Method of recovering oil from underground reservoirs
This is a flooding procedure in which a viscous fluid is employed as a driving medium. The viscous fluid is either a water-in-oil emulsion in which the continuous phase is water or an oil-in-water emulsion in which water is the continuous phase. In either case, the continuous phase is made more viscous by the addition of a thickener. The viscosity of the emulsion should not exceed about 1,000 cp and in general ranges from 4-1,000 cp. The quantity of emulsion injected is at least about 25% of the pore volume of the reservoir portion contacted by the emulsion. The emulsion may be injected so that the bank is sufficiently large that water breakthrough the bank will not occur until the reservoir has been traversed by the emulsion from the injection wells to the production wells. The mobility ratio of the emulsion to the reservoir oil should be approximately one. (21 claims)
- Assignee:
- TUL; EDB-81-043604
- Patent Number(s):
- US 3208515
- OSTI ID:
- 6895879
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Flooding process for the recovery of oil
Process utilizing the combination of miscible and thickened floods in petroleum recovery