Assessment of a Novel Xanthan Gum-Based Composite for Oil Recovery Improvement at Reservoir Conditions; Assisted with Simulation and Economic Studies

Chemical flooding is a crucial technique in petroleum recovery. Although synthetic polyacrylamides are widely used, they suffer from hard reservoir conditions (high salinity, temperature, and pressure) and high costs. Current efforts focus on eco-friendly and affordable biopolymers like xanthan gum to overcome these issues. This study screens xanthan gum modification to improve its rheological properties and tolerance to high temperature, salinity, and shearing action by copolymerizing it with vinyl silane, vinyl monomers, and silica nanoparticles. The new composite was characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) tests. Its implementation was evaluated in polymer flooding at 2200 psi pressure, 135,000 ppm salinity, and 196 degrees F temperature. Unlike previous studies that evaluated xanthan gum at 176 degrees F, 1800 psi, and 30,000 ppm, without combining those three factors in one experiment. The rheological properties of native and composite xanthan were examined at reservoir conditions, as well as their viscoelastic properties (G ' and G ''). Flooding runs used actual Bahariya formation cores at the lab scale. Simulation studies were conducted on a lab/field scale using the tNavigator simulator and economic feasibility to calculate the net present value. The most outcoming findings of this research comprise (1) investigating the impact of salinity, temperature, and pressure on the rheological properties of native and composite xanthan. (2) The composite xanthan exhibits more resistant criteria, as it recovered 27% residual oil versus 22% for native xanthan. (3) Modeling and simulation studies exhibit 48% oil recovery for composite versus 39% for native xanthan and 37% for water flooding. (4) Economically, using native and composite xanthan through enhanced oil recovery methods increased net present value to $32 mm and $58 mm versus traditional methods.