EP3402858A1 - Method for tertiary petroleum recovery by means of a hydrophobically associating polymer - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the tertiary recovery of petroleum from underground deposits having a deposit temperature of ≤ 70°C, wherein a copolymer comprising (meth)acrylamide or derivatives thereof, monoethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, in particular acrylic acid, and an associative monomer is used, wherein the amount of the associative monomer is 0.1 to 0.9 wt%. A water-soluble copolymer comprising (meth)acrylamide or derivatives thereof, monoethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, in particular acrylic acid, and 0.1 to 0.9 wt% of an associative monomer.

Description

 METHOD FOR TERTIARY OIL PRODUCTION USING ONE

 HYDROPHOB ASSOCIATED POLYMERS

 The present invention relates to a process for the tertiary extraction of petroleum from underground deposits with a deposit temperature <70 ° C, which comprises using a copolymer comprising (meth) acrylamide or derivatives thereof, monoethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, in particular acrylic acid and a associative monomer, wherein the amount of the associative monomer 0.1 to 0.9 wt .-% is. The invention further relates to a water-soluble copolymer comprising (meth) acrylamide or derivatives thereof, monoethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, in particular acrylic acid, and from 0.1 to 0.9% by weight of an associative monomer.

Tertiary petroleum recovery (also known as "Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)" techniques can be used to increase oil yield if economic oil production is no longer possible due to autogenous pressure in the reservoir, and also by injecting water or steam alone no increase in oil yield can be achieved.

In polymer flooding, one or more injection wells are used to force an aqueous solution of a thickening polymer into the petroleum reservoir, the viscosity of the aqueous polymer solution being adjusted to the viscosity of the petroleum Injecting the polymer solution, as in the case of water flooding through cavities / pores in the deposit, is forced from the injection well towards the production well, and the petroleum is pumped through the production well due to the polymer formulation having approximately the same viscosity as the petroleum Reducing the risk of the polymer formulation breaking through with no effect on production drilling Thus, the mobilization of petroleum is much smoother than with the use of low viscosity water and additional oil can be mobilized in the formation Polymer flooding details and polymers suitable therefor are disclosed, for example, in "Petroleum, Enhanced Oil Recovery, Kirk-Othmer, Encyclopaedia of Chemical Technology, Online Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2010".

As thickening polymers for polymer flooding, copolymers comprising acrylamide are frequently used. Suitable comonomers are, in particular, comonomers comprising acid groups, for example acrylic acid or 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid

(ATBS).

The copolymers comprising acrylamide may also be hydrophobic associating copolymers. By "hydrophobically associating copolymers", those skilled in the art will understand water-soluble polymers having pendant or terminal hydrophobic groups, such as longer alkyl chains In aqueous solution, such hydrophobic groups may associate with themselves or with other hydrophobic group-forming substances formed, which has an (additional) thickening effect. calls. Details of the use of hydrophobically associating copolymers for tertiary petroleum production are reviewed, for example, in the review by Taylor, KC and Nasr-El-Din, HA in J. Petr. Be. Closely. 1998, 19, 265-280.

US 4,814,096 discloses a process for tertiary mineral oil production using a hydrophilic polymer having hydrophobic groups and a nonionic surfactant which associates with the hydrophobic groups of the polymer. Table I discloses polymer A from about 74 weight percent acrylamide, about 25 weight percent acrylic acid, and about 0.36 weight percent dodecyl methacrylate as the hydrophobic monomer.

WO 85/03510 A1 discloses water-soluble, hydrophobically associating copolymers having a weight-average molecular weight M _w of 800 000 g / mol to 3 million g / mol and their use for tertiary mineral oil production. The copolymers comprise 40 to 99.9 mol% of acrylamide, 0 to 50 mol% of acrylic acid and 0.1 to 10 mol% of the macromonomer H2C = CH-COO- (EO) 5-4o-R, where EO is ethyleneoxy and R is an alkyl radical having 8 to 16 carbon atoms.

US 2007/0287815 A1 discloses associative amphoteric polymers having a molecular weight of more than 50,000 g / mol comprising 1 to 99 mol% of a nonionic, water-soluble monomer, 1 to 99.9 mol% of an anionic monomer comprising carboxy, phosphonate or sulfonate groups and a cationic monomer of the general formula R ¹ R ² C =C (R ³ ) CON (R ⁴ ) -Q-N ⁺ (R ⁵ ) (R ⁶ ) (R ⁷ ) X-, where R ¹ R ^{6 is} H or C 1 to C ₄ alkyl, Q is an alkyl group of 1 to 8 carbon atoms, X is an anion and R ^{7 is} an alkyl or alkylaryl group of 8 to 30 carbon atoms. The amount of the cationic monomer may preferably be 0.005 mol% to 10 mol%.

WO 2010/133527 A2 discloses water-soluble, hydrophobically associating copolymers and their use for tertiary mineral oil production. The copolymers comprise from 25 to 99.9% by weight of monoethylenically unsaturated, hydrophilic monomers such as, for example, acrylamide or acrylic acid and from 0.1 to 20% by weight of at least one macromonomer of the general formula H 2 C =CH-R-O- (EO) 10 -i5o (AO) 5-i5R ', wherein EO is ethyleneoxy, AO is alkyleneoxy of at least 4 carbon atoms, R is a linking group and R' is H or a hydrocarbon radical of 1 to 30 carbon atoms.

WO 2012/069477 A1 discloses a process for tertiary mineral oil extraction from petroleum formations with a storage temperature of 35 to 120 ° C, preferably 40 ° C to 90 ° C, in which one uses a hydrophobically associating copolymer, which 0.1 to 15 wt. % of the above-described macromonomer H2C = CH-R-O- (EO) io-i5o (AO) 5-i5R 'and 85 to 99.9% by weight of acrylamide or acrylamide derivatives and monoethylenically unsaturated monomers with COOH, SO3H or PO3H2 groups. EO, AO, R and R 'have the meaning as defined above. The weight-average molecular weight M _{w of} the copolymer is 1 million to 3 million g / mol. More preferably, it is a copolymer comprising acrylamide, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (ATBS) and said macromonomer. WO 2014/095608 A1 discloses a process for preparing macromonomers H ₂ C =CH-OR-O- (EO) io-i5o (AO) 5-25 (EO) o -15R ', wherein EO is ethyleneoxy groups, AO is alkyleneoxy groups with at least 4 carbon atoms, R is a linking group and R 'is H or a hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. The application further discloses copolymers containing hydrophilic monomers as well as 0.1 to 20% by weight of the described macromonomer and their use for oil field applications.

WO 2014/095621 A1 discloses hydrophobic associating copolymers which contain from 25 to 99.9% by weight of at least one hydrophilic monomer, for example acrylamide and / or acrylic acid and from 0.1 to 20% by weight of at least one macromonomer of the general formula H2C.dbd.CH -O-R-O- (EO) 23-26 (CH 2 CH (R ")) 8,5-i7,25 (EO) o-i5R 'where EO is ethyleneoxy, R is a linking group, R' is H or a hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and R "is a hydrocarbon radical having at least 2 carbon atoms is provided with the proviso that the sum of the carbon atoms in all radicals R" is 25.5 to 34.5.

WO 2015/086486 A1 discloses hydrophobically associating copolymers and their use for tertiary petroleum production which comprise from 30 to 99.99% by weight of acrylamide or derivatives thereof and from 0.01 to 15% by weight of monoethylenically unsaturated macromonomers. The latter is a mixture of monomers H2C = CH-O-R- (EO) _x (AO) _y H and H ₂ C = CH-O-R- (EO) x (AO) y (EO / AO ) _z H, where EO is ethylene oxide units and AO is alkylene oxide units. The copolymers may further comprise monomers having acidic groups.

Underground oil deposits usually have a reservoir temperature above room temperature, the temperature may for example be 40 ° C to 120 ° C. Furthermore, a crude oil deposit usually contains more or less saline water in addition to petroleum.

Copolymers comprising acrylamide and ATBS have a higher tolerance to high temperatures and / or high salt contents, especially high levels of divalent ions, as copolymers comprising acrylamide and acrylic acid. The former are thus the technically more efficient polymers. However, ATBS is considerably more expensive than acrylic acid, and accordingly acrylamide-ATBS copolymers are also considerably more expensive than acrylamide-acrylic acid copolymers. For cost reasons, users therefore prefer acrylamide-acrylic acid copolymers for non-demanding deposit conditions.

Higher content of the described associative monomers results in a higher viscosity of the associative polymer. Surprisingly, however, it has been found that copolymers comprising acrylamide, acrylic acid and associative monomers containing only a small amount of associative monomers have performance advantages over copolymers having a higher content of associative monomers. Surprisingly, it has been found that the oil yield of a copolymer comprising only 0.5% by weight of associative monomer is higher than that of an associative monomer comprising 1% by weight of associative monomer. Accordingly, there has been found a process for extracting petroleum from subterranean oil reservoirs containing petroleum and salty reservoir water by injecting an aqueous formulation comprising at least one thickening, water-soluble copolymer (P) into the oil reservoir through at least one injection well and oil to the reservoir through at least one production well takes, wherein the water-soluble copolymer (P) at least

 From 65 to 85% by weight of at least one monomer (A) selected from the group of (meth) acrylamide, N-methyl (meth) acrylamide, N, N'-dimethyl (meth) acrylamide or N-methylol ( meth) acrylamide, as well as

 Comprising 14.9 to 34.9% by weight of at least one monomer (B) selected from the group of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid or fumaric acid or salts thereof,

 and where

 The water-soluble copolymer (P) furthermore contains 0.1 to 0.9% by weight of at least one monoethylenically unsaturated monomer (C) selected from the group of

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (I), H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) - (C = 0) - 0 - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (II),

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O- (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y - (- CH ₂ -CH ₂ O-) z R ¹⁰ (III), H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) O-R ¹¹ -N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" ( IV) or H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) N (R ⁵ ) -R-N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" (V), wherein the radicals and indices have the following meaning: R ¹ : H or methyl,

R ⁵ : independently of one another H, methyl or ethyl, with the proviso

that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁵ are H,

R ⁶ : aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 40 carbon atoms,

R ⁷ : a single bond or a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting of - (C _n H _2n ) -, -O- (Cn'H _2n ') - and -C (O) -O- (C _n H _2n ') -, where n is a natural number from 1 to 6, and n' and n "are a natural number from 2 to 6,

R ⁸ : independently of one another H, methyl or ethyl, with the proviso

that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁸ are H,

R ⁹ : independently of one another are hydrocarbon radicals of at least 2 carbon atoms, R ¹⁰ : H or a hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 30 C atoms,

R ¹¹ : an alkylene radical having 1 to 8 carbon atoms,

R ¹² , R ¹³ , independently of one another, denote H or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.

R ¹⁴ : lenstoffatomen,

R ¹⁵ : aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 30 carbon atoms,

 X- a negatively charged counterion,

 k is a number from 10 to 80,

 x is a number from 10 to 50,

 y is a number from 5 to 30, and

 z is a number from 0 to 10,

 • the deposit temperature is <70 ° C,

 • the permeability of the deposit is 100 mD, and

 • the reservoir water does not contain more than 10 g / l of divalent ions.

Furthermore, water-soluble copolymers (P) were found, comprising at least

From 65 to 85% by weight of at least one monomer (A) selected from the group of (meth) acrylamide, N-methyl (meth) acrylamide, N, N'-dimethyl (meth) acrylamide or N-methylol ( meth) acrylamide, as well as

 Comprising 14.9 to 34.9% by weight of at least one monomer (B) selected from the group of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid or fumaric acid or salts thereof,

 and wherein the water-soluble copolymer (P) further contains 0.1 to 0.9% by weight of at least one monoethylenically unsaturated monomer (C) selected from the group of

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (I), H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) - (C = 0) - 0 - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (II),

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O- (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y - (- CH ₂ -CH ₂ O-) z R ¹⁰ (III), H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) O-R ¹¹ -N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" ( IV) or H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) N (R ⁵ ) -R-N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" (V), wherein the radicals and indices have the following meaning: R ¹ : H or methyl,

R ⁵ independently of one another are H, methyl or ethyl, with the proviso that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁵ are H,

R ⁶ : aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 40 carbon atoms,

R ⁷ : a single bond or a divalent linking group,

selected from the group consisting of - (Cnl-n) -, -O- (Ο _η Ή2η) - and -C (0) -O- (C _n H2n ') - _> where n is a natural number from 1 to 6 and n 'and n "are a natural number from 2 to 6,

R ⁸ : independently of one another are H, methyl or ethyl, with the proviso that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁸ are H,

R ⁹ independently of one another are hydrocarbon radicals of at least 2 carbon atoms,

R ¹⁰ : H or a hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 30 C atoms,

R ¹¹ : an alkylene radical having 1 to 8 carbon atoms,

R ¹² , R ¹³ , R ¹⁴ independently of one another are H or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms,

R ¹⁵ : aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 30 carbon atoms,

 X- a negatively charged counterion,

 k is a number from 10 to 80,

 x is a number from 10 to 50,

 y is a number from 5 to 30, and

 z is a number from 0 to 10.

More specifically, the following is to be carried out for the invention: Monomers (A)

According to the invention, the water-soluble copolymer (P) comprises at least one neutral, monoethylenically unsaturated, hydrophilic monomer (A) selected from the group of (meth) acrylamide, N-methyl (meth) acrylamide, N, N'-dimethyl (meth) acrylamide or N-methylol (meth) acrylamide. It is preferably (meth) acrylamide, in particular acrylamide. If mixtures of different monomers (A) are used, at least 50 mol% of the monomers (A) should be (meth) acrylamide, preferably acrylamide. In one embodiment of the invention, the monomer (A) is acrylamide. In the present invention, the amount of the monomers (A) is 65 to 85% by weight with respect to the sum of all the monomers in the copolymer (P), preferably 65 to 75% by weight.

Monomers (B)

According to the invention, the copolymer (P) further comprises at least one COOH group-containing monomer (B) selected from the group of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid or fumaric acid or salts thereof.

Suitable counterions include in particular alkali metal ions such as Li ⁺ , Na ⁺ or K ⁺ and ammonium ions such as NH4 ⁺ or ammonium ions with organic radicals. Examples of ammonium ions with organic radicals include [NH (CH ₃ ) ₃ ] ⁺ , [NH ₂ (CH ₃ ) ₂ ] ⁺ , [NH ₃ (CH ₃ )] ⁺ , [NH (C ₂ H ₅ ) ₃ ] ⁺ , [NH ₂ (C ₂ H ₅ ) ₂ ] ⁺ , [NH ₃ (C ₂ H ₅ )] ⁺ , [NH ₃ (CH ₂ CH ₂ OH)] ⁺ , [H ₃ N-CH ₂ CH ₂ -NH ₃ ] ^{2 +} or [H (H ₃ C) ₂ N-CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ NH ₃ ] ²⁺ .

Preference is given to (meth) acrylic acid, in particular to acrylic acid or salts thereof. If mixtures of different monomers (B) are used, at least 50 mol% of the monomers (B) should be (meth) acrylic acid, preferably acrylic acid.

According to the invention, the amount of monomers (B) is 14.9 to 34.9% by weight, based on the sum of all the monomers in the copolymer (P), preferably 24.8 to 34.8% by weight.

Monomers (C)

The monomers (C) are monoethylenically unsaturated monomers which have at least one hydrophilic group and at least one, preferably terminal, hydrophobic group.

Such monomers have amphiphilic, i. surfactant properties and serve to impart hydrophobically associating properties to the copolymers (P).

The term "hydrophobically associating copolymers" is understood by the person skilled in the art to mean water-soluble copolymers which, in addition to hydrophilic units (in an amount sufficient to ensure water solubility) have pendant or terminal hydrophobic groups In aqueous solution, the hydrophobic groups can associate with one another associative interaction increases the viscosity of the aqueous polymer solution compared to a similar polymer which has only no associative groups.

In particular, suitable monomers (C) may have the general formula H ₂ C =C (R ¹ ) -R ² -R ³ or H ₂ C =C (R ¹ ) -R ² -R ³ -R ⁴ where R ^{1 is} H or methyl, R ^{2 is} a linking hydrophilic group, R ^{3 is} a hydrophobic group and R ^{4 is} a hydrophilic group. The linking, hydrophilic group R ² can be a group comprising alkylene oxide units, for example a group comprising 5 to 50 alkylene oxide units, which can be suitably used, for example by means of a single bond or a suitable linking group, for example a -C (= 0) 0 group is connected to the H2C = C (R ¹ ) group, wherein at least 70 mol%, preferably at least 90 mol% of the alkylene oxide units are ethylene oxide units.

Furthermore, R ^{2 may} be a group comprising quaternary ammonium groups. In particular, a group comprising quaternary ammonium groups may be a group -COO- (CH ₂ ) n N ⁺ (CH ₃ ) 2- or a group -CON (CH ₃ ) - (CH ₂ ) n N ⁺ (CH ₃ ) 2- where n is 1 to 4.

The hydrophobic group R ³ may be aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched C8-4o hydrocarbon radicals R ^3a , preferably C 12-32 hydrocarbon radicals. In a further embodiment, the hydrophobic group R ^{3 may} be a group R ^3b comprising alkylene oxide units having at least 3 carbon atoms, preferably at least 4 carbon atoms.

The hydrophilic group R ⁴ may in particular be an ethylene oxide group-containing group, in particular a group comprising not more than 5 ethylene oxide units.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the monomers (C) are monomers of the general formula H ₂ C =C (R ¹ ) -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (I) or

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) - (C = O) -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (II).

In the formulas (I) and (II), R ^{1 has} the meaning described above. The radicals R ⁵ independently of one another are H, methyl or ethyl, preferably H or methyl, with the proviso that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁵ are H. Preferably, at least 80 mol% of the radicals R ⁵ are H, more preferably at least 90 mol% and most preferably exclusively H. The block is therefore a polyoxyethylene block which optionally contains certain proportions of propylene oxide and / or butylene oxide units, preferably a pure polyoxyethylene block.

The number of alkylene oxide units k is a number from 10 to 80, preferably 12 to 60, particularly preferably 15 to 50 and for example 20 to 40. It is clear to the person skilled in the art of the alkylene oxides that the above-mentioned Values around mean values.

R ⁶ is an aliphatic and / or aromatic, straight-chain or branched hydrocarbon radical having 8 to 40 carbon atoms, preferably 12 to 32 carbon atoms. In one embodiment, it is aliphatic hydrocarbon groups having 8 to 22, preferably 12 up to 18 carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include n-octyl, n-decyl-n-dodecyl, n-tetradecyl, n-hexadecyl or n-octadecyl groups. In a further embodiment, these are aromatic groups, in particular substituted phenyl radicals, in particular

Distyrylphenyl groups and / or tristyrylphenyl groups.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the monomers (C) are monomers of the general formula

H2C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O- (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y - (- CH ₂ -CH ₂ O -) zR ¹⁰ (III).

