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Title: Waterflooding employing mixtures of sulfonate surfactants

Patent ·
OSTI ID:6387757

A new waterflooding process is described in which at least a portion of the injected fluid comprises a viscous aqueous liquid having a monovalent salt salinity within the range of 1.5 to 4.0% by wt and containing first and second sulfonate surfactants. The first surfactant is a petroleum sulfonate having a relatively broad molecular weight distribution and the second surfactant is a synthetic alkyl or alkylaryl sulfonate having a molecular weight distribution narrower than that of the first surfactant. The first and second surfactants are present in the aqueous liquid in relative amounts such that the ratio of the concentration of the first surfactant to the concentration of the second surfactant is within the range of 1:3 to 1:1. The thickened aqueous liquid containing the above described multicomponent surfactant system also contains a water-soluble C3-C6 aliphatic alcohol. 11 claims.

Assignee:
Mobil Oil Corp.
Patent Number(s):
CA 1088736
OSTI ID:
6387757
Resource Relation:
Patent Priority Date: Priority date 28 Jul 1977, United States of America (USA)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English