Abstract:
A surfactant composition usable in the presence of from about 500 to about 5,000 parts per million polyvalent ion concentrations, such as calcium and/or magnesium, comprising a sulfated aliphatic anionic surfactant such as sodium tridecyl sulfate, a water soluble guanidine salt such as guanidine hydrochloride, and a nonionic surfactant such as polyethoxylated aliphatic alcohol.
Abstract:
An aqueous solution comprising an alkalinity agent such as sodium hydroxide, a water soluble guanidine salt such as guanidine hydrochloride and an anionic surfactant such as an aliphatic sulfate, specifically dodecyl sulfate or cetyl sulfate, or a water soluble salt of an unsaturated aliphatic monobasic carboxylic acid, such as sodium oleate, is injected into a subterranean petroleum containing formation, followed by the injection of water to displace a surfactant-guanidine solution through the formation. A plurality of benefits result from the use of this combination, including increased injection solution viscosity for mobility ratio improvement, inhibition of clay swelling which causes formation permeability damage, and improved salt tolerance of the surfactant solution so that surfactantemulsion flooding may be carried out in subterranean petroleum containing formations whose formation water salinity is as high as 4 percent.
Abstract:
A three component surfactant system usable in the presence of from about 1,500 to about 12,000 parts per million polyvalent ions, such as calcium and/or magnesium, and a method of using said surfactant system for recovering petroleum from subterranean formations, said surfactant system comprising a water soluble salt of an alkyl or alkylaryl sulfonate anionic surfactant plus a water soluble salt of an alkyl polyethoxy sulfate anionic surfactant plus a nonionic surfactant such as a polyethoxylated alkyl phenol, a polyethoxylated aliphatic alcohol or a fatty acid mono- or dialkanolamide.
Abstract:
A dual surfactant system usable in the presence of from about 500 to about 9,000 parts per million polyvalent ions, such as calcium and/or magnesium, and a method of using said surfactant system for recovering petroleum from subterranean formations, said surfactant system comprising a water soluble salt of an alkyl or an alkylaryl sulfonate or phosphate wherein the alkyl chain has from 5 to 25 carbon atoms, plus a nonionic surfactant such as a polyethyoxylated alkyl phenol or a polyethyoxylated aliphatic alcohol.