z. Erincik, Pengpeng Qi, Matthew T. Balhoff, and Gary A. Pope, University of Texas at Austin

Summary
Six coreflood experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of hydrolyzed-polyacrylamide (HPAM) polymer solutions on the
residual oil saturation (ROS) in Bentheimer-sandstone cores. All six cores were first saturated with brine and then flooded in the follow-
ing sequence: oil to zero water cut, brine to zero oil cut, glycerin solution to zero oil cut, polymer in low-salinity brine to zero oil cut,
and finally polymer in high-salinity brine to zero oil cut. The first polymer solution had approximately the same viscosity as the glycerin
solution. The first polymer flood was designed to maximize the effect of viscoelasticity on the ROS by flooding the cores at a high
Deborah number (NDe), and, as expected, resulted in a lower ROS. The second polymer flood in high-salinity brine had approximately
the same viscosity, but a much lower relaxation time, and the flood had a much lower NDe. Unexpectedly, there was a further substantial
reduction in ROS during the second polymer flood. The lowest ROS after the second polymer flood was only 0.07. This is a truly
remarkable result, considering that there was no reduction in interfacial tension (IFT), the capillary numbers were maintained below the
critical capillary number for Bentheimer sandstone, and the viscosities of both polymer solutions were equal to or less than that of the
glycerin solution.

Introduction
Although several polymers have been proposed for use in enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) applications, HPAM is, by far, the most widely
used for commercial polymer floods. The viscosity of HPAM solutions varies with shear rate, and is a function of the polymer molecu-
lar weight and degree of hydrolysis, polymer concentration, brine composition, and temperature. HPAM polymers are viscoelastic, with
the relaxation time being a function of the same variables.
The primary purpose of polymer flooding is to increase oil recovery by increasing displacement and volumetric sweep efficiency.
However, many theoretical, experimental, and field studies have demonstrated that viscoelastic polymers also can reduce the ROS
under some conditions (Wreath 1989; Wang et al. 2000, 2001; Xia et al. 2004, 2008; Yin et al. 2006; Wu et al. 2007; Jiang et al. 2008;
Huh and Pope 2008; Urbissinova et al. 2010; Sheng 2010; Afsharpoor and Balhoff 2013; Ehrenfried 2013; Vermolen et al. 2014; Koh
et al. 2016; Qi et al. 2017).
Recently, Qi et al. (2017) conducted a series of coreflood experiments in Bentheimer cores (1,500 md) saturated with viscous oil
(120 cp) and initially at residual water saturation. Computed-tomography (CT) scans and tracer data show that this sandstone is nearly
homogeneous. The cores were waterflooded with brine to zero oil cut. A viscous glycerin solution was then injected at a mobility ratio
of less than unity to zero oil cut. Injection of viscoelastic polymer solution following the glycerin flood resulted in a significant reduc-
tion in the ROS (reduction of 0.05, on average, 0.10 maximum). The capillary number of the polymer flood was below the critical capil-
lary number and less than that of the preceding glycerin flood. The apparent viscosity of the polymer was also less than or equal to that
of the glycerin. One experiment was performed in a medical CT scanner, and images of the saturation confirmed that residual (not
unswept) oil had been recovered. An empirical equation was presented to quantify the decrease in ROS with increasing NDe.
The initial objective of this research was to further understand and quantify the impact of polymer viscoelasticity on ROS by con-
ducting coreflood experiments at higher NDe than performed in previous experiments by Qi et al. (2017). However, after recovering sig-
nificant additional oil from a salinity tracer test when a “high-salinity, low-viscoelasticity polymer” was injected after a “low-salinity,
high-viscoelasticity polymer,” the objective was changed. Therefore, the primary objective of this research became conducting core-
flood experiments to measure the reduction in the ROS when a high-salinity polymer solution was injected following the injection of a
low-salinity polymer solution, without increasing the polymer viscosity or capillary number. Under some conditions, low-salinity
waterfloods can reduce ROS in sandstones below that of a high-salinity waterflood (Tang and Morrow 1999; McGuire et al. 2005; Lager
et al. 2008; Soraya et al. 2009; Morrow and Buckley 2011). However, we do not know of any previous experimental evidence showing
a reduction of the ROS caused by increasing the salinity of a waterflood or polymer flood.

Experimental Materials and Procedures

Rock Types. All cores used in this research were Bentheimer-sandstone cores with a diameter of approximately 2 in. and a length of
12 in. Long cores were used to reduce end effects and to increase the accuracy of pressure-drop measurements across several sections
of the core. The permeability varied between 1,300 and 1,600 md, and the porosity varied from 22 to 25%. Tracer tests showed that the
cores were nearly homogeneous.

Fluid Preparation. A crude oil with a viscosity of 160 cp at 23 C was diluted with decalin to reduce its viscosity to approximately
126 cp. The viscosity of different batches of the oil used in the corefloods ranged from 114 to 137 cp. A low-salinity waterflood brine
with a viscosity of 0.95 cp was prepared by adding 1,000-ppm NaCl and 1,000-ppm Na2S2O4 to deionized water. The Na2S2O4 was
added to the brine to reduce the iron minerals in the core. Glycerin solutions were prepared by diluting pure glycerin with 18% brine.
The composition was chosen to have a viscosity of 60 cp.
FlopaamTM (FP) 3630S polymer was used for all six polymer experiments. A 2,000-ppm FP 3630S solution was prepared in a brine
with 1,000-ppm NaCl and 400-ppm NaHCO3 and used for the low-salinity polymer floods. High-salinity polymer solutions were
injected into each core after each low-salinity polymer flood. A higher polymer concentration was used for the high-salinity polymer

Copyright V
C 2018 Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper (SPE 187230) was accepted for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 9–11 October 2017, and revised for publication.
Original manuscript received for review 21 June 2017. Revised manuscript received for review 10 January 2018. Paper peer approved 12 January 2018.

1944 October 2018 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 15:03 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1945 Total Pages: 13

floods. For Experiment 1, 3,800-ppm FP 3630S solution was prepared in a brine with 20,000-ppm NaCl and 300-ppm NaHCO3. For
Experiment 2, 3,400-ppm FP 3630S was prepared in a brine with 26,300-ppm NaCl and 300-ppm NaHCO3. For Experiments 3 through
6, 3,548-ppm FP 3630S was prepared in a brine with 24,030-ppm NaCl and 280-ppm NaHCO3 brine. The solid polymer was hydrated
for 48 hours. Each polymer solution was filtered through 1.2-lm Millipore mixed-cellulose ester-membrane filter paper under 15-psi
argon pressure at 23 C. A filtration ratio test (Koh 2015; Lee 2015; Koh et al. 2016) was performed on each polymer solution to verify
that its filtration ratio was less than 1.2. The solution was then degassed with argon while stirring for 2 hours in a round-bottom flask.
The polymer solution was vacuum transferred into a polycarbonate injection column. A sample of the polymer solution was taken from
the column to measure its relaxation time, viscosity, pH, and oxidation-reduction potential.

