Process for water injectivity improvement treatment of water injection wells

Patent · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5943530

Taggart, D L; Heffern, E W

A method is described for enhancing the injectivity into an injection well and thereby accelerating the recovery of oil by a waterflood process from an oil-bearing subterranean formation penetrated by at least one injection well and at least one production well wherein the near wellbore area of the formation penetrated by the injection well has a low formation permeability to water as compared to the formation's absolute permeability. The method consists of: injecting into the formation through an injection well, an aqueous fluid containing a first surface-active agent in an amount suitable to sweep the residual oil from the formation pore spaces in the near wellbore area and to thereby improve the water injectivity of the injection well. The first surface-active agent has a general formula: RO(C/sub 3/H/sub 6/O)/sub a/(C/sub 2/H/sub 4/O)/sub b/YX where: R is an alkyl group containing from about 3 to about 20 carbon atoms or an alkyl phenol, wherein the alkyl portion of the alkyl phenol contains from about 3 to about 20 carbon atoms or a mixture thereof; a has an average value of from 0 to about 10; b has an average value of from about 1 to about 10; Y is a sulfate or sulfonate; and X is a cation; and thereafter injecting an aqueous fluid into the formation through the injection well.

• Assignee: Amoco Corp., Chicago, IL
• Patent Number(s): US 4690217
• OSTI ID: 5943530
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ADDITIVES
ALKYL RADICALS
AROMATICS
CARBON
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INJECTION WELLS
NONMETALS
OIL WELLS
OIL YIELDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERMEABILITY
PETROLEUM
PHENOL
PHENOLS
PRODUCTION
RADICALS
RECOVERY
RESIDUAL PETROLEUM
STIMULATION
SULFATES
SULFONATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SURFACTANTS
SWEEP EFFICIENCY
WATERFLOODING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS
YIELDS