In the monomers (C) of formula (III), an ethylenic group H2C = C (R ² ) - is linked via a divalent, linking group -R ⁷ -O- to a block-structured polyoxyalkylene radical, the blocks - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) _x -, - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) i-, and optionally - (- CH ₂ -CH ₂ 0-) z R ¹⁰ in the formula (III) are arranged. The transition between the two blocks can be abrupt or continuous.

In formula (III), R ^{1 has} the already defined meaning, ie R ¹ is H or a methyl group.

R ⁷ is a single bond or a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting of - (CnF n) -, -O- (Ο _η Ή2η) - and -C (0) -O- (Cn "H2n ') In the formulas cited, n is in each case a natural number from 1 to 6, n 'and n "are each a natural number from 2 to 6. In other words, the linking group is straight-chain or branched aliphatic Hydrocarbon groups having 1 to 6 hydrocarbon atoms which are linked either directly, via an ether group -O- or via an ester group -C (O) -O- with the ethylenic group H2C = C (R ⁵ ) -. Preferably, the groups - (CnF n) -, - (Cn'F n ') - and - (CrrF n ") - are linear aliphatic hydrocarbon groups.

Preferably, the group - (CnF n) - is a group selected from -CH 2 -, -CH 2 -CH 2 - and -CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 2 -, more preferably a methylene group is -CH 2 -.

Preferably, the group -O- (Ο _η Ή2η) - is a group selected from -O-CH 2 -CH 2 -, -O-CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 2 - and -O-CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 2 - , particularly preferred is -O-CH ₂ -CH ₂ -CH ₂ - CH ₂ -.

The group -C (O) -O- (C _n "H 2n") - is preferably a group selected from -C (O) -O-CH ₂ -CH ₂ -, -C (O) O -CH (CH ₃ ) -CH ₂ -, -C (O) O-CH ₂ -CH (CH ₃ ) -, -C (O) O-CH ₂ -CH ₂ -CH ₂ - CH ₂ - and -C ( 0) 0-CH ₂ -CH ₂ -CH ₂ -CH ₂ -CH ₂ -CH ₂ -, particularly preferred are -C (O) -O-CH ₂ -CH ₂ - and -C (O) O-CH ₂ -CH ₂ -CH ₂ -CI -l2- and very particularly preferred is -C (O) -O-CH ₂ -CH ₂ -.

Particularly preferably, the group R ⁷ is a group -O- (Ο _η Ή2η) -, very particularly preferably -O-CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 2 -CH 2 -.

In the block - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x, the radicals R ⁸ independently of one another are H, methyl or ethyl, preferably H or methyl, with the proviso that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁸ is H Preferably, at least 80 mol% of the radicals R ¹⁰ are H, more preferably at least 90 mol% and most preferably exclusively H. The block is therefore a polyoxyethylene block which optionally contains certain amounts of propylene oxide. and / or butylene oxide units, preferably a pure polyoxyethylene block.

The number of alkylene oxide units x is a number from 10 to 50, preferably 12 to 40, particularly preferably 15 to 35, very particularly preferably 20 to 30 and for example 23 to 26. For the expert in the field of polyalkylene oxides is clear in that the numbers mentioned are mean values of distributions.

In the second block - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) _y - the radicals R ^{9 are} independently hydrocarbon radicals of at least 2 carbon atoms, for example 2 to 10 carbon atoms, preferably 2 or 3 carbon atoms. It may be an aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched carbon radical. Preference is given to aliphatic radicals.

Examples of suitable radicals R ⁹ include ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl, n-heptyl, n-octyl, n-nonyl or n-decyl and also phenyl. Examples of preferred radicals include ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, n-pentyl, in particular ethyl and / or n-propyl radicals, and most preferably are ethyl radicals. The block - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) _y - is thus a block consisting of alkylene oxide units having at least 4 carbon atoms.

The number of alkylene oxide units y is a number from 5 to 30, preferably 8 to 25.

In formula (III), z is a number from 0 to 10, preferably 0 to 5, i. the terminal block of ethylene oxide units is therefore only available as an option. In one embodiment of the invention, z is a number of> 0 to 10, in particular> 0 to 10 and, for example, 1 to 4.

The radical R ¹⁰ is H or a preferably aliphatic hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 30 C atoms, preferably 1 to 10 and particularly preferably 1 to 5 C atoms. R ¹⁰ is preferably H, methyl or ethyl, more preferably H or methyl and most preferably H.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one of the monomers (C) is a monomer of the formula (III).

In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, a mixture of at least two different monomers (C) of the formula (III) is used, where the radicals R ¹ , R ⁷ , R ⁸ , R ⁹ , R ¹⁰ and the indices x and y are identical are. Furthermore, in one of the monomers z = 0 while in the other z is a number> 0 to 10, preferably 1 to 4 It is therefore in the said preferred embodiment is a mixture of the following composition H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y H (lilac) and

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y - (- CH 2 -CH ₂ 0-) zH (IIIb), wherein the radicals and indices have the meaning described above, including their preferred embodiments, with the proviso that in the formula (IIIb) z is a number> 0 to 10.

The formulas (IIIa) and (IIIb) in the case of R ¹ are preferably H, R ⁷ is -O-CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 -, R ⁸ is H, R ⁹ is ethyl, x is about 20 to 30, preferably by 23 to 26, y by 12 to 25, preferably by 14 to 18 and z by 3 to 5.

The monomers (C) of the formulas (I), (II) and (III), their preparation and acrylamide copolymers comprising these monomers and their preparation are known in principle to the person skilled in the art, for example from WO 85/03510 A1, WO 2010/133527 A1 WO 2012/069478 A1, WO 2014/095608 A1, WO 2014/095621 A1 and WO 2015/086486 A1 and the literature cited therein.

In a further embodiment, the monomer (C) is a cationic monomer of the general formula H ₂ C =C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) O-R ¹¹ -N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) ^(R14) X- (IV) or

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) N (R ⁵ ) -R-N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" (V).

Such monomers as well as acrylamide copolymers with such monomers are known and described for example in US 7,700,702 B2.

In the formulas (IV) and (IV), R ^{1 has} the meaning defined above.

R ¹¹ is an alkylene radical, in particular a 1, ω-alkylene radical having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, preferably 2 to 4 carbon atoms and in particular 2 or 3 carbon atoms. Examples include -CH ₂ -, -CH ₂ CH ₂ -, -CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ - and -CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ -. Particularly preferred are -CH 2 CH 2 - and -CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 -.

R ¹² , R ¹³ and R ¹⁵ independently of one another are H or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, preferably H or methyl. X - represents a negatively charged counterion, in particular a halide ion selected from F-, Ch, Br or I -, preferably Ch and / or Br.

R ¹⁴ represents an aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon group having 8 to 30 carbon atoms, preferably 12 to 18 carbon atoms. In particular, R ¹⁶ may be aliphatic hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 18, preferably 12 to 18 carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include n-octyl, n-decyl, n-dodecyl, n-tetradecyl, n-hexadecyl or n-octadecyl groups, preference is given to n-dodecyl, n-tetradecyl, n-hexadecyl or n-octadecyl groups. octadecyl. It is preferably a monomer of the general formula (V). Examples of such monomers include N- (meth) acrylamidopropyl-N, N-dimethyl-N-dodecylammonium chloride, N- (meth) acrylamidopropyl-N, N-dimethyl-N-tetradecylammonium chloride, N- (meth) acrylamidopropyl-N, N-dimethyl N-hexadecylammonium chloride or N- (meth) crylamidopropyl-N, N-dimethyl-N-octadecylammonium chloride or the corresponding bromides.

According to the invention, the amount of the monomers (C) is from 0.1 to 0.9% by weight, based on the sum of all the monomers in the copolymer (P), preferably from 0.2 to 0.8% by weight, particularly preferably from 0.3 to 0.7 wt .-% and for example 0.4 to 0.6 wt .-%.

In one embodiment of the invention, the monomers (C) are monomers selected from the group of the monomers of the general formula (I), (II), (III), (IV) and (V).

In one embodiment of the invention, the monomers (C) are monomers selected from the group of the monomers of the general formula (I), (II) and (III).

In one embodiment of the invention, the monomers (C) are monomers of the general formula (III).

In one embodiment of the invention, the monomers (C) are at least two different of the general formula (III), more preferably a mixture comprising at least the monomers (IIIa) and (IIIb).

Other monomers:

The water-soluble copolymer (P) may optionally comprise, in addition to the monomers (A), (B) and (C), further monomers in an amount of not more than 25% by weight. With such further monomers, the properties of the copolymer (P) can be optimally adapted to the respective application.

Other monomers may in particular be hydrophilic monomers.

Suitable hydrophilic monomers may be miscible with water in any proportion. As a rule, the solubility water at room temperature should be at least 50 g / l, preferably at least 100 g / l.

Other monomers may, for example, be nonionic monomers other than the monomers (A). Examples include monomers comprising hydroxyl and / or ether groups, such as, for example, hydroxyethyl (meth) acrylate, hydroxypropyl (meth) acrylate, allyl alcohol, hydroxyvinylethyl ether, hydroxyvinylpropyl ether, hydroxyvinyl butyl ether, N-vinyl derivatives such as N-vinylformamide, N-vinylacetamide, N-vinylpyrrolidone or N-vinylcaprolactam and vinyl esters, such as vinyl formate or vinyl acetate. N-vinyl derivatives can be hydrolyzed after polymerization to vinylamine units, vinyl esters to vinyl alcohol units Further monomers may also be monomers comprising acid groups other than the monomers (B), for example monomers comprising sulfonic acid groups or phosphonic acid groups or salts thereof.

