Kuwait Oil Company Adopts Polymer Injection Technology to Reduce Produced Water
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Sources close to "Al-Siyasah" revealed that Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is preparing to launch an extensive technological project based on "polymer injection" technology to enhance oil recovery in the reservoirs of the northern and western fields of the country.
The same sources confirmed that this move comes within the context of the company’s strenuous efforts to overcome technical challenges posed by complex reservoirs and to boost production capacities in line with the long-term strategic objectives of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) for 2040.
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In anticipation of the start of large-scale technical operations, the sources clarified that KOC is intensifying its preparations to implement this project by holding meetings and intensive workshops that bring together key stakeholders, contractors, and international technology partners. They noted that these proactive steps aim to build a unified platform that consolidates insights and defines logistical and engineering requirements to formulate an integrated implementation strategy. This strategy ensures operational flexibility and reduces risks associated with the anticipated oil project, especially since polymer injection technology is considered one of the most efficient and economically viable chemical solutions in the tertiary recovery stage. The mechanism relies on increasing the viscosity of the injected water within the reservoirs to approximate the viscosity of crude oil, thereby raising the efficiency of oil displacement and sweeping it toward production wells, while simultaneously reducing the volume of produced water, which poses a significant environmental and operational challenge.
The sources mentioned that KOC is betting on its application in its oil fields to achieve a qualitative leap in exploiting unconventional reserves and extending the production life of old reservoirs.
The source confirmed that relying on polymer injection technology represents an engineering revolution in managing difficult and aging reservoirs, as it helps solve major technical problems through five fundamental pillars. The first is improving mobility ratio, where the substance increases the viscosity of injected water to equal that of oil, preventing rapid water breakthrough and creating a uniform displacement front that efficiently sweeps oil toward production wells.
It added that the second pillar is contributing to ending the phenomenon of "viscous fingering," as the new technology prevents water from penetrating oil through easy paths and forming water channels that leave the oil isolated. Instead, the polymer solution flows as a cohesive mass that sweeps the entire reservoir. The third pillar involves modifying permeability in heterogeneous rocks, where polymer molecules partially block high-permeability channels, forcing water to change its course toward narrower layers to extract oil trapped in fine rock fractures.
It clarified that the fourth pillar is reducing the production of associated water, as the project helps reduce the volume of water produced alongside oil, saving substantial costs incurred in separation and surface treatment processes and redirecting reservoir energy to produce crude oil only. The fifth pillar is facilitating an increase in the final recovery factor; while traditional methods leave 60% to 70% of oil trapped in rocks, this technology can extract an additional 10% to 20% of total reserves.
The sources concluded their statement by noting that the company is taking into account operational challenges related to the chemical degradation of the substance in high-temperature and high-salinity environments. They confirmed that ongoing technical studies leverage experiments to develop customized chemical formulations suited to the nature of Kuwait’s rocks and reservoirs, ensuring the desired economic viability and extending the investment life of the fields.
