Polymer flooding works when the dominant recovery problem is mobility — high-viscosity oil, bypassed pay, or unfavorable mobility ratio in the existing waterflood. It fails most often on field operations: polymer mixing, water quality, injectivity loss.
Technical screening
- Oil viscosity 10–500 cP is the typical sweet spot for HPAM.
- Reservoir temperature < 70–90 °C for HPAM; higher with thermally-stable polymers.
- Salinity and hardness — drive polymer choice and concentration.
- Permeability > ~50 mD to avoid injectivity collapse.
Operational screening
- Make-up water quality and treatment cost.
- Mixing facility capex and footprint.
- Injector integrity and pressure window.
Both layers belong in the same screen — see the broader EOR screening framework.