Method of designing a soluble oil slug for an oil recovery process
Micellar solutions having a relatively small hydrophilicy in the front portion and a relatively large hydrophilicy at the back portion are injected into a subterranean oil formation for enhanced oil recovery. By varying the relative amounts of oleophilic and hydrohilic surfactants (e.g. ammonium alkyl aryl naphthenic sulfonate, hydrophilic alkyl aryl sodium sulfonate), or oleophilic and hydrophilic cosurfactants (e.g. nonylphenol, isopropyl alcohol) the desired micellar solutions can be obtained. Berea cores were flooded with water treated from the Henry lease in Illinois, then Henry crude (API gravity 36.4/sup 0/ and viscosity 7 cps), and flooded to residual oil with Henry plant water. Slugs of micellar solutions (3 to 10 percent pore volume) were followed by a thickened water drive (530 Pusher, 10 to 50 percent pore volume) to recover the residual oil. About 80 percent of the residual oil in place was recovered using a relatively oleophilic surfactant slug graded into a relatively hydrophilic slug. Each of these slugs alone only recovered about 60 percent of the residual oil in place.
- Assignee:
- Marathon Oil Co.
- Patent Number(s):
- US 3476184
- OSTI ID:
- 7215930
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ALCOHOLS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
EMULSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
ESTERS
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GREAT LAKES REGION
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
ILLINOIS
MICROEMULSION FLOODING
MICROEMULSIONS
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
NORTH AMERICA
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM SULFONATES
SULFONATES
SULFONIC ACID ESTERS
USA
WELLS