METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR HYDROCARBON RECOVERY
Methods and systems for hydrocarbon material recovery include injecting a monomer-containing solution into a subterranean formation that contains some amount of a hydrocarbon material. The monomer-containing solution includes at least one monomer that may polymerize into a polymer when exposed to a temperature above a monomer polymerization temperature. The subterranean formation may be at a temperature about equal to or greater than the polymerization temperature. Thus, the monomer-containing solution may polymerize in the formation based on temperature. Additional chemical polymerization agents may not be needed for polymerization.
1 . A method of treating a subterranean formation, the method comprising:
contacting the subterranean formation with a monomer-containing solution; and
allowing at least a portion of the monomer-containing solution to at least partially polymerize in the subterranean formation for a polymerization time, thereby forming therein at least one polymer,
wherein:
the monomer-containing solution comprises at least one monomer,
the subterranean formation has a formation temperature,
the monomer-containing solution has a polymerization temperature above which the at least one monomer in the monomer-containing solution is thermally catalyzed to form the at least one polymer, and
the formation temperature is equal to or greater than the polymerization temperature.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting the subterranean formation with a monomer-containing solution comprises pumping the monomer-containing solution into the subterranean formation via at least one injection well.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the monomer-containing solution does not comprise a polymerization initiator of the at least one monomer.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymer has an average molecular weight of about 0.01 kD to about 10 kD.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the average molecular weight of the polymer depends at least in part on the polymerization time.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymerization temperature is about 50 degrees C. to about 300 degrees C.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the polymerization time based at least in part on a characteristic of the subterranean formation.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the characteristic of the subterranean formation comprises one or more of a formation chemical composition, a formation porosity, a formation density, a formation pore morphology, a formation permeability, and a formation compressibility.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the polymerization time based at least in part on one or more of the polymerization temperature, a concentration of the at least one monomer in the monomer-containing solution, the formation temperature, a pore size of the subterranean formation, and a characteristic of the subterranean formation.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymerization time is about 0.5 hours to about 1500 hours.
11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
measuring the formation temperature; and
measuring a pore size of the subterranean formation.
12 . A method of extracting a hydrocarbon material from a subterranean formation, the method comprising:
contacting the subterranean formation with a monomer-containing solution;
allowing at least a portion of the monomer-containing solution to at least partially polymerize in the subterranean formation for a polymerization time, thereby forming therein at least one polymer;
injecting a flooding fluid into the subterranean formation; and
removing the hydrocarbon material from the subterranean formation,
wherein:
the monomer-containing solution comprises at least one monomer,
the subterranean formation has a formation temperature,
the monomer-containing solution has a polymerization temperature above which the at least one monomer in the monomer-containing solution is thermally catalyzed to form the at least one polymer, and
the formation temperature is equal to or greater than the polymerization temperature.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the hydrocarbon material comprises one or more of heavy oil, light oil, brown oil, shale oil, waxy oil, and gas condensate.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising determining the polymerization time based at least in part on a characteristic of the hydrocarbon material.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the characteristic of the hydrocarbon material comprises one or more of a material chemical composition, a material density, a material viscosity, and an API gravity.
16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the flooding fluid comprises one or more of water, a solvent, an alkali, a surfactant, a co-surfactant, a biocide, an acid, a metal catalyst, a plurality of nanoparticles, and a clay.
17 . A system comprising:
at least one injection well in fluid communication with at least one subterranean formation;
at least one production well in fluid communication with the at least one subterranean formation; and
a pumping device configured to pump a monomer-containing solution into the at least one subterranean formation via the at least one injection well,
wherein:
the monomer-containing solution comprises at least one monomer,
the subterranean formation has a formation temperature,
the monomer-containing solution has a polymerization temperature above which the at least one monomer in the monomer-containing solution is thermally catalyzed to form at least one polymer, and
the formation temperature is equal to or greater than the polymerization temperature.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one monomer in the monomer-containing solution comprises one or more of a saccharide, an acrylamide, acrylic acid, a salt of acrylic acid, and a vinyl alcohol.
19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the monomer-containing solution further comprises one or more of a solvent, a surfactant, an alkali material, and at least one proppant.
20 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the monomer-containing solution does not comprise a polymerization initiator of the at least one monomer.
21 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one injection well comprises a plurality of injection wells in fluid communication with the at least one subterranean formation.
22 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the at least one production well comprises a plurality of production wells in fluid communication with the at least one subterranean formation.