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Use of Polymers to Recover Viscous Oil from Unconventional Reservoirs (DE-NT0006555)

The goal of this three-year research project is to develop methods using water soluble polymers to recover viscous oil from unconventional reservoirs (e.g., on Alaska’s North Slope). This project will identify a wider range of conditions (especially regarding the limits of oil viscosity) for application of polymer flooding. It should specifically open opportunities for increased oil recovery in North Slope viscous oil reservoirs. New methods will be developed to improve injectivity during polymer injection for fractures/horizontal wells without compromising sweep efficiency.

Alaska’s North Slope contains a very large unconventional oil resource—over 20 billion barrels of heavy/viscous oil. Conventional wisdom argues that thermal recovery methods are most appropriate for recovering viscous oils. However, for viscous oil reservoirs at Alaska’s North Slope, a number of factors complicate this thinking. The formations that hold vast viscous oil reserves, Ugnu, West Sak, and Schrader Bluff, are relatively shallow and therefore close to permafrost. Steam generation is prohibitive here due to severe cold weather on the surface, heat losses while pumping steam down through 700 to 2,200 ft of permafrost, heat losses when contacting the cold formation, and environmental considerations.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
ISO Topics economy, geoscientificInformation
Primary Contact Sinisha (Jay) Jikich (Sinisha.Jikich@netl.doe.gov)
Other Contacts Sinisha (Jay) Jikich (Email: Sinisha.Jikich@netl.doe.gov), Randy Seright (Email: randy@prrc.nmt.edu)
Primary Organization US Department of Energy
Other Organizations New Mexico Insititute of Mining and Technology
Organization Types Academic, Federal
Geo-keywords Alaska, North Slope
Start Date 2008-10-01
Created February 23, 2016, 01:27 (AKST)
Last Updated September 28, 2021, 13:40 (AKDT)