Measurements of Rheology. Dynamic-strain sweep tests (DSSTs), dynamic-frequency sweep tests (DFSTs), and steady-rate sweep
tests (SRSTs) were conducted. SRST provides the shear viscosity (l) of the solution as a function of the shear rate (_c ) at a specified
temperature. The oil, brine, and glycerin solutions were all Newtonian and had viscosities independent of shear rate. The polymer solu-
tions were non-Newtonian. Fig. 1 shows typical SRST viscosity results.

10,000

Low-salinity polymer solution

High-salinity polymer solution
1,000
Viscosity (cp)

100

10

1
1 10 100
Shear Rate (s–1)

Fig. 1—Typical SRST viscosity results for both low- and high-salinity polymer solutions at 238C.

A DSST was performed to determine the linear viscoelasticity limits and the torque levels at a constant frequency. A DFST was per-
formed to analyze the frequency and time-dependent behavior of the polymer-solution samples in the linear viscoelastic region in the
DSST. Figs. 2a and 2b show typical DFST results for the low- and high-salinity polymer solutions, respectively. The relaxation time (sr)
of the polymer solutions was estimated as the inverse of the frequency (x) at which G0 and G00 intersect as performed by many other
authors (Doughty and Bogue 1967; Volpert et al. 1998; Rubenstein and Colby 2003; Castelletto et al. 2004; Delshad et al. 2008; Sheng
2010; Urbissinova et al. 2010; Wilton and Torabi 2013; Ehrenfried 2013; Vermolen et al. 2014; Koh 2015; Elhajjaji et al. 2016; Qi et al.
2017). The relaxation time for a polymer solution is defined as the time required for a polymer solution that is displaced from equilibrium
to decay to its original value. It should be noted that there are multiple measurement techniques for relaxation time (Bird et al. 1977; Xia
et al. 2004; Mohagheghi and Khomami 2016) of viscoelastic fluids, and many polymers may have multiple (or a spectrum of) relaxation
times. Our interest is in comparing the relative elasticity between polymer solutions, and, for that purpose, we find the G0 , G00 crossover
method suitable, unambiguous, and reproducible. As seen in Fig. 2, the low-salinity polymer has a much higher relaxation time (10.2 seconds)
than the high-salinity polymer (0.24 seconds) using the crossover method, despite having the same viscosity.

102 102

G′/G ′′ Crossover Point (0.09788,1.6251)

(dynes/cm2) (dynes/cm2)

(dynes/cm2) (dynes/cm2)
G′′

G ′′

1 1
Relaxation time = = 10.2 s Relaxation time = = 0.24 s
0.09788 4.1119
101 101
G ′/G ′′ Crossover Point
(4.1119,3.1796)
G′

G′

100 100
10–2 10–1 100 101 100 101 102
ω (rad/s) ω (rad/s)
(a) (b)

Fig. 2—Typical DFST result at 238C: (a) For 2,000-ppm FP-3630S HPAM polymer in 1,000-ppm NaCl 1 400-ppm NaHCO3 aqueous
solution; (b) for 3,548-ppm FP-3630S HPAM polymer in 24,030-ppm NaCl 1 280-ppm NaHCO3 aqueous solution at 238C.

October 2018 SPE Journal 1945

ID: jaganm Time: 15:03 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1946 Total Pages: 13

Experimental Setup and Procedures. Each core was epoxy coated after measuring its diameter, length, and dry weight. Pressure ports
were installed at three locations to divide the core into four equal sections for pressure-drop measurements. The pressure tap on each of
the four sections was linked to a 0- to 35-psi differential-pressure transducer, and the inlet and outlet of the core were linked to a 0- to
300-psi differential-pressure transducer.
The cores were vacuum saturated with 6%-KCl brine. All experiments were performed at 23 C. The pore volume (PV) and porosity
were determined from the volume of brine imbibed as well as the dry weight of the core. The brine permeability was measured by
injecting brine at 20- to 120-ft/D interstitial velocity (v ¼ u//). Then, 2%-KCl brine was injected, and the effluent salinity was measured
and used as a tracer. The PV was also estimated from the tracer data, and was found to be in good agreement with the estimates from
the volume and mass data. The core was then flooded with an aqueous solution of 4% NaHCO3, 1% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
(EDTA)-Na4þ, and 1% Na2S2O4 at 5 ft/D to reduce the cores and to remove amorphous oxidized iron from the cores. Flooding was con-
tinued until the iron concentration in the effluent decreased to 0.3 ppm. Filtered crude oil was injected at a constant pressure of 80 psi
to nearly 100% oil cut. The cores were then aged for 2 days at 23 C. Additional oil was injected at a constant rate to measure the oil
permeability at residual water and to determine the endpoint oil relative permeability.
Brine with a salinity of 2,000-ppm total dissolved solids (TDS) was injected at a constant flow rate until steady-state pressure was
observed for all four sections, and the oil cut was zero. Glycerin solutions were injected until zero oil cut and steady-state pressure drop
across all four sections of the core were observed. Each glycerin flood was followed by the injection of a low-salinity polymer solution
with a high relaxation time. The polymer solutions were injected until zero oil cut and steady-state pressure drop across all four sections
of the core were observed. Effluent samples were collected in 10-cm3 glass tubes with a fraction collector to measure produced-oil and
-water volumes. The viscosities of the effluent samples were measured as soon as possible after the samples were produced.
Each low-salinity polymer flood was followed by the injection of a high-salinity polymer solution. The polymer concentration of the
high-salinity polymer solution was greater than that of the low-salinity polymer solution so that its viscosity would be the same. How-
ever, its relaxation time was lower than the low-salinity polymer solution. The high-salinity polymer solution was injected at a constant
flow until zero oil cut and steady-state pressure drop across all four sections of the core were observed.
The capillary number (Nc) is defined as the dimensionless ratio of viscous forces to capillary forces (Brownell and Katz 1947;
Stegemeier 1977; Chatzis et al. 1983; Lake et al. 2014). The equation used to calculate the capillary number for the corefloods reported
in this work is the same used by Brownell and Katz (1947):

kDP
Nc ¼ ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ð1Þ
rL

where k is the brine permeability at Sw ¼ 1, r is the IFT between the oil and the displacing fluid, and DP is the pressure drop. The effect
of gravity is neglected in this definition. Qi et al. (2017) measured the IFT between oil and brine as 15.6 dynes/cm, between oil and
glycerin as 21.3 dynes/cm, and between oil and HPAM polymer as 17.3 dynes/cm. Qi et al. (2017) measured the capillary desaturation
curve with Bentheimer sandstone, and found a critical Nc of approximately 104. The capillary number for each fluid injection into
each core was kept less than the critical capillary number to avoid any reduction in ROS caused by capillary desaturation. Therefore,
the observed reductions in ROS following injection of polymer solutions was not caused by a high capillary number.
The NDe is a dimensionless number defined as the ratio of the relaxation time (sr) to the characteristic residence time (sE). The defi-
nition of NDe used in this work is the same as that used by Qi et al. (2017):

  n
3n þ 1 n  1 4sr u
NDe ¼C pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ð2Þ
4n 8kkrw /Sw

where u is the Darcy velocity, krw is the water relative permeability, / is the porosity, Sw is the aqueous-phase saturation, n is the shear-
thinning exponent, and C is the shear-correction factor. Koh et al. (2016) determined a value of C ¼ 4 for HPAM polymers, and this is
the value used in this work as well. The effect of viscoelasticity becomes significant when the NDe exceeds values on the order of 1.0
(Hirasaki and Pope 1974; Durst et al. 1981; Haas and Durst 1982; Jones et al. 1987; Masuda et al. 1992; Delshad et al. 2008; Koh et al.
2016; Qi et al. 2017).