Examples of monomers comprising sulfonic acid groups include vinylsulfonic acid, allylsulfonic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, 2-methacrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, 2-acrylamidobutanesulfonic acid, 3-acrylamido-3-methyl-butanesulfonic acid or 2-acrylamido-2,4,4 - trimethylpentanesulfonic acid. Preference is given to vinylsulfonic acid, allylsulfonic acid or 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid and particularly preferred or 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid.

Examples of monomers comprising phosphonic acid groups include vinylphosphonic acid, allylphosphonic acid, N- (meth) acrylamidoalkylphosphonic acids or (meth) acryloyloxyalkylphosphonic acids, preference being given to vinylphosphonic acid.

Of course, the acidic groups may be completely or partially neutralized, ie they may be present as salts. Suitable counterions for the acidic group include in particular alkali metal ions such as Li ⁺ , Na ⁺ or K ⁺ and ammonium ions ΝΗ ₄ ⁺ and ammonium ions with organic radicals. Examples of organic ammonium ions have already been mentioned above.

The amount of further monomers in addition to the monomers (A), (B) and (C) is not more than 25 wt .-% with respect to the amount of all monomers used, in particular not more than 15% by weight, preferably not more than 10 wt .-%, more preferably not more than 5 wt .-% and most particularly preferably in addition to the monomers (A), (B) and (C) no further monomers in the copolymer, ie the sum of the monomers (A), (B) and (C) is 100% by weight.

Preparation of the copolymers

The copolymers according to the invention can be prepared by methods known in principle to the person skilled in the art by radical polymerization of the monomers (A), (B), (C) and optionally further monomers in aqueous solution, for example by solution polymerization, gel polymerization or inverse emulsion polymerization. The polymerization techniques mentioned are known in principle to the person skilled in the art.

For the polymerization, aqueous solutions or the monomers can be used together with suitable initiators for the radical polymerization and polymerized. The polymerization can be carried out thermally and / or photochemically. Of course, further additives and auxiliaries, for example defoamers or complexing agents, can be used for the polymerization.

The polymerization can be carried out in particular by means of gel polymerization. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the copolymers used are prepared in the presence of at least one non-polymerizable, surface-active compound (T).

Details of gel polymerization, preferred reactors and auxiliaries are described in detail in WO 2015/086468 A1, page 24, line 24 to page 30, line 15.

The copolymers (P) are water-soluble. They may preferably be miscible in any ratio with water. The minimum requirement is that they be used under conditions of use, i. at the concentrations and temperatures at which they are used are soluble in water.

The resulting copolymers (P) generally have a weight-average molecular weight M _w of 1 ^* 10 ⁶ g / mol to 30 ^* 10 ⁶ g / mol, preferably 6 ^* 10 ⁶ g / mol to 25 ^* 10 ⁶ g / mol and, for example 8 ^* 10 ⁶ g / mol to 20 ^* 10 ⁶ g / mol.

Process for tertiary mineral oil production

To carry out the method according to the invention, at least one production well and at least one injection well are sunk into the crude oil deposit. As a rule, a deposit is provided with multiple injection wells and multiple production wells. An aqueous formulation of the described water-soluble copolymer (P) is injected into the oil reservoir through the at least one injection well and oil is taken from the deposit through at least one production well. Due to the pressure generated by the pressed-in aqueous formulation, the so-called "polymer flooding", the oil flows in the direction of the production well and is conveyed through the production well. "In addition to crude oil, water is also generally extracted, in particular reservoir water and mixed with injected aqueous liquids reservoir water.

According to the invention, the deposit temperature of the crude oil deposit to which the process according to the invention is applied is not more than 70 ° C., for example 20 to 70 ° C., in particular 35 ° to 70 ° C., preferably 40 ° to 70 ° C., for example 45 ° C up to 65 ° C or 50 ° C to 70 ° C.

It is clear to the person skilled in the art that a crude oil deposit can also have a certain temperature distribution. The named reservoir temperature refers to the area of the reservoir between the injection and production wells, which is detected by the polymer flooding. Methods for determining the temperature distribution of a crude oil deposit are known in principle to the person skilled in the art. The temperature distribution is usually determined from temperature measurements at certain points of the formation in combination with simulation calculations, whereby in the simulation calculations, heat introduced into the formation as well as the amounts of heat removed from the formation are taken into account.

The average permeability of the oil deposit, in which the inventive method is applied is more than 100 mD (9.87 ^* 10 ^"14 m ^2). The permeability of a petroleum formation is by a person skilled in the unit""(abbreviated" Darcy D "or "MD" for "Millidarcy", 1 D = 9.86923 ^* 10 ^"13 m ² ), and can be determined from the flow rate of a liquid phase in the petroleum formation as a function of the applied pressure difference.The flow rate can be determined in core flooding experiments using formation cores, details of which can be found in K, for example Weggen, G. Pusch, H. Rischmuller in "0/7 and Gas", pages 37 et seq., Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, online edition, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2010. For the skilled person it is clear that the permeability is not homogeneous in a petroleum deposit, but generally has a certain distribution and, accordingly, the permeability of a petroleum deposit is an average permeability.

The inventive method can, in particular for crude oil deposits having an average permeability of 100 mD (9.87 ^* 10 ^"14 m ²⁾ to 4 D (3.95 ^{* 10" 12} m ^2), preferably 200 mD (1, 97 ^* 10 3 m ² ) to 2 D (1, 97 ^* 10 ^"12 m ² ) and particularly preferably 200 mD (1, 97 ^* 10 ^{" 13} m ² ) to 1 D (9.87 ^* 10 ^"13 m ² ) ,

The deposits to which the process of the present invention is applied include saline lake water in addition to petroleum. Salts in reservoir water include monovalent ions such as Na ⁺ , K ^+, and divalent ions such as Ca ²⁺ or Mg ^{2+, in a} manner known in the art.

According to the invention, the reservoir water does not comprise more than 10 g / l of divalent ions, for example 0.01 g / l to 10 g / l of divalent ions. In particular, the amount of divalent ions is 0.1 to 10 g / l, preferably 0.1 to 5 g / l, and for example 0.2 to 2 g / l.

The total amount of all salts in the aqueous formulation can be up to 350000 ppm (parts by weight) with respect to the sum of all components of the formulation, for example 2000 ppm to 350,000 ppm. The total amount of all salts is preferably from 2000 ppm to 100,000 ppm, in particular from 2000 ppm to 60,000 ppm and, for example, from 30,000 ppm to 40,000 ppm.

The petroleum in the deposit can in principle be any type of petroleum. In one embodiment of the invention, the petroleum is medium and heavy oils. The terms "heavy,""intermediate," and "light" refer to the density of petroleum, which is commonly expressed in API grade in the petroleum industry, according to the following relationship: API degree = (141, 5 / p _re i) - 131, 5, where p _re i is the relative density of the petroleum at 15 ⁵ / g ° C (based on the density of the water under the same conditions), in one embodiment, oils with <35 ° API, For example, 22 ° to 35 ° API. In another embodiment, oils are <22 ° API, for example, 2 to 22 API.

To carry out the process, an aqueous formulation is used which, in addition to water, comprises at least the described copolymer (P). Of course, mixtures of different copolymers (P) can be used.

The formulation can be prepared in fresh water but also in salts containing water. Of course, it may be mixtures of different salts. For example For example, seawater may be used to prepare the aqueous formulation, or it may be used promoted formation water which is reused in this manner. For production platforms in the sea, the formulation is usually applied in seawater. In the case of conveyors on land, the polymer can advantageously be first dissolved in fresh water and the resulting solution diluted with formation water to the desired use concentration.

The aqueous formulation may of course comprise further components.

Examples of other components include biocides, stabilizers, radical scavengers, inhibitors, surfactants, cosolvents, bases or complexing agents.

Surfactants and / or bases can be used, for example, to assist the deoiling effect of the copolymers (P). Examples of suitable surfactants include sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, polyoxyalkylene groups, anionically modified polyoxyalkylene groups, betaine groups, glucoside groups or amine oxide group-containing surfactants, for example alkylbenzenesulfonates, olefin sulfonates, amidopropylbetaines, alkylpolyglucosides, alkylpolyalkoxylates or alkylpolyalkoxysulfates, sulfonates or carboxylates. Preferably, anionic surfactants, optionally used in combination with nonionic surfactants.

For example, additives can be used to reduce undesirable side effects, e.g. to prevent the undesired precipitation of salts or to stabilize the copolymer (P) used. The polymer formulations injected into the formation during polymer flooding flow only very slowly towards the production well, i. they remain for a long time in the formation, satisfying the conditions prevailing in the formation, e.g. elevated temperature and high salt contents are exposed. There is a risk that the polymers are degraded. Degradation of the polymer results in a decrease in viscosity. This must be taken into account either through the use of a higher amount of polymer or it must be accepted that the efficiency of the process deteriorates. In any case, the profitability of the process deteriorates. The degradation of the polymer may be due to a variety of mechanisms. By means of suitable additives, the polymer degradation can be prevented or at least delayed, depending on the conditions.

