The SPI gel system is a low cost, multi-component silicate based gel, mixed at surface and pumped as a single stage with controlled gel times ranging from a few hours to several days to form a variety of resilient gels from hard, "ringing" to soft, weak gels. This new environmentally friendly, "green" gel system uses low chemical concentrations and no heavy metals for a low overall cost. SPI gel systems were developed to solve water conformance problems on injector and producer wells, for casing leak repairs and other applications. The SPI pre-gelled system has a low viscosity for deep penetration of leaks and tight formations and it can be designed for special applications. Well over 1000 lab tests were performed to evaluate the SPI gel system at the RTA Systems laboratory. Further rheological testing was conducted and is in progress at the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project at the University of Kansas. Lab tests are continuing to establish a minimum 5-year life of the SPI silicate gels for permitted injection well repairs for regulatory Mechanical Integrity Testing (MIT) requirements. This paper presents the laboratory discovery work and the early 3rd party confirmation work. These gels are now being field-tested for waterflood conformance and casing repairs.
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