Experimental Results
The experimental conditions and results for all six corefloods are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. The original objective of Experiment
1 was to investigate the effect of viscoelasticity on ROS by conducting a polymer flood at higher NDe than was tested by Qi et al.
(2016). Fig. 3a shows the oil saturation vs. PVs for Experiment 1. The remaining oil saturation after 5.1 PV of waterflooding with
2,000-ppm-TDS brine at 10.3 ft/D was 0.48. The waterflood endpoint mobility ratio was 12.5, and the endpoint water relative perme-
ability was 0.1. The ROS after injection of 1.8 PV of glycerin solution (56 cp) with an endpoint mobility ratio of 0.27 was 0.45. Low-
salinity polymer solution in a 1,400-ppm-TDS brine with 43-cp viscosity was then injected at 2 ft/D for 3.1 PV. The oil saturation
decreased to 0.29 after 0.9 PV. Fig. 3b shows that the maximum oil cut was 55%. The NDe calculated with Eq. 2 was 152. Experiment 1
was designed to have a very high NDe to extend the measurements of ROS vs. NDe for similar experiments reported by Qi et al. (2017)
to higher values of NDe. The injection of polymer solution continued at 4 and 8 ft/D without additional oil production to determine
the shear-correction factor C, which was found to be 4. The maximum capillary number calculated with Eq. 1 for the whole core with
a maximum pressure gradient of 48 psi/ft (Fig. 3c) was 8.3105, which is less than the critical capillary number for
Bentheimer sandstone.
Next, a high-salinity polymer solution (20,300-ppm TDS) with the same viscosity as the low-salinity polymer solution was injected
at 4 ft/D to provide an independent estimate of the final ROS using the salinity as a tracer. Additional oil was produced with a maximum
oil cut of 12%, and the oil saturation decreased to 0.22 after 0.8 PV. The NDe for this polymer flood was only 17, so the additional oil
recovery was unexpected. Therefore, the objectives of the research (and all subsequent experiments) became investigating the reprodu-
cibility of this surprising result and attempting to understand it.
The objective of Experiment 2 was to demonstrate reproducibility of Experiment 1. Fig. 4a shows the oil saturation vs. PVs for
Experiment 2. The remaining oil saturation after 9.5 PV of waterflooding at 5 ft/D was 0.40. The waterflood endpoint mobility ratio
was 16.7, and the endpoint water relative permeability was 0.09. The ROS after injection of 1.5 PV of glycerin solution (46 cp) at 2 ft/D
was 0.38. Low-salinity polymer solution (39 cp) was then injected at 2 ft/D for 1.7 PV. The oil saturation decreased to 0.29 after

1946 October 2018 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 15:03 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1947 Total Pages: 13

0.9 PV. Fig. 4b shows that the maximum oil cut was 47%. The NDe calculated with Eq. 2 was 100. The maximum capillary number was
5.6105 for the whole core using the maximum pressure gradient of 29 psi/ft (Fig. 4c). High-salinity polymer solution (26,600-ppm
TDS) with a viscosity of 25 cp was injected at 4 ft/D. The endpoint mobility ratio was 1.6, and the NDe was 11. The oil saturation
decreased to 0.08. The maximum oil cut was 15%, and the oil production continued for 4.5 PV. The endpoint relative
permeability increased to 0.24. The maximum capillary number was 5.8105 for the whole core using the maximum pressure gradient
of 30.6 psi/ft.

Oil Glycerin Low-Salinity Polymer High-Salinity Polymer

Concn. Salinity γ̇ eq µp app Concn. Salinity γ̇ eq µp app

Exp. φ (%) K (md) µo (cp) µgly (cp) (ppm) (ppm)
–1
(s ) (cp) τrr (s) (ppm) (ppm)
–1
(s ) (cp) τr (s)

1 0.22 1,340 124 56 2,000 1,400 48 43 3.2 3,800 20,300 85 55 0.20

2 0.24 1,480 126 46 2,000 1,400 53 39 1.9 3,400 26,600 92 25 0.12

3 0.25 1,480 114 57 2,000 1,400 27 56 1.2 3,548 24,300 25 52 0.24

4 0.24 1,600 129 60 2,000 1,400 27 64 9.3 3,548 24,300 27 59 1.03

5 0.24 1,450 137 57 2,000 1,400 27 64 10.2 3,548 24,300 25 63 0.45

6 0.24 1,280 128 60 2,000 1,400 44 59 6.8 3,548 24,300 41 59 1.30

Table 1—Experimental conditions for all six experiments.

Flood Experiment 1 2 3 4 5 6

v (ft/D) 10.3 4.7 4.7 4.8 4.8 2.0

ΔP (psi) 26.0 16.4 15.7 22.3 15.5 16.0

o
Water k rw 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.08 0.10 0.03

Sor 0.48 0.39 0.45 0.46 0.44 0.43

Ncmax 5.0×10
–5
3.5×10
–5
3.3×10
–5
5.1×10
–5
3.2×10
–5
2.9×10
–5

v (ft/D) 2 2 2 2 2 2

ΔP (psi) 22.7 25.0 33.6 29.9 26.0 33.9

o
Glycerin k rgly 0.13 0.10 0.09 0.10 0.12 0.11

Sor 0.45 0.38 0.43 0.44 0.41 0.36

Ncmax 3.2×10
–5
3.9×10
–5
5.2×10
–5
5.0×10
–5
4.0×10
–5
4.5×10
–5

v (ft/D) 2 2 1 1 1 1

ΔP (psi) 48.0 29.1 23.9 23.8 24.3 28.1

o
k rp 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.13 0.11 0.12
Low-salinity polymer
Sor 0.29 0.29 0.32 0.34 0.28 0.22

Ncmax 8.3×10
–5
5.6×10
–5
4.6×10
–5
4.9×10
–5
4.6×10
–5
4.6×10
–5

NDe 152 100 32 254 280 302

v (ft/D) 4 4 1 1 1 1

ΔP (psi) 26.0 30.6 12.4 14.7 18.5 14.8

o
k rp 0.27 0.24 0.18 0.14 0.17 0.22
High-salinity polymer
a a
Sor 0.22 0.08 0.22 0.25 0.16 0.07

Ncmax 4.5×10
–5
5.8×10
–5
2.4×10
–5
3.0×10
–5
3.5×10
–5
2.4×10
–5

NDe 17 11 6 28 11 53
a
Final Sor after a series of alternating polymer floods.

