Waterflooding employing mixtures of sulfonate surfactants

Patent · Tue Nov 04 04:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:6387757

Savins, J G; Waite, J M; Burdyn, R F

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
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ADDITIVES
ALCOHOLS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
ESTERS
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INJECTION WELLS
MIXTURES
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM SULFONATES
RECOVERY
SALINITY
SULFONATES
SULFONIC ACID ESTERS
SURFACTANTS
WATERFLOODING
WELLS