Thermally stable gel particles with optimized performance for high-temperature conformance control

This investigation developed and evaluated a new type of high-temperature-resistant gel particle system (DPAG), which is specifically designed for conformance control in high-temperature reservoirs. Conventional conformance control systems, including polymer gel systems and foam-based technologies, often suffer from thermal degradation and insufficient plugging stability under high-temperature environments. To address these limitations, DPAG gel particles were synthesized via inverse emulsion polymerization, incorporating thermally stable functional monomers (AMPS and DAC) to create a dual-crosslinking network combining covalent bonds and electrostatic interactions. A comprehensive characterization combining chemical structure assessment, particle size measurement and microscopic morphology examination confirmed the successful synthesis of DPAG gel particles, revealing their uniform size distribution and well-defined morphology. Thermodynamic stability analysis, combined with rheological characterization, revealed that DPAG gel particles exhibit enhanced structural integrity, thermal resistance, and mechanical strength compared to conventional AM gel particles. Swelling kinetic studies revealed that DPAG gel particles exhibit significantly enhanced swelling characteristics, achieved a swelling ratio of 14.6. Experimental results indicated that DPAG microsphere dispersions at concentrations of 0.1% to 0.5% not only maintained excellent injectivity but also achieved remarkable plugging efficiency, reaching up to 98.7%. Particularly under high-temperature conditions, DPAG gel particles displayed outstanding stability, retaining excellent mechanical properties after 30 days with less than 17.4% strength loss. Core flooding experiments demonstrated that DPAG gel particles exhibit both deep migration capability and long-term stability in high-temperature reservoirs, ultimately enhancing oil recovery by 22.4%. These findings strongly indicate the significant potential of DPAG gel particles for well conformance control in high-temperature oilfields.