In one embodiment of the invention, the aqueous formulation used comprises at least one oxygen scavenger. Oxygen scavengers react with oxygen, which may be included in the aqueous formulation, thus preventing the oxygen from attacking the polymer. Examples of oxygen scavengers include sulfites such as Na 2 SO 3, bisulfites or dithionites.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the aqueous formulation used comprises at least one radical scavenger. Free radical scavengers can be used to counteract degradation of the polymer by radicals. Such compounds can form stable compounds with radicals. Radical scavengers are known in principle to the person skilled in the art. For example, it may be selected from the group of sulfur-containing compounds, sterically hindered amines, N-oxides, nitroso compounds, aromatic hydroxy compounds or stabilizers Ketones act. Examples of sulfur compounds include thiourea, substituted thioureas such as N, N'-dimethylthiourea, Ν, Ν'-diethylthiourea, N, N'-diphenylthiourea, thiocyanates such as ammonium thiocyanate or potassium thiocyanate, tetramethylthiuram disulfide or mercaptans such as 2-mercaptobenzothiazole or 2-mercaptobenzimidazole or salts thereof, for example the sodium salts, sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate, 2,2'-dithiobis (benzothiazole), 4,4'-thiobis (6-t-butyl-m-cresol). Further examples include dicyandiamide, guanidine, cyanamide, paramethoxyphenol, 2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methylphenol, butylhydroxyanisole, 8-hydroxyquinoline, 2,5-di (t-amyl) hydroquinone, 5-hydroxy-1 , 4-naphthoquinone, 2,5-di (t-amyl) hydroquinone, dimezone, propyl 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoate, ammonium N-nitrosophenylhydroxylamine, 4-hydroxy-2, 2,6,6-tetramethyoxylpiperidine, (N- (1,3-dimethylbutyl) N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine or 1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidinol, preferably sterically hindered amines such as 1, 2, 2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidinol and sulfur compounds, mercapto compounds, in particular 2-mercaptobenzothiazole or 2-mercaptobenzimidazole or salts thereof, for example the sodium salts, and 2-mercaptobenzothiazole or salts thereof are particularly preferred.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the aqueous formulation used comprises at least one sacrificial reagent. Sacrificial reagents can react with radicals, rendering them harmless. Examples include, in particular, alcohols. Alcohols can be oxidized by radicals, for example to ketones. Examples include monoalcohols and polyalcohols such as 1-propanol, 2-propanol, propylene glycol, glycerol, butanediol or pentaerythrol.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the aqueous formulation used comprises at least one complexing agent. Of course, mixtures of different complexing agents can be used. Complexing agents are generally anionic compounds, which in particular can complex two and higher-valent metal ions, for example Mg ²⁺ or Ca ²⁺ . In this way, for example, possibly unwanted precipitation can be avoided. Furthermore, it can be prevented that any polyvalent metal ions present crosslink the polymer via existing acidic groups, in particular COOH group. The complexing agents may in particular be carboxylic acid or phosphonic acid derivatives. Examples of complexing agents include ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), ethylenediamine disuccinic acid (EDDS), diethylenetriaminepentamethylenephosphonic acid (DTPMP), methylglycine diacetic acid (MGDA) or nitriloacetic acid (NTA). Of course, it may also be the respective salts, for example the corresponding sodium salts.

As an alternative or in addition to the abovementioned chelating agents, it is also possible to use polyacrylates.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the formulation contains at least one organic cosolvent. Preferably, it is completely water-miscible solvents, but it can also be used solvents which are only partially miscible with water. As a rule, the solubility should be at least 50 g / l, preferably at least 100 g / l. examples Examples include aliphatic C ₄ - to Cs-alcohols, preferably C ₄ - to C ₆ -alcohols, which may be substituted to achieve sufficient solubility in water with 1 to 5, preferably 1 to 3, ethyleneoxy units. Other examples include aliphatic diols having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms, which may optionally be further substituted. For example, it may be at least one cosolvent selected from the group of 2-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, butyl glycol, butyl diglycol or butyltriglycol.

The concentration of the copolymer in the aqueous formulation is determined so that the aqueous formulation has the desired viscosity for the intended use. The viscosity of the formulation should as a rule be at least 5 mPas (measured at 25 ° C. and a shear rate of 7 s ^-1 ), preferably at least 10 mPas.

In general, the concentration of the water-soluble copolymer (P) in the formulation is 0.02 to 2% by weight with respect to the sum of all components of the aqueous formulation. The amount is preferably 0.05 to 0.5 wt .-%, particularly preferably 0.1 to 0.3 wt .-% and for example 0.1 to 0.2 wt .-%.

If the copolymer (P) is present as a powder or granules, the copolymers must be dissolved for injection in an aqueous medium. For example, granules may have an average particle size of 0.1 mm to 3 mm. It is known to those skilled in the art that when dissolving high molecular weight polymers, excessive shear stresses should be avoided to avoid degradation of the polymers. Devices and methods for dissolving polymers and injecting the aqueous solutions into subterranean formations are known in the art in principle.

The aqueous formulation may be prepared by initially charging the water, scattering the copolymer as powder or granules and mixing with the water.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the dissolution of copolymer granules or powders can take place by means of a two-stage process. In a first dissolving step, polymer granules or powder are dissolved in an aqueous medium to give a concentrate. Such a concentrate may for example have a concentration of 1 wt .-% to 3 wt .-%. This can be done for example in appropriate dissolving boilers. The concentrate is diluted to use concentration in a second step. This can be done by injecting the concentrate directly into the tubing with the injection liquid. For rapid mixing, a mixer, in particular a static mixer, can be arranged behind the injection site. Such a method is disclosed by WO 2012/140092 A1.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the dissolution can be carried out by moistening the polymer granules in a first step with an aqueous phase. The polymer swells in the aqueous phase. The concentration of the polymer may be, for example, about 2 to 10 wt .-%, based on the total amount of aqueous phase and polymer. The swollen polymer is then comminuted by means of a suitable comminution device, for example to a size of 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm, and mixed with further water. This results in a polymer dispersion, which may for example have a concentration of 1 to 3 wt .-% polymer. The polymer dispersion can be completely dissolved in further dissolving tanks. In one variant, one can dispense with solvent tanks and inject the polymer dispersion directly into the pipeline with the injection liquid, where the polymer dissolves completely on the way to the injection site. The latter is particularly advantageous if the injection liquid is still transported over a certain distance in the pipeline, for example, from a central release station on the oil field to different injection wells. Suitable devices for the described method are disclosed, for example, WO 2008/071808 A1 and WO 2008/081048 A1.

If the copolymer (P) is already in the form of a solution or inverse emulsion, it is optionally mixed with further components and diluted to the use concentration. Such dilution can also be carried out in two stages by first producing a concentrate and then further diluting it. A suitable device for this purpose is disclosed, for example, by EP 2 283 915 A1.

Injecting the aqueous formulation may be done by conventional means. The formulation can be injected by conventional pumps into one or more injection wells. The injection wells are usually lined with cemented steel tubes and the steel tubes are perforated at the desired location. The formulation enters the petroleum formation through the perforation from the injection well. By way of the pressure applied by means of the pumps, the flow rate of the formulation and thus also the shear stress with which the aqueous formulation enters the formation are determined in a manner known in principle.

In the process according to the invention, the production well is generally not extracted from phase-pure oil, but rather from a crude-oil-water emulsion. The term "crude oil-water emulsion" is intended here to encompass both water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions, for example, the oil-water emulsions containing from 0.1 to 99% by weight of water it may be saline reservoir water, but as the polymer injection time is longer, the pumped water may also contain the injected copolymers.

For further processing of the crude oil in the refinery, the extracted crude oil-water emulsion must be separated. For this purpose, you can enforce the oil-water emulsion in a manner known in the art demulsifiers.

Systems and processes for the cleavage of crude oil emulsions are known to the person skilled in the art. The emulsion splitting is usually carried out locally, i. still on the oil field. It may be an investment in a production well, or a centralized facility in which the cracking of the crude oil emulsions for multiple production wells of an oilfield is performed together.

Alkali-polymer flooding In one embodiment of the invention, the process according to the invention is alkali polymer flooding.

For alkali-polymer flooding, an aqueous formulation is used which, in addition to water, comprises at least the described water-soluble copolymer (P) and at least one base. The pH of the aqueous formulation is generally at least 8, preferably at least 9, in particular 9 to 13, preferably 10 to 12 and for example 10.5 to 1 1.

In principle, any type of base can be used, with which the desired pH can be achieved and the skilled person makes a suitable choice. Examples of suitable bases include alkali metal hydroxides, for example NaOH or KOH or alkali metal carbonates, for example Na 2 CO 3. Furthermore, the bases may be basic salts, for example alkali metal salts of carboxylic acids, phosphoric acid or complexing agents in particular in the base form, such as EDTANa _{4, which} comprise acidic groups.

The addition of a base has the effect of allowing extra petroleum to be mobilized. Petroleum usually contains various carboxylic acids such as naphthenic acids, which are converted by the basic formulation into the corresponding salts. The salts act as naturally occurring surfactants and thus support the process of de-oiling.

For further details of the process and the aqueous formulations used, reference is made to the above description. The formulations used for alkali polymer flooding may be the above-described formulations, including the preferred embodiments, provided that the formulation additionally comprises at least one base and has the pH described above.

In one embodiment of the invention, the formulation used for the alkali-polymer flooding additionally comprises at least one complexing agent. This advantageously prevents unwanted precipitations of poorly soluble salts, in particular Ca and Mg salts, when the alkaline aqueous formulation comes into contact with the corresponding metal ions and / or aqueous formulations containing corresponding salts are used for the process. The amount of complexing agents is chosen by the person skilled in the art. It may, for example, be from 0.1 to 4% by weight, based on the sum of all components of the aqueous formulation.

Alkaline surfactant-polymer flooding

In a further embodiment of the invention, the process according to the invention is alkali-surfactant-polymer-flooding.

