Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Rosangela Balaban graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1982), PhD in Polymer Science and Technology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1992) and post-doctorate in Petroleum Engineering from the Petroleum Recovery Research Center/New Mexico Tech/USA (2009). She is currently a full professor at the Institute of Chemistry at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and adjunct coordinator of professional programs in the area of Chemistry at CAPES. Her research interests are focused on the investigation of properties of polymer solutions in the severe conditions of oil wells, that lead to several technological bottlenecks.
One of the crucial stages during the life cycle of oil wells is their abandonment [1], which can be permanent (when there is no interest in returning to the well) or temporary (when there is interest in returning to the well). In both cases, the main objectives are: to prevent any fluid coming from more pressurized formations in the subsurface from coming into contact with other formations, the ocean, the groundwater or even the land; protect the remaining reserves in the reservoir and meet all legal requirements imposed by regulatory agencies. Thereby, there must be no paths through which fluids can migrate from the most pressurized formations to the surface. In this way, abandoning the well consists of creating barriers to the flow. The growing demand for well abandonment, especially in environmentally sensitive regions, presents unique challenges for oil companies. In order to overcome these challenges, research has been carried out with the aim of developing innovative solutions for abandoning wells, which are safe and economically viable. Selection of the type of material used as a barrier varies according to different state and federal regulations [1,2]. In addition, each well is unique and has different conditions associated with temperature, pressure, permeability and unconsolidated formations [1]. In this communication, we will present the recent results [3-5] obtained in our laboratory on gelation performance, thermal stability and filtration properties of mixed hydrogels made of polyacrylamide, polyethylenimine and glycerol, taking into account the severe conditions of high salinity and density for the well abandonment.
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