SNF polymers flood Jhalora
French contractor SNF Flopam has set up a surfactant polymer (SP) flooding pilot injection plant to revive the ageing Jhalora field in ONGC's Ahmedabad asset.
On February 27 (2024), ONGC Ahmedabad asset manager Prasun Kumar Sinha inaugurated the injection plant at GGS-I at Jhalora, located 40-km northwest of Ahmedabad city. "This pilot project is expected to yield an incremental oil gain of 7080 cubic metres (44,500 barrels) in three years," says an SNF press release.
Under the Rs55.99cr ($6.8m) contract, SNF will inject polymers through four injector wells for each producer well. "Surfactant polymer flooding is a type of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technique," says an ONGC source.
"All the four (producing) assets in Gujarat are ageing, so EOR is necessary not only to sustain but to increase the production." For this latest polymer injection project, ONGC will focus on the K-IX-X sand reservoir, for which it submitted a 'screening report' to the DGH's enhanced recovery committee, which approved the plan on May 7 (2021).
Ring-fenced inside the Jhalora oilfield are the Sanand, Viraj, Kalol West Ext-I and Sanand Ext-II PMLs. SNF has carried out similar polymer flooding projects for ONGC in Gujarat and Assam and Vedanta in Rajasthan's Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields.
"In ONGC's Ahmedabad and Mehsana assets, SNF has completed 14 projects," we learn. SNF is also investing in its Gandhidham polymer production facility in Gujarat.
In January 2024, during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, SNF announced a Rs1000cr ($120m) expansion plan for its facilities under an MoU it signed with the state government. Under the expansion, SNF plans to increase its 258,000 t/y production capacity at Gandhidham to 378,000 t/y, including 180,000 t/y of polymer powder.
Polymer flooding involves injecting a solution of polymers and water to increase the flow of oil in the reservoir.