For alkali-surfactant-polymer flooding an aqueous formulation is used, which in addition to water at least the described copolymer (P), at least one base and at least includes a surfactant. The pH of the aqueous formulation is at least 8, preferably at least 9, in particular 9 to 13, preferably 10 to 12 and for example 10.5 to 11.

Suitable bases have already been mentioned above.

In principle, all surfactants suitable for surfactant flooding can be used as surfactants. Such surfactants are known in principle to the person skilled in the art. Examples of suitable surfactants for surfactant flooding include sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, polyoxyalkylene groups, anionically modified polyoxyalkylene groups, betaine groups, glucoside groups or amine oxide group surfactants, for example alkylbenzenesulfonates, olefin sulfonates, amidopropylbetaines, alkylpolyglucosides, alkylpolyalkoxylates or alkylpolyalkoxysulfates, sulfonates or carboxylates. Preferably, anionic surfactants, optionally used in combination with nonionic surfactants.

For example, the surfactants described in WO 2015/086468 A1, page 44, line 8 to page 48, line 15 can preferably be used.

The concentration of the surfactants is generally 0.01 wt .-% to 2 wt .-%, preferably 0.05 to 1 wt .-% and for example 0.1 to 0.8 wt .-% with respect to the sum of all components the aqueous formulation.

Combined procedures

Of course, the method according to the invention can be combined with further method steps.

In one embodiment, the process can be combined with water floods. In the case of water flooding, water is injected through at least one injection well into an oil reservoir and crude oil is withdrawn from the reservoir through at least one production well. The water may be fresh or saline waters such as seawater or reservoir water. After flooding, the inventive method of polymer flooding can be used.

In a further embodiment, the method can also be combined with surfactant flooding. In surfactant flooding, an aqueous surfactant solution is injected through at least one injection well into an oil reservoir and crude oil is withdrawn from the reservoir through at least one production well. The water may be fresh or saline waters such as seawater or reservoir water. The surfactants may be the above surfactants, including the described preferred surfactants. The aqueous surfactant solution may additionally contain a base. Possible process sequences are water flooding -> surfactant flooding -> polymer flooding or water flooding -> alkali-surfactant flooding -> polymer flooding Of course, the process according to the invention can also be applied several times in succession with varying aqueous formulations. For example, one can gradually increase the concentration of the polymer in the formulation. A combination may further comprise, as a first step, alkali surfactant flooding followed by polymer flours without surfactant and alkali as the second step.

Another embodiment comprises, as a first step, alkali-surfactant-polymer flooding followed by polymer flours without surfactant and alkali as the second step.

A further embodiment comprises, as a first step, surfactant-polymer flooding followed by polymer flours without surfactant as a second step.

In the two last-mentioned combinations, aqueous formulations having a higher salinity than in the second step can be used in each case in the first step. Alternatively, both steps can also be carried out with water of equal salinity.

Another embodiment involves pumping the aqueous polymer solution in the presence or alternately with gases (e.g., nitrogen, methane, ethane, propane, butane, or carbon dioxide). This process can optionally be carried out in the presence of surfactants.

In another embodiment, one may alternately inject the polymer of the invention with associative monomers as well as a polymer without associative monomers. This can be done by first injecting a non-associative polymer which can adsorb well on the rock surface of the formation. Subsequently, a solution of the polymer to be used according to the invention can be injected. Further details of this method are described for example by US 201 1/0180255 A1.

Advantages of the method according to the invention

For prior art polymers having a relatively high content of associative monomers, there is a risk that the copolymers may clog the formation. This reduces the oil yield. This is avoided by the use of the polymers according to the invention with a comparatively low content of associative monomers.

It has also surprisingly been found that the water-soluble copolymers (P) described have a temperature-switchable behavior in nuclear flood tests. The copolymers (P) lead to comparatively low resistance factors (RF, as defined in the experimental section) in the low-temperature core flood test, which favors the injectivity of these polymers into the porous medium of the subterranean rock formation. In the formation, the polymer solution warms up slowly until the corresponding reservoir temperature of, for example, 60 ° C is reached. With the increase in temperature, the resistance factor (RF) also increases, thereby compensating for the heterogeneities in the rock channels. This in turn improves the so-called "sweep efficiency" and thus the oil production. The following examples are intended to explain the invention in more detail:

Table 1: Investigated polymers

Preparation of macromonomer HBVE - 24.5 EO - 16 BuO - 3.5 EO

First Stage HBVE - 24.5 EO

135.3 g (1.16 mol) of hydroxybutyl vinyl ether (HBVE) (stabilized with 100 ppm potassium hydroxide (KOH)) were introduced into a 2 l pressure autoclave with anchor stirrer and the stirrer was turned on. 1, 06 g of potassium methoxide (KOMe) solution (32% KOMe in methanol (MeOH), equivalent to 0.0048 mol of potassium) were fed and the stirred tank evacuated to a pressure of less than 10 mbar, heated to 80 ° C, 70 min at 80 ° C and a pressure of less than 10 mbar. MeOH was distilled off. In an alternative procedure, the potassium methoxide (KOMe) solution (32% KOMe in methanol (MeOH)) was fed and the stirred tank to a pressure of 10 - 20 mbar evacuated, heated to 65 ° C, 70 min at 65 ° C and a Pressure of 10 - 20 mbar operated. MeOH was distilled off.

It was rinsed three times with N 2 (nitrogen). Thereafter, the container was tested for pressure tightness, 0.5 bar overpressure (1, 5 bar absolute) set and heated to 120 ° C. One relaxed to 1 bar absolute and metered 1 126 g (25.6 mol) of ethylene oxide (EO) to p _ma x 3.9 bar absolute and T _ma x 150 ° C. After dosage of 300 g of EO, the dosage was stopped (about 3 hours after beginning), maintained for 30 minutes and relaxed to 1, 3 bar absolute. Thereafter, the remaining EO was added. The addition of EO lasted 10 hours, including relaxation.

It was stirred until constant pressure at about 145-150 ° C (1 h), cooled to 100 ° C and freed at a pressure of less than 10 mbar for 1 h of low boilers. The product was filled at 80 ° C under N2.

Second step

HBVE - 24.5 EO - 16 BuO - 3.5 EO

The starting material used was HBVE-24.5 EO as described above.

568.6 g (0.525 mol) of HBVE-22 EO were introduced into a 2 l pressure autoclave with anchor stirrer and the stirrer was switched on. Thereafter, 2.31 g of 50% NaOH solution (0.029 mol NaOH, 1.16 g NaOH) were added, vacuum of <10 mbar applied, heated to 100 ° C and held for 80 min to distill off the water.

One rinsed three times with N2. Thereafter, the container was tested for pressure tightness, 0.5 bar overpressure (1, 5 bar absolute) set, heated to 127 ° C and then the pressure to 3 bar absolute. There were added 57.7 g (1, 31 1 mol) of EO at 127 ° C, p _ma x was 6 bar absolute. It was maintained for 30 min until the pressure stabilized, then it was completely relaxed to 4.0 bar. There were added 604.2 g (8.392 mol) of BuO at 127 ° C, p _ma x was 6 bar absolute. An intermediate relaxation due to Füllgradzunahme became necessary. The BuO dosage was stopped, allowed to react for 1 h until pressure was constant and relaxed to 4.0 bar absolute. Thereafter, the addition of BuO was continued. P _ma x continued to be 6 bar (first release after 505 g BuO, total dosing time BuO 1 1 h incl. Relaxation break). After the end of the BuO dosage was allowed to react for 6 h at 127 ° C. One relaxed to 4 bar absolute.

Thereafter, 80.8 g (1, 836 mol) of EO were added at 127 ° C, p _ma x was 6 bar absolute. After the end of the EO dosage was allowed to react for 4 h. It was cooled to 100 ° C, withdrawn residual oxide until the pressure for at least 10 minutes below 10 mbar. About 1400 ppm of volatile components were separated. Then the addition of 0.5% water at 120 ° C and subsequent removal took place until the pressure for at least 10 minutes below 10 mbar. The vacuum was released with N2 and 100 ppm BHT was added. The bottling was carried out at 80 ° C under N2.

Preparation of Polymer A:

In a plastic bucket with magnetic stirrer, pH meter and thermometer, 102.3 g of a 35% aqueous solution of Na acrylate were initially charged and subsequently 1.15.7 g of distilled water, 0.4 g of a commercially available silicone-based defoamer ( Dow Corning ^® Antifoam Emulsion RD), 168.8 g of acrylamide (50% solution in water), 1, 2 g of a 5% aqueous solution of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, pentasodium salt and 4 g of a 4% solution (dissolved in 5% sodium hydroxide solution) of the azo Initiators 4,4'-azobis (4-cyanovaleric acid) were added.

After adjusting to pH 6.75 with 10% sulfuric acid, the remaining water was added to reach the target monomer concentration of 30% (total amount less the amount of water already added, minus the amount of acid required) and the monomer solution to the starting temperature of 4 ° C is set. The solution was transferred to a thermos flask, the thermocouple was mounted for temperature recording, purged with nitrogen for 45 minutes and treated with 4 g of a 4% methanolic solution of the azo initiator azo-bis (isobutyronitrile), 0.16 ml of a 1% The t-BHPO solution and 0.16 ml of a 1% sodium bisulfite solution started the polymerization. With the onset of polymerization, the temperature rose to 80-90 ° C within about 25-30 min. After reaching the maximum temperature, the polymer was stored at 80 ° C for 2 hours. After cooling to about 50 ° C, the gel block was minced using a meat grinder and the resulting gel granules were dried in a fluidized bed dryer at 55 ° C for two hours. This gave a white, hard granules, which was converted by means of a centrifugal mill into a powdery state.

