Chapter 15: The Question of Control
In response to the old expert Mr. Zhong's words, Liu Shang just smiled confidently. "Mr. Zhong, please, just ask."
"Actually, in order to prove as quickly as possible that I am worthy of this position, I would prefer your question to be more difficult."
Hearing Liu Shang's response, the managers in the meeting room, especially the younger ones, couldn't help but exchange mocking smiles.
What a joke. The man in front of you, Mr. Zhong, is a renowned expert in the oil industry. He was once one of the legendary 'Eight Kings of the Fengcheng Oilfield.'
Forget a mere freshman like you—even those of us present with more than ten years of experience wouldn't dare claim to fully grasp Mr. Zhong's questions.
"Haha, you kid. You really remind me of myself when I was young."
"Alright, I'll give you what you asked for. I will ask you some difficult questions related to actual field application."
"Liu Shang, you said it yourself just now that water injection well profile control technology involves injecting various types of plugging agents downhole to adjust the water absorption profile of the well."
"However, in the current academic field, there are two main schools of thought on this matter."
"One is the approach Professor Xu supports, which is using chemical methods to adjust the water absorption profile of water injection wells."
"The second is the view of those of us from an engineering background. We primarily adjust the water absorption profile through the water injection process and water separation technology."
"I'd like to know your thoughts on this."
Without a moment of thought or hesitation, Liu Shang stated with great certainty, "Mr. Zhong, as I said before, the root of the problem lies in the formation of water channeling pathways and high-absorption layers during long-term water flooding, which significantly reduces efficiency and leads to a series of subsequent issues."
"Theoretically, using layered water injection with water distributors to artificially control the amount of water injected into each layer can achieve a certain effect."
"However, this method treats the symptoms, not the root cause. At best, it can only alleviate the problem, and its effect is very limited."
"For example, most of our current methods use two-stage or three-stage water injection. Even if you artificially change the injection volume of a single layer, the injected water will still follow the established channeling pathways once it enters the formation."
"Mechanical means simply cannot solve problems and contradictions deep inside the reservoir."
"What's more, mechanical water distribution still faces many interference factors and difficulties, such as tool failure and unclear zone isolation."
"Therefore, I believe that chemical profile control technology will be the mainstream development direction in the future."
As Liu Shang finished his answer, Professor Xu Tiande's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He never expected that this young man would be such a pleasant surprise today.
Mr. Zhong, despite his engineering background, wasn't angry that Liu Shang had contradicted the position held by his fellow engineers. On the contrary, just like Professor Xu, the more he looked at Liu Shang, the more he liked him.
It was obvious that he, too, had already recognized the key to this issue, and his own views aligned with what Liu Shang had expressed.
For old experts like them, who had retired with fame and achievements, their greatest passion at this stage of life was discovering and nurturing talent. They hoped to find a worthy apprentice to whom they could pass on their life's work.
But the younger faction of managers in the company groaned inwardly after hearing Liu Shang's answer.
Although Liu Shang's answer sounded good, it was still just theory, just talk.
By now, it was clear that Liu Shang had thoroughly captured Mr. Zhong's interest.
"Good, good, very good, Liu Shang. An excellent answer."
"In terms of problem-solving, the chemical profile control process is indeed an effective technical method."
"It's rare for you to have such knowledge and insight as a freshman."
"In our original plan for today, we were going to discuss a technical issue: if profile control is performed on a water injection well, the mechanical water distributor in the well needs to be retrieved in advance."
"But after the profile control measures are completed, is it necessary to reinstall the water distributor?"
"You have to understand that reinstalling it increases the operational cost, could potentially compromise the effect of the profile control, and might even introduce a series of subsequent risks."
In fact, this issue had been discussed many times at the technical level within Huahai Company, and a consensus had been reached: after the profile control operation, there was no need to reinstall the water distributor.
Even Xu Tiande and Mr. Zhong held this view.
However, to everyone's surprise, Liu Shang once again gave his answer directly, without any thought or hesitation.
"Mr. Zhong, there's no need to even think about it. After the profile control measures are implemented, it is absolutely necessary to reinstall the water distributor."
Upon hearing Liu Shang's answer, the younger faction in the conference room couldn't help but exchange knowing smirks, thinking sarcastically to themselves, *Heh, the kid is still too young!*
Even Professor Xu and Mr. Zhong agree it's unnecessary, yet you're so certain that it is? Could it be that two top-level veteran experts and our entire team know less than you, a freshman?
It wasn't just them. After Liu Shang gave such an affirmative answer, both Xu Tiande and Mr. Zhong's expressions turned serious as they looked up at him.
"Oh? Liu Shang, since you're so sure, let's hear your reasoning."
Liu Shang nodded and then turned to Xu Tiande. "Professor Xu, may I ask, what is the primary composition of our company's current profile control and plugging agent system?"
Xu Tiande replied, "Our current plugging agent system at Huahai is mainly based on a polyacrylamide gel, plus physical plugging expansion particles."
"Professor Xu, what is the molecular weight of the polymer currently used by our company, and what type of cross-linking agent is it?"
Hearing this question, Xu Tiande and Mr. Zhong were visibly taken aback. They didn't expect this young man to have such depth. Generally, non-professionals would never ask such specific questions.
Despite his shock, Xu Tiande answered truthfully, "The molecular weight of the polymer used by our company is about 800 million, and the cross-linking agent is mainly composed of metal ions."
Liu Shang nodded. "Professor Xu, if my guess is correct, the stability of this polymer gel system in a laboratory environment will not exceed one and a half years."
"In the actual underground environment, considering the temperature, salinity, formation sensitivity, and the oil pollution and impurities in the subsequent injection water, its effectiveness will not exceed half a year, and could be even shorter."
"The probability of performing two consecutive profile control operations on a single water injection well is very small. Therefore, it is obvious that to ensure the long-term effectiveness of the well, it is necessary to reinstall the water distributor."