A New Approach to Deliver Highly Concentrated Surfactants for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery

Barnes, Julian Richard; Dirkzwager, Henk; Dubey, Sheila; Reznik, Carmen

doi:10.2118/159620-ms

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In particular, the rheology of the manufactured and delivered IOS/AAS concentrates can be dramatically improved compared with the IOS alone [32]. In addition, in the sub-surface context, a mixed IOS/AAS formulation can give improved aqueous solubility compared with that of the components [33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Essentials of Upscaling Surfactants for EOR Field Projects

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Surfactant flooding is an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique that involves the injection of an aqueous solution of surfactant (and, optionally, alkaline and polymer) into an oil reservoir to mobilise and produce the remaining oil. The quantities of surfactants needed for pilots and future commercial scale projects are large (100s to 10,000s of tons) and necessitate large scale manufacture using existing processes and plants for the different manufacturing steps. Upscaling of surfactants requires a rigorous QA/QC process to control and ensure the quality of batches of surfactants produced. Case studies are described from the perspective of a surfactant manufacturer where 800 and 6000 ton of surfactant were manufactured (as 60% and 20% active concentrates respectively) for two multi spot pilots. These case studies illustrate:• The need to define the laboratory tests for surfactant composition and performance. Plus associated repeatability data and specifications (minimum and maximum values) for clear, unambiguous decisions. • How the QC is checked at each stage in manufacture from the initial feedstock, through various stages, to the final delivered surfactant concentrate/blend. This also applies to the scale-up procedure from the laboratory made scale (kg) to pilot scale (100s of kg) to the pilot/commercial scale (100s to 1000s of tons). • Novel correlations between composition and performance (e.g. optimal salinity, via oil/water phase behaviour tests), developed during the surfactant pilot scale manufacture stage, to a) put more emphasis on verifying batch consistency with faster, easier to use composition tests, and b) give more assurance that large scale production gives the expected sub-surface performance. This requires R&D over an extended time, ahead of large scale manufacture.Overall, the paper shows that industrial scale production of surfactants for chemical EOR is feasible and goes through the essential steps to achieve this. Control of large scale batch quality and performance is critical. This paper also shows results for improved, highly active (60%ϩ) surfactants concentrates with improved rheology behaviour which will be easier to pump, mix and dilute at the facilities than earlier products. This helps to reduce logistical costs thereby improving project economics.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second is the use of co-solvents to improve fluidity by breaking up the gel and liquid crystal phases. Our initial work to reduce the viscosity of concentrated surfactants for cEOR with several co-solvents was described earlier [25,32].…”

Section: Improved Fluidity High Active Internal Olefin Sulfonate Sumentioning

confidence: 99%

Essentials of Upscaling Surfactants for EOR Field Projects

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These problems are especially important in offshore environments. To solve these problems, Barnes et al . proposed to use AS or ASP powder.…”

Section: Problems Associated With Asp Floodingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comprehensive review of alkaline–surfactant–polymer (ASP) flooding

Sheng

2014

Asia-Pacific J Chem Eng

220

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alkaline-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding is a combination process in which alkali, surfactant, and polymer are injected in the same slug. Because of the synergy of these three components, ASP is the current worldwide focus of research and field trial in chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR).This paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the ASP process. The reviewed topics include the following: ASP MECHANISMSBefore presenting the synergy of ASP process, the mechanisms of each individual component are discussed first. Mechanisms of polymer floodingThe process of polymer flooding is same as waterflooding except that polymer is added in the water so that the solution viscosity is increased. Sometimes, it is called thickened waterflooding. It is well known that when the Screening criteria for broader EOR processes were discussed by several researchers, e.g. Lake et al., [21] Taber et al., [22,23] Al-Bahar et al., [24] Dickson et al., [20] and Al-Adasani and Bai (2010). [25] Some of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF ASP FLOODING 473 S o ÀS or 1ÀS or ÀS wc : Here S o , S or, and S wc are oil saturation, residual oil saturation, and connate water saturation, respectively. The proposed mobility control requirement provides a criterion for mobility control design for an ASP project. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ASP FLOODINGCommon operational problems in an ASP project are low injectivity, polymer degradation, difficulty to separate J. J. SHENG Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering 482 produced water from oil, pump failures, bacterial growth, corrosion, problems related logistics, and handling, especially in an offshore environment. [84] This section discusses issues resulting from ASP applications, including produced emulsion, chromatographic separation, precipitation and scaling, and others.

show abstract

Chemical Flooding

Ahmadi

2018

Fundamentals of Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery From Conventional and Unconventional Reservoirs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A New Approach to Deliver Highly Concentrated Surfactants for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery

Cited by 5 publications

References 15 publications

Essentials of Upscaling Surfactants for EOR Field Projects

Essentials of Upscaling Surfactants for EOR Field Projects

A comprehensive review of alkaline–surfactant–polymer (ASP) flooding

Chemical Flooding

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About