Abstract
High water cut in mature oil reservoirs reduces sweep efficiency and increases the operating burden associated with lifting, separation, produced-water treatment, transport, and reinjection. This systematic critical review integrates selective conformance control from diagnosis of water-production mechanisms through treatment selection and placement to field response and energy–water performance. PRISMA 2020/PRISMA-S screening of Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, and OnePetro identified 346 records, of which 120 studies were included in the qualitative evidence synthesis. Final searches were completed on 5–10 August 2026. We propose the D–M–T–P–R–E evidence-integration framework—Diagnosis, Mechanism, Treatment, Placement/selectivity, Reservoir/production Response, and Energy–water efficiency—supported by evidence levels E1–E5, design-specific methodological appraisal, a legacy reporting-completeness descriptor, and cross-scale external-consistency assessment. The synthesis indicates that robust field performance requires mechanism-specific diagnosis, verified placement, measurable flow redistribution, sustained water reduction, and attributable incremental oil. The proposed framework provides a structured basis for decision support while preventing unsupported transfer of isolated laboratory metrics to field performance. The supplied extraction matrix retains 74 of the 120 studies as a post-inclusion traceability/comparability subset; endpoint-specific numerical comparisons were performed only where physical definitions, operating conditions, and source-level data were sufficiently comparable and verifiable, and no universal pooled meta-analysis was performed.