The combination of low oil production and excessive water production causes many domestic oil wells to reach their economic limit when they still contain one-half to two-thirds of their original oil. Gelled polymer systems, traditionally used to treat these marginal wells in order to increase their production, are highly toxic and technically difficult to use. Nontoxic gels are needed to treat marginal wells so that domestic producers can economically recover additional oil in an environmentally sound way. In this project, biocatalysts will be used to gel non-petroleum based chemical gelants. This will eliminate toxic compounds from the gel systems and simplify the gelation mechanism. The result will be an environmentally friendly gel system applicable to a greater number of domestic oil wells. Phase I will focus on formulating the gelant and optimizing the biocatalyst to drive the gelation reaction. Performance of the biocatalyzed gel for permeability modification will then be tested in coreflood experiments.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Biocatalyzed gels promise to be an environmentally sound technology for increasing oil production from previously bypassed zones and currently producing wells, and could revive oil fields which are nearing their economic limit. The technology also should help domestic oil producers compete better with imports.