Table 2—Summary of experimental results for all six experiments.

October 2018 SPE Journal 1947

ID: jaganm Time: 15:03 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1948 Total Pages: 13

1.0

0.9 89%
Waterflood
0.8 10 ft/D
Glycerin
0.7 2 ft/D Low-salinity
polymer

Oil Saturation
0.6 2–8 ft/D High-salinity
48% NDe = 152 polymer
0.5 45% 4 ft/D
NDe = 17
0.4
29%
0.3
22%
0.2

0.1

0.0
0 5 10 15
PV
(a)

1.0

0.9 High-
Low-salinity salinity
0.8 polymer polymer
2–8 ft/D 4 ft/D
0.7 NDe = 152 NDe = 17

0.6
Oil Cut

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
PV
(b)

60 10
Low- High-
salinity salinity
50 polymer polymer
8
Interstitial Velocity (ft/D)

NDe = 152 NDe = 17

Pressure Drop (psi)

40
6
30
4
20
Whole

2
10 Section 3
Section 4
Section 2
Section 1
0 0
7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0
PV
(c)

Fig. 3—(a) Oil-saturation data for all floods in Experiment 1. (b) Oil cut for both the low-salinity and high-salinity polymer floods for
Experiment 1. (c) Pressure drop for both low-salinity and high-salinity polymer floods for Experiment 1.

The objective of Experiment 3 was to repeat Experiments 1 and 2, but at a lower capillary number. Fig. 5a shows the oil saturation
vs. PVs for Experiment 3. The remaining oil saturation after 9.5 PV of waterflooding at 4.7 ft/D was 0.45. The waterflood endpoint
mobility ratio was 16.7, and the endpoint water relative permeability was 0.09. The ROS after injection of 1.5 PV of glycerin solution
(57 cp) at 2 ft/D was 0.43. Low-salinity polymer solution (56 cp) was then injected at 1 ft/D for 2 PV. The NDe calculated with Eq. 2
was 32. The oil saturation decreased to 0.32 after 0.9 PV. Fig. 5b shows that the maximum oil cut was 54%. The maximum capillary
number was 5.6105 for the whole core using the maximum pressure gradient of 29 psi/ft (Fig. 5c). High-salinity polymer solution
(24,300-ppm TDS) with a viscosity of 52 cp was injected at 1 ft/D. The endpoint mobility ratio was 1.6, and the NDe was 6. The oil
saturation decreased to 0.22. The maximum oil cut was 4.5%, and the oil production continued for 4.5 PV. The endpoint relative perme-
ability increased to 0.18. The maximum capillary number was 2.4105 for the whole core using the maximum pressure gradient of
12.4 psi/ft.

1948 October 2018 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 15:03 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1949 Total Pages: 13

0.9
84%
0.8

0.7 Waterflood
5 ft/D Glycerin Low-salinity

Oil Saturation
0.6 2 ft/D polymer
2 ft/D
0.5 NDe = 100
High-salinity
0.4 polymer
40% 1 ft/D
0.3 38% NDe = 10
29%
0.2

0.1
8%
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
PV
(a)

1.0
0.9 Low-salinity High-salinity
polymer polymer
0.8 2 ft/D 4 ft/D
NDe = 100 NDe = 100

0.7

0.6
Oil Cut

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
11 13 15 17 19 21
PV
(b)

Low- High-
salinity salinity
40
polymer polymer
2 ft/D 4 ft/D
35 NDe = 100 NDe = 10

30
Pressure Drop (psi)

25

20

15 Whole

10 S4
S3
5 S2
S1

0
11 13 15 17 19 21
PV
(c)

Fig. 4—(a) Oil-saturation data for all floods in Experiment 2. (b) Oil cut for both low-salinity and high-salinity polymer floods for
Experiment 2. (c) Pressure drop for both low-salinity and high-salinity polymer floods for Experiment 2.

The objective of Experiment 4 was to repeat Experiment 3, but by injecting fewer PVs of polymer and then alternating back and
forth between the low- and high-salinity polymer solutions. Fig. 6a shows the oil saturation vs. PVs for Experiment 4. The remaining
oil saturation after 9.3 PV of waterflooding at 4.8 ft/D was 0.46. The waterflood endpoint mobility ratio was 17.6, and the endpoint
water relative permeability was 0.08. The ROS after injection of 1.6 PV of glycerin solution (60 cp) at 2 ft/D was 0.44. Next, alternating
slugs of low-salinity polymer solution (LSP) and high-salinity polymer solution (HSP) were injected at 1 ft/D to explore the effect of
slug size on the ROS. The slug size was 0.5 PV for the first 8 PV, then 1-PV LSP, 1-PV HSP, 1-PV LSP, and 0.6-PV HSP. The oil

October 2018 SPE Journal 1949

ID: jaganm Time: 15:03 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1950 Total Pages: 13

saturation decreased to 0.34 after the first 0.5-PV injection of low-salinity polymer solution (64 cp) with an NDe of 254. Fig. 6b shows
that the oil cut was low during most of the floods. Fig. 6c shows a decreasing trend in the pressure drop. The final ROS was 0.25. The
maximum capillary number was 5105 for the whole core using the maximum pressure gradient of 24 psi/ft.

0.9
82%
0.8 Waterflood
5 ft/D Glycerin
0.7 Newtonian 2 ft/D Low-salinity
1 cp polymer High-salinity
Newtonian polymer
1 ft/D
0.6 60 cp 1 ft/D
NDe = 32

Oil Saturation
60 cp NDe = 6
0.5 45% 60 cp
43%
0.4

0.3
31%
0.2 24%

0.1

0.0
0 5 10 15 20
PV
(a)
1.0

0.9 Low-salinity High-salinity

polymer polymer
0.8 1 ft/D 1 ft/D
NDe = 32 NDe = 6
0.7 60 cp 60 cp

0.6
Oil Cut

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
9.4 11.4 13.4 15.4 17.4 19.4
PV
(b)

28 Low-salinity High-salinity
2
polymer polymer
1 ft/D 1 ft/D
24 NDe = 32 NDe = 6
Interstitial Velocity (ft/D)

60 cp 60 cp
Pressure Drop (psi)

20

16
1
12

8 Whole
Section 3
Section 1 Section 4
4 Section 2

0 0
9.4 11.4 13.4 15.4 17.4 19.4
Cumulative PV
(c)

Fig. 5—(a) Oil saturation vs. PVs for Experiment 3. (b) Oil cut for both low-salinity and high-salinity polymer floods for Experiment 3.
(c) Pressure drop for both low-salinity and high-salinity polymer floods for Experiment 3.

