Alkali-enhanced steam foam oil recovery process

Patent · Tue Sep 02 04:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:5179202

Lau, H C

This patent describes a process in which steam and steam-foaming surfactant are injected into a subterranean reservoir for displacing a relatively acidic oil toward a production location. An improvement is described which consisits of: injecting into the reservoir, at least as soon as at least some portion of the steam is injected, (a) a kind and amount of water soluble, alkaline material effective for ion-exchanging multivalent ions from the reservoir rocks and precipitating compounds containing those ions and for causing the aqueous liquid phase of the injected fluid to form soaps of substantially all of the petroleum acids in the reservoir oil, and (b) at least one surfactant arranged for foaming the steam and providing a preformed cosurfactant material capable of increasing the salinity requirement of an aqueous surfactant system in which soaps derived from the reservoir oil comprise a primary surfactant.

• Assignee: Shell Oil Co., Houston, TX
• Patent Number(s): US 4609044
• OSTI ID: 5179202
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ADDITIVES
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOAMS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ION EXCHANGE
MIXTURES
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PRECIPITATION
RECOVERY
RESERVOIR ROCK
SALINITY
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOAPS
SOLUBILITY
SOLUTIONS
STEAM
STEAM INJECTION
STIMULATION
SURFACTANTS
WATER
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS