Oil recovery by viscous waterflooding

Patent · Tue Aug 16 04:00:00 EDT 1977

OSTI ID:7296911

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

Waterflooding process for the recovery of oil in which at least a portion of the injected water is thickened by the addition of a sulfonate surfactant and a C/sub 4/--C/sub 6/ aliphatic alcohol having a hydrocarbon chain link of at least 3 carbon atoms. The action of the surfactant-alcohol system in increasing the viscosity of the water varies with the monovalent salt salinity of the water and the ratio of the amount of the sulfonate surfactant to the sum of the amounts of the sulfonate surfactant and alcohol in the water. A relatively viscous aqueous mobility control slug containing a sulfonate-alcohol system as previously described may be preceded by an aqueous surfactant slug. The aqueous solution of sulfonate surfactant and alcohol may be formulated and then aged for a time to allow the development of viscosity prior to injection into the oil reservoir. This viscosity development may be accelerated by heating.

• Assignee: Mobil Oil Corp.
• Patent Number(s): US 4042030
• OSTI ID: 7296911
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
ESTERS
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM SULFONATES
SULFONATES
SULFONIC ACID ESTERS
SURFACTANTS
WATERFLOODING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS