Surfactant waterflooding oil recovery method
AssigneeTexaco Inc.
InventorGeorge Kalfoglou
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Abstract
Disclosed is a novel surfactant fluid and an oil recovery method using the fluid for recovering oil from subterranean formations thereof by surfactant waterflooding process. The fluid comprises an alkylpolyalkoxyalkylene sulfonate or an alkylarylpolyalkoxyalkylene sulfonate and a stabilizing agent comprising a synergistic mixture of an alkanol and an alkyl phenol. The presence of the mixture of alkanol and phenol improves the phase stability of the fluid, increases the viscosity of the surfactant fluid, and reduces the adsorption of surfactant by the formation.
Claims14
A method for recovering petroleum from a subterranean, permeable, petroleum-containing formation penetrated by at least one injection well and by at least one production well, by a surfactant waterflooding method comprising injecting an aqueous surfactant-containing fluid into the formation via the injection well, said surfactant comprising an alkylpolyalkoxyalkylene sulfonate or an alkylarylpolyalkoxyalkylene sulfonate, said fluid displacing petroleum through the formation to the producing well where it is recovered to the surface of the earth, where the improvement for increasing the viscosity and phase stability of the aqueous surfactant fluid, and decreasing the amount of surfactant retained by the formation, comprises:
- incorporating in the surfactant fluid, an effective amount of a mixture of a C.sub.1 to C.sub.8 alkanol and a phenol having the following formula:
- ##STR3## wherein R' is hydrogen or a linear or branched alkyl having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.