The objective of Experiment 5 was to repeat the alternating salinity floods of Experiment 4, but the low-salinity polymer flood was
increased to 1.0 PV injected and the high-salinity polymer flood to 2.0 PV injected. Fig. 7a shows the oil saturation vs. PVs for Experi-
ment 5. The remaining oil saturation after 8.6 PV of waterflooding at 4.8 ft/D was 0.44. The waterflood endpoint mobility ratio was
15.5, and the endpoint water relative permeability was 0.10. The ROS after injection of 1.8 PV of glycerin solution (57 cp) at 2 ft/D
was 0.41. In attempting further understanding of the effect of polymer-slug size, alternating slugs of 1-PV LSP and 2-PV HSP were

1950 October 2018 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 15:03 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1951 Total Pages: 13

injected at 1 ft/D. The oil saturation decreased to 0.28 after the first PV of low-salinity polymer solution (64 cp) with an NDe of 280.
After 8.4 PV, injection was stopped for 16 days and then resumed with the injection of 3.5 PV of a new high-salinity polymer solution.
As shown in Fig. 7a, the ROS decreased to 0.21. Injection of 1.5 PV of low-salinity polymer solution at 1 ft/D resulted in the further
reduction of the ROS to 0.16. Fig. 7b shows oil cut for the entire sequence of alternating low-salinity and high-salinity polymer floods.
Fig. 7c shows a decreasing trend of the pressure drop. The maximum capillary number was 4.6105 for the whole core using the
maximum pressure gradient of 24.3 psi/ft.

1.0
Waterflood 5 ft/D
0.9 89% Glycerin flood 2 ft/D
0.8 Low-salinity polymer flood 1 ft/D
High-salinity polymer flood 1 ft/D
0.7

Oil Saturation 0.6

0.5 46%
44%
0.4
34%
0.3

0.2 25%

0.1

0.0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24
PV
(a)

1.0
Low-salinity polymer flood 1 ft/D
0.9
High-salinity polymer flood 1 ft/D
0.8 Oil cut
Oil Saturation or Oil Cut

0.7
0.6

0.5
44%
0.4 34%
0.3
25%
0.2

0.1
0.0
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
PV
(b)
25

20
Pressure Drop (psi)

15

10 Whole

Section 4
5
Section 3

Section 1 Section 2
0
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
PV
(c)

Fig. 6—(a) Oil saturation vs. PVs for Experiment 4. (b) Oil saturation and oil cut for Experiment 4. (c) Pressure drop for both low-
salinity and high-salinity polymer floods for Experiment 4.

The objective of Experiment 6 was to repeat Experiment 3; but it was conducted by a different researcher in a different laboratory.
Fig. 8a shows the oil saturation vs. PVs for Experiment 6. The remaining oil saturation after 6.8 PV of waterflooding at 2 ft/D

October 2018 SPE Journal 1951

ID: jaganm Time: 15:04 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1952 Total Pages: 13

was 0.43. The waterflood-endpoint mobility ratio was 7.2, and the endpoint-water relative permeability was 0.03. The ROS after
injection of 1.5 PV of glycerin solution (60 cp) at 2 ft/D was 0.36. Low-salinity polymer solution (59 cp) was then injected at 1 ft/D
for 1.6 PV. The NDe was 302. The oil saturation decreased to 0.32 after 0.9 PV. Fig. 8b shows that the maximum oil cut was 55%.
The maximum capillary number was 4.6105 for the whole core using the maximum pressure gradient of 28 psi/ft (Fig. 8c). High-
salinity polymer solution (59 cp) was injected at 1 ft/D. The endpoint mobility ratio was 0.8, and the NDe was 53. The oil saturation
decreased to 0.07. The maximum oil cut was 18%, and the oil production continued for 3.4 PV. The endpoint relative
permeability increased to 0.22. The maximum capillary number was 2.4105 for the whole core using the maximum pressure gradient
of 14.8 psi/ft.

1.0
0.9 Waterflood 5 ft/D
84% Glycerin flood 2 ft/D
0.8
Low-salinity polymer flood 1 ft/D
0.7 High-salinity polymer flood 1 ft/D
Oil Saturation

0.6
0.5 44%
41%
0.4
28.2%
0.3 28.4% 21%
0.2 16%

0.1
0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
PV
(a)

1.0
Low-salinity polymer Flood 1 ft/D
0.9 High-salinity polymer Flood 1 ft/D
Oil cut
0.8
Oil Saturation or Oil Cut

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4 41%

0.3
28.4% 21%
28.2%
0.2 16%

0.1
0.0
10.4 13.4 16.4 19.4 22.4 25.4 28.4
PV
(b)

100

24.3
Pressure Drop (psi)

18.5 18.9
16.1 15.2
13.1 14.0
Whole
10

Section 4

Section 1

Section 3

Section 2
1
10.4 13.4 16.4 19.4 22.4 25.4 28.4
PV
(c)

Fig. 7—(a) Oil saturation vs. PVs for Experiment 5. (b) Oil saturation and oil cut for Experiment 5. (c) Pressure-drop data during
alternating polymer floods for Experiment 5.

1952 October 2018 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 15:04 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1953 Total Pages: 13

0.9

0.8

0.7
Waterflood
0.6 Glycerin Low-salinity
5 ft/D
2 ft/D polymer
1 cp

Oil Cut
60 cp 1 ft/D
0.5
NDe = 300
0.4 60 cp High-salinity
43% polymer
0.3 36% 1 ft/D
NDe = 50
60 cp
0.2
22%
0.1
7%
0.0
0 5 10 15
PV
(a)
1.0

0.9
Glycerin Low-salinity High-salinity
2 ft/D polymer polymer
0.8
60 cp 1 ft/D 1 ft/D
NDe = 300 NDe = 50
0.7 60 cp 60 cp

0.6
Oil Cut

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
PV
(b)

Glycerin Low- High-

40 2 ft/D salinity salinity
60 cp polymer polymer
1 ft/D 1 ft/D
35 NDe = 300 NDe = 50
60 cp 60 cp
30
Whole
Pressure Drop (psi)

25

20
Section 3
15
Section 1
10 Section 4

5
Section 2
0
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
PV
(c)

Fig. 8—(a) Oil saturation vs. PVs for Experiment 6. (b) Oil-cut data for the glycerin flood and the low-salinity, and high-salinity
polymer floods for Experiment 6. (c) Pressure data for glycerin flood and the low-salinity and high-salinity polymer floods for
Experiment 6.