Preparation of Polymer B:

In a plastic bucket with magnetic stirrer, pH meter and thermometer, 146.5 g of a 50% aqueous solution of Na-ATBS were initially charged and subsequently 105 g of distilled water, 0.4 g of a commercially available silicone-based defoamer (Dow ^Corning® Antifoam Emulsion RD), 2.8 g of macromonomers, 138.2 g of acrylamide (50% solution in water), 1, 2 g of a 5% aqueous solution of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, pentasodium salt and 3.0 g of the nonionic surfactant iCi3- ( EO) isH added.

After adjusting to pH 6 with a 20% sodium hydroxide solution and adding the remaining water to reach the target monomer concentration of 37% (total amount less the amount of water already added minus the amount of acid required), the monomer solution was brought to the starting temperature of 4 ° C is set. The solution was transferred to a thermos flask, the thermocouple was mounted for temperature recording and purged with nitrogen for 45 minutes and with 1.6 ml of a 10% aqueous solution of the water-soluble azo initiator 2,2'-azobis (2-methylpropionamidine). dihydrochloride (Wako V-50), 0.12 ml of a 1% t-BHPO solution and 0.24 ml of a 1% sodium sulfite solution started the polymerization. With the onset of polymerization, the temperature rose to 80-90 ° C within about 25 min. A solid polymer gel was obtained.

After cooling to about 50 ° C, the gel block was minced using a meat grinder and the resulting gel granules were dried in a fluidized bed dryer at 55 ° C for two hours. This gave a white, hard granules, which was converted by means of a centrifugal mill into a powdery state. Preparation of Polymer C:

In a plastic bucket with magnetic stirrer, pH meter and thermometer, 102.3 g of a 35% aqueous solution of Na acrylate were initially charged and subsequently 1.15.7 g of distilled water, 0.4 g of a commercially available silicone-based defoamer ( Dow Corning ^® Antifoam emulsion RD), 166.4 g acrylamide (50% solution in water), 1, 2 g of a 5% aqueous solution of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, pentasodium salt and 4 g of a 4% solution (dissolved into 5% Sodium hydroxide solution) of the azo initiator 4,4'-azobis (4-cyanovaleric acid).

After adjusting to pH 6.75 with 10% sulfuric acid, 1.2 g of macromonomer and 1.2 g of the nonionic surfactant iCi3- (EO) isH were added and the pH was again controlled and adjusted to pH 6.75. Subsequently, the remaining water was added to reach the target monomer concentration of 30% (total amount of water minus the already added amount of water minus the required amount of acid) and the monomer solution adjusted to the starting temperature of 4 ° C. The solution was transferred to a thermos flask, the thermocouple was mounted for temperature recording, purged with nitrogen for 45 minutes and treated with 4 g of a 4% methanolic solution of the azo initiator azobis (isobutyronitrile), 0.16 ml of a 1% i. The t-BHPO solution and 0.16 ml of a 1% sodium bisulfite solution started the polymerization. With the onset of polymerization, the temperature rose to 80-90 ° C within about 25-30 min. After reaching the maximum temperature, the polymer was stored at 80 ° C for 2 hours. After cooling to about 50 ° C, the gel block was minced using a meat grinder and the resulting gel granules were dried in a fluidized bed dryer at 55 ° C for two hours. This gave a white, hard granules, which was converted by means of a centrifugal mill into a powdery state.

Preparation of polymer D:

In a plastic bucket with magnetic stirrer, pH meter and thermometer, 102.3 g of a 35% aqueous solution of Na acrylate were initially charged and subsequently 1.15.7 g of distilled water, 0.4 g of a commercially available silicone-based defoamer ( Dow Corning ^® Antifoam emulsion RD), 167.6 g acrylamide (50% solution in water), 1, 2 g of a 5% aqueous solution of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, pentasodium salt and 4 g of a 4% solution (dissolved into 5% Sodium hydroxide solution) of the azo initiator 4,4'-azobis (4-cyanovaleric acid).

After adjusting to pH 6.75 with 10% sulfuric acid, 0.6 g of macromonomer and 0.6 g of iCi3- (EO) isH nonionic surfactant were added and the pH was again controlled and adjusted to pH 6.75. Subsequently, the remaining water was added to reach the target monomer concentration of 30% (total amount of water minus the already added amount of water minus the required amount of acid) and the monomer solution adjusted to the starting temperature of 4 ° C. The solution was transferred to a thermos flask, the thermocouple was mounted for temperature recording, purged with nitrogen for 45 minutes and treated with 4 g of a 4% methanolic solution of the azo initiator azobis (isobutyronitrile), 0.16 ml of a 1% i. The t-BHPO solution and 0.16 ml of a 1% sodium bisulfite solution started the polymerization. With the onset of polymerization, the temperature rose to 80-90 ° C within about 25-30 min. After reaching the maximum temperature, the polymer was stored at 80 ° C for 2 hours. After cooling to about 50 ° C, the gel block was minced using a meat grinder and the resulting gel granules were dried in a fluidized bed dryer at 55 ° C for two hours. This gave a white, hard granules, which was converted by means of a centrifugal mill into a powdery state.

Application Testing:

Determination of the intrinsic viscosity

To determine the intrinsic viscosity, the run times of the solvent and of the polymer solutions at various concentrations were determined by means of an Ubbelohde capillary viscometer. From the ratio of the transit times of the polymer solution and the pure solvent, the relative viscosities were calculated. Thereafter, the specific viscosities were formed from the difference in relative viscosity and 1. Finally, the reduced viscosity was formed from the quotient of the specific viscosity and the polymer concentration. This was plotted against the polymer concentration and from the extrapolation against c = 0 the intrinsic viscosity was obtained. The results are shown in Table 1 above.

Brookfield viscosity

It was the viscosity of the polymers C and D as a function of temperature measured with a viscosimeter of the type Brookfield LV with UL adapter (1000 ppm in 1% NaCl solution at 7 s ^_1, The results are shown in Figure 1.

Flood tests - oil yield

The core flood tests were carried out with a test setup according to API RP 63, Chapter 3.7 (see Figure 2). The apparatus was equipped with pressure sensors at regular intervals along the core, so that pressure differences could be measured over the entire core as well as over sections of the core.

In each case about a pore volume of an aqueous polymer solution of the concentration of about 1000 ppm in a Bentheimer sandstone core (length of the core: 30.3 cm, diameter: 5.06 cm, pore volume: 139.17 ml, porosity: 22.8 %, Water permeability: 2890 mD) at one Flow rate of 0.3048 m / day injected. The core was previously saturated with crude oil. During the injection of the polymer solutions, the differential pressure in individual sections of the sandstone was measured to observe the propagation of the polymer solution through the core.

The results of the experiments are shown in Figures 3 to 6 and in Table 2.

Figure 3 shows for comparison purposes the results with polymer A, ie a polymer without associative monomer. The differential pressure in the individual segments of the core is comparably high in each case. This result means that the polymer A flows uniformly through the core.

Figures 4 and 5 show the results of the comparative experiments with polymers B (2% by weight of associative monomer) and C (1% by weight of associative monomer). In these comparative experiments, the pressure increase in the first core segment (dP1) is significantly higher than in the following segments. In addition, in some cases no stabilization of the pressure level can be observed. This means that much of the polymer is retained in the front part of the core.

This, in turn, has a negative impact on oil production.

FIG. 6 shows the results of the experiments according to the invention with polymer D (only 0.5% by weight of associative monomer). This polymer has uniform propagation through the core, much like polymer A.

The results of the core flood tests are summarized in Table 2. The terms used here have the following meaning:

Oil yield after polymer flooding [ml] volume of oil delivered during polymer injection

Residual oil saturation S _or oil saturation after water injection, but before

 polymer injection

Initial oil saturation S ₀ i Oil saturation at the beginning of the experiment, ie before

 Injection of water

 Peak Polymer Oil Cut [Vol.%] Maximum oil content in the total amount of

 produced liquid (oil + water)

Total oil yield Oil saturation at the end of the experiment after injections of all fluids Example No. V1 V2 V3 1

Polymer A B C D

 Amount of associative monomer 0% 2% 1% 0.5%

Oil yield after polymer flooding [ml] 10.60 6.2 9.86 13.34

Oil yield after polymer flooding, bezo17.7 9.8 16, 1 22.4 g on residual oil saturation S _or [%]

 Oil yield after polymer flooding, bezo 8.2 5.2 7.7 10.8 gen to the initial oil saturation Soi [%]

 Peak polymer oil cut [vol.%] 31, 1 2.2 12, 1 41, 4

Total oil yield based on soy [%] 61, 9 51, 6 59.9 62.5

Table 2: Summary of the results of the flood tests

Essential for the effectiveness of the polymer flooding is on the one hand total oil yield, which can be determined by means of the nuclear flood test. Also important is the question of how fast the oil can be pumped. One indicator of this is the "Peak Polymer Oil Cut." When injecting the polymer solution into the core, typically a mixture of (polymer-containing) water and oil is conveyed. "Peak Polymer Oil Cut" is the highest concentration of oil in terms of water and oil, which is promoted in the course of the experiment. A high value means that most of the oil is pumped relatively quickly in a high concentration. A low value means that oil production smears over a wide range.

As can be seen in Table 2, the best oil yield is achieved in Experiment 1 (Polymer D). In addition, the peak polymer oil cut with 41, 4 vol.% Largest.

