Trona-enhanced steam foam oil recovery process

Patent · Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5240266

Lau, H C

In 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, which process includes 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, an improvement is described comprising: using as the water soluble alkaline material, a material consisting essentially of a substantially equal molar mixture of alkali metal carbonates and bicarbonates which is, or is substantially equivalent to, trona.

• Assignee: Shell Oil Co., Houston, TX
• Patent Number(s): US 4727938
• OSTI ID: 5240266
• Resource Relation: Patent File Date: Filed date 17 Feb 1987
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
DISPLACEMENT FLUIDS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
OIL WELLS
STEAM INJECTION
ACID CARBONATES
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
CARBONATES
FOAMS
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
PETROLEUM
ROCK-FLUID INTERACTIONS
STEAM
SURFACTANTS
THERMAL RECOVERY
WELL STIMULATION
CARBON COMPOUNDS
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MATERIALS
MIXTURES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RECOVERY
SOLUTIONS
STIMULATION
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production