Discussion
The original objective of this work was to investigate the effect of viscoelastic polymers on ROS by conducting corefloods at high NDe
in the range of 32 to 302. The high NDe was achieved by a combination of using high-molecular-weight HPAM polymer, high polymer
concentration, and low salinity (1,400-ppm TDS). All experiments were performed at a capillary number less than the critical capillary
number for Bentheimer sandstone. The polymer solutions were injected following the injection of an inelastic glycerin solution with
equal or greater viscosity. The average reduction in ROS for six coreflood experiments following the first low-salinity polymer flood

October 2018 SPE Journal 1953

ID: jaganm Time: 15:04 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1954 Total Pages: 13

was 0.12. The trend in the ROS with NDe is consistent with the results of Qi et al. (2017). CT scans performed by Qi et al. show that lit-
tle, if any, of the oil is unswept by the viscous glycerin floods at a low mobility ratio in the nearly homogeneous Bentheimer-sandstone
cores. The salinity of both the waterfloods and the polymer floods was low, so it seems unlikely that the reduction in oil saturation was
caused by wettability or other mechanisms related to low-salinity waterflooding. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the reduc-
tion in ROS is caused by the high NDe of the viscoelastic polymer solutions.
In all six experiments, a second polymer solution with a higher salinity (20,300- to 24,300-ppm TDS) was injected following the low-
salinity polymer floods. The polymer concentration was increased (3,500 ppm) so that the apparent viscosity of both polymer solutions
was nearly equal. The high salinity resulted in a low polymer-relaxation time, and therefore, much lower NDe than the first polymer flood.
Despite relatively low NDe, in all six experiments, additional oil was produced during the high-salinity polymer flood. This is the first
time that this unexpected behavior has been observed. The average reduction in oil saturation was 0.12 below the ROS following injec-
tion of the glycerin solutions. The average reduction in ROS following both polymer floods was 0.24. The average final ROS was 0.17,
which is a remarkably low value for Bentheimer sandstone at low capillary number. The large reduction in ROS cannot be explained by
improved sweep or capillary desaturation because all relevant variables were controlled to prevent them from affecting the results.
Oil breakthrough for the second high-salinity polymer flood usually required more volumes (1 PV) than the first low-salinity poly-
mer flood (<0.5 PV). Also, the second flood usually had a lower maximum oil cut (0.15 vs. 0.5) and a longer duration (2 to 4 PV vs.
<0.5 PV). These observations may provide insight into the mechanism for additional oil mobilization and recovery.
Experiments 4 and 5 were designed to observe the effect of using different polymer-slug sizes and to optimize the injection strategy.
The best results were obtained by injecting at least 1 PV of low-salinity polymer solution before changing to high-salinity polymer solu-
tion. In Experiment 5, additional oil was produced after injecting a new polymer solution following a shut-in period of 16 days. An
important observation from Experiments 4 and 5 is that the high-salinity polymer flood did not recover a significant amount of addi-
tional oil unless the pressure drop had reached steady state for the low-salinity polymer flood. Thus, it seems best to inject the low-
salinity polymer solution until zero oil cut and steady-state pressure drop across all four sections of the core are observed before
injecting the high-salinity polymer solution. Clearly, more research is needed to understand these experiments better and to optimize
the performance of polymer flooding.
The high oil recovery observed during the second polymer flood was unexpected, and the mechanism for recovery is not fully under-
stood. The second polymer flood had higher brine salinity, higher polymer concentration, and lower relaxation time (and therefore,
NDe) than the first polymer flood. We propose several possible mechanisms for the additional oil recovery.
One hypothesis for the unexpected oil recovery is that the first polymer is even more effective at mobilizing oil than was originally
apparent. Some of the oil mobilized is recovered (12%, on average, in these experiments), while other mobilized oil is redistributed
and then retrapped in other pores. The second high-salinity polymer flood then recovers this newly trapped oil. There is some evidence
of the redistribution of oil; in many experiments, the oil saturation reached steady state (zero oil cut) during the first polymer flood
before the pressure drop reached steady state, and, thus, the relative permeability was changing despite no change in saturation because
of a redistribution of fluids.
Even if oil was redistributed and retrapped into different pores, it is surprising that a second polymer solution with the same viscos-
ity and macroscopic pressure gradients equal to or less than those of the first polymer flood would be effective at mobilizing oil and
reducing the final ROS in the core. However, it is possible that local pressure gradients were higher in the pores with newly trapped oil.
We have observed in microfluidic experiments that viscoelastic polymers can be used for conformance control by blocking flow in large
pores and redistributing flow (and local pressure gradients) to small pores. Oil could mobilize in those smaller pores and be retrapped in
large pores. The less-elastic polymer flood might then mobilize oil in the large pores.
The surprising results of this new discovery warrant more investigation and additional coreflood experiments. Some variables that
should be studied include (1) lower pressure gradients (e.g., 1 psi/ft); (2) polymer type and properties (e.g., degree of hydrolysis, molec-
ular weight, and relaxation time); (3) polymer concentration, polymer viscosity, and mobility ratio; (4) rock type and properties (e.g.,
wettability, permeability); (5) brine composition (e.g., salinity, hardness, and pH); (6) oil properties (e.g., viscosity, API gravity, and
composition); (7) reservoir temperatures; (8) saturation history; (9) treatment without EDTA and dithionite (i.e., different oxidation
states); and (10) optimization of polymer-slug sizes (both the first and second polymer flood).

Conclusions
Six corefloods were performed in Bentheimer sandstone by using a viscous oil. The cores were first waterflooded, followed by a viscous
glycerin flood, a low-salinity polymer flood, and a high-salinity polymer flood with the same viscosity. High-molecular-weight HPAM
polymers with a high relaxation time were used for these experiments. Low-salinity polymer floods significantly reduced the ROS, as
expected, on the basis of similar coreflood experiments at high NDe reported in the literature. However, a further unexpected reduction
in the ROS was observed when a second high-salinity polymer solution with a relatively low NDe was injected. This is a new discovery
with potentially significant implications with respect to maximizing the performance of polymer floods, when it can be demonstrated at
field conditions. The main conclusions of this study are summarized as follows:
• All six experiments showed that the low-salinity polymer floods with high NDe resulted in additional oil recovery. The average reduc-
tion in ROS was 0.12.
• The most surprising observation was that the ROS decreased further to a value between 0.07 and 0.21, with an average reduction of
0.13 when high-salinity polymer solutions were injected following the low-salinity polymer floods with the same viscosity. The
final average ROS after polymer flooding was 0.17 compared with an average ROS of 0.44 after waterflooding and 0.41 after
glycerin flooding.
• The total reduction in ROS from both polymer floods was 0.24 below the ROS of the glycerin floods with the same viscosity. The
lowest ROS in these experiments was only 0.07. This is a truly remarkable result, considering that the IFT between the polymer
solution and oil is high and the corresponding capillary number for the corefloods is less than the value required to mobilize oil in
Bentheimer sandstone by injecting a Newtonian fluid.
• Oil production was observed between approximately 0.5 and 1 PV for the low-salinity polymer floods. An oil bank formed with a
maximum oil cut of 50%. The pressure-drop data across four sections of the cores clearly showed the formation and propagation of
the oil bank. For the high-salinity polymer floods, oil production did not start until approximately 1 PV, the maximum oil cut was 10
to 15%, and the oil production continued for 2 to 4 PV.
• Although the capillary numbers were lower than the critical capillary number, the pressure gradients were still relatively high
(>10 psi/ft). Future work should focus on smaller pressure gradients as well as lower-viscosity oils and different rock types. The ulti-
mate goal should be to develop practical strategies for exploiting the benefit of polymer flooding with alternating brine salinities.

1954 October 2018 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 15:04 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1955 Total Pages: 13

Nomenclature
app ¼ apparent
C ¼ shear-correction factor
G0 ¼ elastic modulus, dynes/cm2
G00 ¼ viscous modulus, dynes/cm2
kc ¼ endpoint relative permeability
K ¼ permeability, md
L ¼ length, cm
n ¼ power-law exponent
Ncmax ¼ maximum capillary number
NDe ¼ Deborah number
Sor ¼ ROS
Sw ¼ aqueous-phase saturation
u ¼ Darcy velocity, ft/D
v ¼ interstitial (frontal) velocity ¼ u//, ft/D
r ¼ IFT, dynes/cm
/ ¼ porosity
x ¼ frequency, rad/s
DP ¼ pressure drop, psi
c_ eq ¼ equivalent shear rate, 1/s
sr ¼ relaxation time, seconds
Concn. ¼ concentration, ppm
l ¼ viscosity, cp

Subscripts
gly ¼ glycerin
o ¼ oil
p ¼ polymer
w ¼ water

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the industrial affiliates of the Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery project at the University of Texas at
Austin for their financial support and SNF Floerger for supplying the polymer samples used in this research. We also would like to thank
the staff and research assistants in the Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. We espe-
cially wish to thank Jith Liyanage for his assistance with the experiments. Mehmet Z. Erincik would like to gratefully acknowledge the
support and encouragement from Mrs. Canan Topkaya Erincik and the scholarship from Turkish Petroleum Corporation.

References
Afsharpoor, A. and Balhoff, M. 2013. Static and Dynamic CFD Modeling of Viscoelastic Polymer: Trapped Oil Displacement and Deformation at the
Pore-Level. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, 30 September–2 October. SPE-166114-MS. https://
doi.org/10.2118/166114-MS.
Bird, R. B., Armstrong, R. C., Hassager, O. et al. 1977. Dynamics of Polymeric Liquids, Vol. 1, p. 210. New York: Wiley.
Brownell, L. and Katz, D. 1947. Flow of Fluids Through Porous Media—Part II Simultaneous Flow of Two Homogeneous Phases. Chemical Engineer-
ing Process 43: 601–612.
Castelletto, V., Hamley, I. W., Xue, W. et al. 2004. Rheological and Structural Characterization of Hydrophobically Modified Polyacrylamide Solutions
in the Semidilute Regime. Macromolecules 37 (4):1492–1501. https://doi.org/10.1021/ma035039d.
Chatzis, I., Morrow, N. R., and Lim, H. T. 1983. Magnitude and Detailed Structure of Residual Oil Saturation. SPE J. 23 (2): 311–326. SPE-10681-PA.
https://doi.org/10.2118/10681-PA.
Delshad, M., Kim, D. H., Magbagbeola, O. A. et al. 2008. Mechanistic Interpretation and Utilization of Viscoelastic Behavior of Polymer Solutions for
Improved Polymer-Flood Efficiency. Presented at the SPE Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, Tulsa, 20–23 April. SPE-113620-MS. https://
doi.org/10.2118/113620-MS.
Doughty, J. O. and Bogue, D. C. 1967. Experimental Evaluation of Viscoelastic Theories. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Fundamentals 6 (3):
388–393. https://doi.org/10.1021/i160023a011.
Durst, F., Haas, R., and Kaczmar, B. U. 1981. Flows of Dilute Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide Solutions in Porous Media Under Various Solvent Conditions.
J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 26: 3125–3149. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.1981.070260926.
Ehrenfried, D. H. 2013. Impact of Viscoelastic Polymer Flooding on Residual Oil Saturation in Sandstones. MS thesis, University of Texas at Austin.
Elhajjaji, R. R., Hincapie, R. E., Tahir, M. et al. 2016. Systematic Study of Viscoelastic Properties During Polymer-Surfactant Flooding in Porous Media (Russian).
Presented at the Russian Petroleum Technology Conference and Exhibition, Moscow, 24–26 October. SPE-181916-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/181916-MS.
Haas, R. and Durst, F. 1982. Viscoelastic Flow of Dilute Polymer Solutions in Regularly Packed Beds. Rheologica Acta 21: 566–571. https://doi.org/
10.1007/BF01534349.
Hirasaki, G. J. and Pope, G. A. 1974. Analysis of Factors Influencing Mobility and Adsorption in the Flow of Polymer Solution Through Porous Media.
SPE J. 14 (4): 337–346. SPE-4026-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/4026-PA.
Huh, C. and Pope, G. A. 2008. Residual Oil Saturation From Polymer Floods: Laboratory Measurements and Theoretical Interpretation. Presented at the
SPE Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, Tulsa, 20–23 April. SPE-113417-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/113417-MS.
Jiang, H., Wu, W., Wang, D. et al. 2008. The Effect of Elasticity on Displacement Efficiency in the Lab and Results of High-Concentration Polymer
Flooding in the Field. Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, 21–24 September. SPE-115315-MS. https://
doi.org/10.2118/115315-MS.
Jones, D., Walters, K., and Williams, P. 1987. On the Extensional Viscosity of Mobile Polymer Solutions. Rheologica Acta 26 (1): 20–30. https://
doi.org/10.1007/BF01332680.
Koh, H. 2015. Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Polymers on Residual Oil Saturation. PhD dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin.

October 2018 SPE Journal 1955

ID: jaganm Time: 15:04 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013

 J187230 DOI: 10.2118/187230-PA Date: 8-October-18 Stage: Page: 1956 Total Pages: 13

