Alternating Flow Direction for Selective Permeability Reduction

The patent applies local quality by making the gel composition's plugging effect location-specific through conditional activation. The gel remains liquid during injection and only solidifies upon contact with specific formation conditions (temperature, pH, or chemical composition) that are present in high-permeability zones but absent in low-permeability zones. This ensures plugging occurs only where needed while preserving flow paths in low-permeability zones.

The patent utilizes parameter changes by designing a gel composition whose physical state transitions from liquid to solid based on formation parameters. The gel contains additives that trigger solidification at specific temperature thresholds, pH levels, or upon contact with certain ions/minerals found in high-permeability regions. This parameter-dependent phase change enables selective plugging without affecting low-permeability zones with different parameters.

The patent applies dynamics by making the gel composition's viscosity and flow characteristics changeable over time and space. The gel is injected as a liquid that can flow uniformly through heterogeneous reservoirs, then dynamically transforms into a solid plug upon encountering specific formation conditions. This dynamic behavior ensures uniform distribution during injection followed by selective plugging in high-permeability zones.

The patent uses formation conditions (temperature, pH, chemical composition) as intermediaries to control gel solidification. These natural formation parameters act as mediators that trigger the phase change only in high-permeability zones, ensuring the gel distributes uniformly during injection but plugs selectively where the intermediary conditions are present.

The patent extracts the harmful reaction effect by removing the chemical reaction step from the plugging process. Instead of using multiple chemicals that react to form plugs, the invention uses a single gel composition that solidifies through physical phase change triggered by formation conditions. This eliminates unwanted chemical reactions that could plague low-permeability zones while maintaining conformance control effectiveness.

The patent employs a temporary liquid gel state during injection that serves its purpose during the injection process, then transforms into a permanent solid plug only where needed. The liquid state is temporary and disposable, allowing uniform distribution, while the solid state provides lasting plugging only in high-permeability zones where formation conditions trigger the transformation.