Flood tests - temperature dependence

For the experiments, a solution of 1000 ppm of polymer D in synthetic seawater was used. The synthetic seawater had the following composition:

The concentration of divalent ions (Mg ²⁺ and Ca ²⁺ ) is ^1.6 g / l. The solution was injected at different flow rates and temperatures into a Bentheimer sandstone, in the order given in Table 3 (Step 1 through Step 8). The differential pressure across the core was measured in each case. For comparison purposes, synthetic seawater without polymer was injected into the core under the same conditions and the differential pressure was also measured. From the quotient of the differential pressures, the resistance factor (RF) (RF = differential pressure polymer in seawater / differential pressure with pure seawater) was calculated. The RF is a measure of the apparent viscosity of the solution in the porous medium.

The results of the experiments are summarized in Table 3.

 Table 3: Determination of the Resistance Factor (RF)

Figure 1 shows the Brookfield viscosity of the polymers C (comparison) and D (according to the invention). The viscosity of C increases with increasing temperature, while that of polymer D decreases slightly with increasing temperature. An increase in viscosity with temperature is quite desirable: Typically, the polymer solution has about room temperature from injection. After injection into the deposit, the solution warms up under the influence of the deposit, increasing the viscosity. In this respect, the expert would consider Polymer D as less suitable.

Surprisingly, the core flood test with polymer D shows that polymer D also leads to better de-oiling with increasing temperature. As can be seen in Table 2, the RF increases significantly with the temperature (Step 1 -> Step 3). A high RF means a significant reduction in the mobility of the aqueous polymer solution compared to the solution without polymer. Lower mobility leads to a more uniform propagation of the solution through the formation, so that oil is also mobilized in areas which have a lower permeability. This behavior is remarkable because the viscosity of the polymer in synthetic seawater decreases with increasing temperature. The person skilled in the art would therefore expect a deterioration in the degree of degradation on the basis of the viscosity measurements. The behavior is reversible. At the end of the test sequence (step 8), it was again measured at 0.5 ml / min and 20 ° C and the RF is about the same.

Claims

claims

1 . A method of extracting oil from subterranean oil reservoirs containing petroleum and salty reservoir water which comprises injecting an aqueous formulation comprising at least one thickening water soluble copolymer (P) into the oil reservoir through at least one injection well and extracting oil from the reservoir through at least one production well; water-soluble copolymer (P) at least

From 65 to 85% by weight of at least one monomer (A) selected from the group of (meth) acrylamide, N-methyl (meth) acrylamide, N, N'-dimethyl (meth) acrylamide or N-methylol ( meth) acrylamide, as well as

 Comprising 14.9 to 34.9% by weight of at least one monomer (B) selected from the group of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid or fumaric acid or salts thereof,

 characterized in that

 The water-soluble copolymer (P) furthermore contains 0.1 to 0.9% by weight of at least one monoethylenically unsaturated monomer (C) selected from the group of

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (I), H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) - (C = 0) - 0 - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (II),

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O- (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y - (- CH ₂ -CH ₂ O-) z R ¹⁰ (III), H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) O-R ¹¹ -N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" ( IV) or H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) N (R ⁵ ) -R-N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" (V), wherein the radicals and indices have the following meaning: R ¹ : H or methyl,

R ⁵ : independently of one another H, methyl or ethyl, with the proviso

that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁵ are H,

R ⁶ : aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 40 carbon atoms,

R ⁷ : a single bond or a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting of - (C _n H _2n ) -, -O- (Cn'H _2n ') - and -C (O) -O- (C _n H _2n ') -, where n is a natural number from 1 to 6, and n' and n "are a natural number from 2 to 6,

R ⁸ : independently of one another H, methyl or ethyl, with the proviso

that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁸ are H, R ⁹ : independently of one another are hydrocarbon radicals of at least 2 carbon atoms,

R ¹⁰ : H or a hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 30 C atoms,

R ¹¹ : an alkylene radical having 1 to 8 carbon atoms,

R ¹² , R ¹³ , independently of one another, denote H or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms.

R ¹⁴ : lenstoffatomen,

R ¹⁵ : aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 30 carbon atoms,

 X- a negatively charged counterion,

 k is a number from 10 to 80,

 x is a number from 10 to 50,

 y is a number from 5 to 30, and

 z is a number from 0 to 10,

 • the deposit temperature is <70 ° C,

 • the permeability of the deposit is 100 mD, and

 • the reservoir water does not contain more than 10 g / l of divalent ions.

 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the amount of

 Monomers (C) 0.2 to 0.8 wt .-% is.

 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the amount of the monomer (C) is 0.4 to 0.6 wt .-%.

 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it is in the

 Monomer (C) is at least one monomer of the general formula (III).

 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that it is in the

 Monomers (C) to a mixture comprising at least the following monomers

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y H (lilac) and

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y - (- CH 2 -CH ₂ 0-) zH (IIIb), wherein the radicals and indices have the abovementioned meaning, with the proviso that in the formula (IIIb) z is a number> 0 to 10.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that in the formulas (IIIa) and (IIIb) R ^{1 is} H, R ^{7 is} a group -0- (C _n 'H ₂ n') -, R ^{8 is} H, R ^{9 is} ethyl, x is 20 to 30, y is 12 to 25, and z is 1 to 6.

A process according to claim 5, characterized in that in the formulas (IIIa) and (IIIb) R is H, R ^{7 is} -O-CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ -, R ^{8 is} H, R ^{9 is} ethyl, x is 23 to 26, y stands for 14 to 18, and z stands for 3 to 5.

 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the deposit temperature is 30 ° C to 70 ° C.

 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the permeability of the deposit 200 mD to 2 D.

 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the deposit water comprises 0.1 to 10 g / l of divalent ions.

 1 1. Process according to any one of Claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the amount of monomers (A), (B) and (C) taken together is 100% by weight.

 12. A water-soluble copolymer (P) comprising at least

 From 65 to 85% by weight of at least one monomer (A) selected from the group of (meth) acrylamide, N-methyl (meth) acrylamide, N, N'-dimethyl (meth) acrylamide or N-methylol ( meth) acrylamide, as well as

 14.9 to 34.9% by weight of at least one monomer (B) selected from the group of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, crotonic acid, itaconic acid, maleic acid or fumaric acid or salts thereof,

 characterized in that the water-soluble copolymer (P) further contains 0.1 to 0.9% by weight of at least one monoethylenically unsaturated monomer (C) selected from the group of

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (I), H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) - (C = 0) - 0 - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁵ ) -O-) _k -R ⁶ (II),

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O- (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y - (- CH ₂ -CH ₂ O-) z R ¹⁰ (III), H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) O-R ¹¹ -N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" ( IV) or H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -C (= O) N (R ⁵ ) -R-N ⁺ (R ² ) (R ³ ) (R ¹⁴ ) X ^" (V), wherein the radicals and indices have the following meaning: R ¹ : H or methyl,

R ⁵ independently of one another are H, methyl or ethyl, with the proviso that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁵ are H,

R ⁶ : aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 40 carbon atoms, R ⁷ : a single bond or a divalent linking group,

selected from the group consisting of - (CnF n) -, -O- (Ο _η Ή2η) - and -C (0) -O- (C _n H2n ') - _> where n is a natural number from 1 to 6 , and n 'and n "are a natural number from 2 to 6,

R ⁸ : independently of one another are H, methyl or ethyl, with the proviso that at least 70 mol% of the radicals R ⁸ are H,

R ⁹ independently of one another are hydrocarbon radicals of at least 2 carbon atoms,

R ¹⁰ : H or a hydrocarbon radical having 1 to 30 C atoms,

R ¹¹ : an alkylene radical having 1 to 8 carbon atoms,

R ¹² , R ¹³ , R ¹⁴ independently of one another are H or an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms,

R ¹⁵ : aliphatic and / or aromatic, linear or branched hydrocarbon radicals having 8 to 30 carbon atoms,

 X- a negatively charged counterion,

 k is a number from 10 to 80,

 x is a number from 10 to 50,

 y is a number from 5 to 30, and

 z is a number from 0 to 10.

13. A water-soluble copolymer (P) according to claim 12, characterized in that the amount of the monomer (C) is 0.2 to 0.8 wt .-%.

 14. A water-soluble copolymer (P) according to claim 12, characterized in that the amount of the monomer (C) is 0.4 to 0.6 wt .-%.

 15. Water-soluble copolymer (P) according to claim 12, characterized in that the monomer (C) is at least one monomer of the general formula (III).

16. Water-soluble copolymer (P) according to claim 15, characterized in that the monomers (C) are a mixture comprising at least the following monomers

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH ₂ -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y H (lilac) and

H ₂ C = C (R ¹ ) -R ⁷ -O - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁸ ) -O-) x - (- CH 2 -CH (R ⁹ ) -O-) y - (- CH 2 -CH ₂ 0-) zH (IIIb),

 where the radicals and indices have the abovementioned meaning, with the proviso that in the formula (IIIb) z is a number> 0 to 10.

17. Water-soluble copolymer (P) according to claim 16, characterized in that in the formulas (IIIa) and (IIIb) R ^{1 is} H, R ^{7 is} a group -O- (Ο _η · Η ₂ η ·) - _> R ^{8 9} is ethyl, x is 20 to 30, y is 12 to 25, and z stand for H, R 1 to. 6

18. Water-soluble copolymer (P) according to claim 16, characterized in that in the formulas (IIIa) and (IIIb) R ^{1 is} H, R ^{7 is} -O-CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ CH ₂ -, R ^{8 is} H, R ^{9 is} Ethyl, x is 23 to 26, y is 14 to 18, and z is 3 to 5.

 19. A water-soluble copolymer (P) according to any one of claims 12 to 18, characterized in that the amount of the monomers (A), (B) and (C) together is 100 wt .-%.