Research progress of hydroxyethyl cellulose materials in oil and gas drilling and production

As a non-ionic surfactant, hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) is widely utilized in the oil and gas industry owing to its numerous advantages, which include excellent suspensibility, robust viscosifying properties, and distinguished plugging effect. However, the direct application of HEC faces certain challenges such as high dosage, suboptimal temperature resistance, and slow degradation. Various solutions have been proposed to tackle these issues, including the blending of HEC with other materials to enhance its performance. The viscosifying ability of the material is significantly improved, and the oil displacement effect is remarkable after the modification of hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC).Thus, materials based on HEC, such as the HEC compounding system and HEC-modified materials, have considerable research value. This review aims to discuss the current research status of HEC-based materials, focusing on viscosity stabilization, anti-tampering and plugging, oil drive, and production increase. The synthesis method and properties of the material are analyzed, highlighting the weak temperature resistance, insufficient salt resistance, and limited self-adaptability of HEC. Hence, it is suggested that future development should concentrate on hydrophobic modification of HEC long carbon chains and compounding with polymers to produce HEC-based composites that are suitable for wider application.