Koh, H., Lee, V. B., and Pope, G. A. 2016. Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Polymers on Residual Oil Saturation. Presented at the SPE
Improved Oil Recovery Conference, Tulsa, 11–13 April. SPE-179683-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/179683-MS.
Lager, A., Webb, K. J., Black, C. J. J. et al. 2008. Low-Salinity Oil Recovery—An Experimental Investigation1. Petrophysics 49 (1). SPWLA-2008-v49n1a2.
Lake, L. W., Johns, R. T., Rossen, W. R. et al. 2014. Fundamentals of Enhanced Oil Recovery. Richardson, Texas: SPE.
Lee, V. B. 2015. The Development and Evaluation of Polymers for Enhanced Oil Recovery. MS thesis, The University of Texas at Austin.
Masuda, Y., Tang, K.-C., Miyazawa, M. et al. 1992. 1D Simulation of Polymer Flooding Including the Viscoelastic Effect of Polymer Solution. SPE Res
Eng 7 (2): 247– 252. SPE-19499-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/19499-PA.
McGuire, P. L., Chatham, J. R., Paskvan, F. K. et al. 2005. Low-Salinity Oil Recovery: An Exciting New EOR Opportunity for Alaska’s North Slope.
Presented at the SPE Western Regional Meeting, Irvine, California, 30 March–1 April. SPE-93903-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/93903-MS.
Mohagheghi, M. and Khomami, B. 2016. Elucidating the Flow-Microstructure Coupling in the Entangled Polymer Melts. Part 1: Single-Chain Dynamics
in Shear Flow. Journal of Rheology 60 (5): 849–859. https://doi.org/10.1122/1.4961481.
Morrow, N. and Buckley, J. 2011. Improved Oil Recovery by Low-Salinity Waterflooding. J Pet Technol 63 (5): 106–112. SPE-129421-JPT. https://
doi.org/10.2118/129421-JPT.
Qi, P., Ehrenfried, D. H., Koh, H. et al. 2017. Reduction of Residual Oil Saturation in Sandstone Cores by Use of Viscoelastic Polymers. SPE J. 22 (2):
447–458. SPE-179689-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/179689-PA.
Rubinstein, M. and Colby, R. H. 2003. Polymer Physics, Vol. 23. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sheng, J. 2010. Modern Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery: Theory and Practice. Gulf Professional Publishing.
Soraya, B., Malick, C., Philippe, C. et al. 2009. Oil Recovery by Low-Salinity Brine Injection: Laboratory Results on Outcrop and Reservoir Cores. Pre-
sented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, 4–7 October. SPE-124277-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/124277-MS.
Stegemeier, G. 1977. Mechanisms of Entrapment and Mobilization of Oil in Porous Media. In Improved Oil Recovery by Surfactant and Polymer Flood-
ing, ed. D. O. Shah and R. S. Schecter, pp. 55–89. New York, New York: Academic Press.
Tang, G.-Q. and Morrow, N. R. 1999. Influence of Brine Composition and Fines Migration on Crude Oil/Brine/Rock Interactions and Oil Recovery.
J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 24 (2): 99–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0920-4105(99)00034-0.
Urbissinova, T., Trivedi, J. J., and Kuru, E. 2010. Effect of Elasticity During Viscoelastic Polymer Flooding: A Possible Mechanism of Increasing the
Sweep Efficiency. J Can Pet Technol 49 (12): 49–56. SPE-133471-PA. https://doi.org/10.2118/133471-PA.
Vermolen, E. C. M., van Haasterecht, M. J. T., and Masalmeh, S. K. 2014. A Systematic Study of the Polymer Visco-Elastic Effect on Residual Oil Satu-
ration by Core Flooding. Presented at the SPE EOR Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia, Muscat, Oman, 31 March–2 April. SPE-169681-MS.
https://doi.org/10.2118/169681-MS.
Volpert, E., Selb, J., and Candau, F. 1998. Associating Behavior of Polyacrylamides Hydrophobically Modified With Dihexylacrylamide. Polymer 39
(5): 1025–1033. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0032-3861(97)00393-5.
Wang, D., Cheng, J., Yang, Q. et al. 2000. Viscous-Elastic Polymer Can Increase Microscale Displacement Efficiency in Cores. Presented at the SPE
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, 1–4 October. SPE-63227-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/63227-MS.
Wang, D., Xia, H., Liu, Z. et al. 2001. Study of the Mechanism of Polymer Solution With Visco-Elastic Behavior Increasing Microscopic Oil Displace-
ment Efficiency and the Forming of Steady “Oil Thread” Flow Channels. Presented at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition,
Jakarta, 17–19 April. SPE-68723-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/68723-MS.
Wilton, R. R. and Torabi, F. 2013. Rheological Assessment of the Elasticity of Polymers for Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery. Presented at the SPE Heavy
Oil Conference-Canada, Calgary, 11–13 June. SPE-165488-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/165488-MS.
Wreath, D. 1989. A Study of Polymer Flooding and Residual Oil Saturation. MS thesis, University of Texas at Austin.
Wu, W., Wang, D., and Jiang, H. 2007. Effect of the Visco-Elasticity of Displacing Fluids on the Relationship of Capillary Number and Displacement
Efficiency in Weak Oil-Wet Cores. Presented at the Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, 30 October–1 November, Jakarta. SPE-
109228-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/109228-MS.
Xia, H., Wang, D., Wu, J. et al. 2004. Elasticity of HPAM Solutions Increases Displacement Efficiency Under Mixed Wettability Conditions. Presented
at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Perth, Australia, 18–20 October. SPE-88456-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/88456-MS.
Xia, H., Wang, D., Wang, G. et al. 2008. Mechanism of the Effect of Micro-Forces on Residual Oil in Chemical Flooding. Presented at the SPE Sympo-
sium on Improved Oil Recovery, Tulsa, 20–23 April. SPE-114335-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/114335-MS.
Yin, H., Wang, D., and Zhong, H. 2006. Study on Flow Behaviors of Viscoelastic Polymer Solution in Micropore With Dead End. Presented at the SPE
Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 24–27 September. SPE-101950-MS. https://doi.org/10.2118/101950-MS.

Mehmet Zeki Erincik is a reservoir/production engineer at Turkish Petroleum, where various enhanced-oil-recovery applications
are conducted. Previously, he worked as a drilling engineer in the geothermal fields of Turkey (2012–2014). Erincik’s current
research interest is chemical EOR, including polymer-flooding applications. He holds a BS degree from Istanbul Technical University
and an MS degree from the University of Texas at Austin, both in petroleum engineering. Erincik has been an SPE member since
2008, and volunteered as a graduate representative at the University of Texas SPE Student Chapter between 2015 and 2017.
Pengpeng Qi is a PhD-degree student in the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University
of Texas at Austin, where he is expected to graduate in 2018. His current research is in chemical EOR, including polymer-flooding
experiments and simulation. Qi finished precollege study in China, and holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from Ohio
State University. He will begin his career at Kemira in the spring of 2018.
Matthew T. Balhoff is an associate professor in the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the Uni-
versity of Texas at Austin, where he has been since 2007. He holds BS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from Louisiana
State University, and completed a post-doctoral-degree residency in the Institute of Computational and Engineering Sciences
at the University of Texas at Austin in 2005. He became an SPE Distinguished member in 2017 and is a winner of the 2017 SPE
Southwestern North America Regional Reservoir Description and Dynamics Award, the 2014 SPE International Young Member
Service Award, and the 2012 SPE International Teaching Fellow Award. Balhoff currently serves on several SPE committees,
including the Research and Development Technical Section Committee, the technical-program committee for the Improved
Oil Recovery Conference, and the Education and Accreditation Committee.
Gary A. Pope is a professor in the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering at the University of Texas at
Austin, where he holds the Texaco Centennial Chair in Petroleum Engineering. His teaching and research are in the areas of
EOR, reservoir engineering, natural-gas engineering, and reservoir simulation. Pope holds a BS degree from Oklahoma State Uni-
versity and a PhD degree from Rice University, both in chemical engineering. He was elected to the National Academy of Engi-
neering in 1999. Pope’s awards include SPE Honorary Member status, AIME Environmental Conservation Award, SPE
Distinguished Service Award, Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award, SPE IOR Pioneer Award, SPE/AIME
Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal, SPE John Franklin Carll Award, SPE Distinguished Achievement Award, SPE Distinguished Member
status, and SPE Reservoir Engineering Award.

1956 October 2018 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 15:04 I Path: S:/J###/Vol00000/180013/Comp/APPFile/SA-J###180013