Long-Term Investigation of Nano-Silica Gel for Water Shut-Off in Fractured Reservoirs

Silicate gels have long been utilized as water shut-off agents in petroleum fields to address excessive water production. In recent years, nano-silica gel has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional silicate gels, offering potentially improved plugging performance. However, the long-term effectiveness of these gels remains uncertain, posing challenges to sustained profitability. Therefore, a comprehensive study spanning 6 months was conducted on fractured and induced channel samples treated with nano-silica gel of 75/25 wt% (silica/activator) at 200 °F. A comparative analysis was performed with samples treated using polyacrylamide/polyethyleneimine PAM/PEI gel (9/1 wt%) to compare the performance of both systems. Throughout the aging period in formation water at 167 °F, endurance tests were conducted at regular intervals, complemented by computed tomography (CT) scans to monitor any potential degradation. The results revealed nano-silica gel’s superior long-term performance in plugging fractures and channels compared to PAM/PEI gel. Even after 6 months, the nano-silica gel maintained a remarkable 100% plugging efficiency at 1000 psi, with a maximum leak-off rate of 0.088 cc/min in the mid-fractured sample and 0.027 in the induced channel sample. In comparison, PAM/PEI gel exhibited a reduction in efficiency to 99.15% in the fractured sample (5.5 cc/min maximum leak-off rate) and 99.99% in the induced channel sample (0.036 cc/min maximum leak-off rate). These findings highlight the potential of nano-silica gel as a more durable water shut-off agent for managing water production in fractures and channels.