Mobility control in a miscible-type crude oil recovery process
Highly saline water is used in an aqueous mobility buffer by incorporating about 0.05 to 10 percent by weight of a water soluble surfactant in at least the front portion of the buffer, giving improved oil recovery. Dow 500 series Pusher, water, and various levels of sodium chloride and Gafen FA-5 (a dialkyl phenoxy poly (ethyleneoxy) ethanol) surfactant were present in the mobility buffer. The previously injected micellar dispersion contained ammonium petroleum sulfonate (molecular weight 420 to 440), about 10,000 ppm salts, water, isopropanol and nonyl phenol. A Berea sandstone core was flooded with 20,000 ppm brine, crude oil from Henry lease (Robinson sand, Crawford County, Illinois), then 20,000 ppm brine to residual oil saturation. The micellar slug, followed by the highly saline (100,000 ppm salt) mobility buffer (with 2.5 percent surfactant), gave recoveries of 87.5 percent of residual oil after waterflooding.
- Assignee:
- Marathon Oil Co.
- Patent Number(s):
- US 3658130
- OSTI ID:
- 7301265
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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