Reliable Viscometer for Low Shear Rates

The development of chemically enhanced oil recovery projects throughout the world is on a fast pace, led by a will to increase the final recovery of mature and newly developed hydrocarbon reservoirs.

One of the key factors for a successful polymer flood is the viscosity of the injected solution, which must remain on target during the transport from its initial preparation, to the well head and down to the reservoir. Thus, a reliable method is required to measure and monitor the viscosity at different points along the dissolution, dilution, mixing, and injection lines.

The equipment must take into account many different characteristics such as the non-Newtonian behavior (turbulence) of the polymer solutions and, most importantly, the polymer's sensitivity to mechanical and chemical degradation.

The Floquip VDH system from SNF (France) can measure the viscosity at low shear-rate, as per real reservoir conditions, with pressures ranging up to 200 barg. The equipment consists of a low flow, non-shearing pump, which circulates the solution through a given calibrated tube where the pressure drop is measured and allows low-shear viscosity to be extrapolated.

The viscometer is made of highly resistant material and could be implemented in hazardous areas in remote mode without manual operations, no waste and very little maintenance.