Identification and Evaluation of High-Performance EOR Surfactants

Levitt, David G.; Jackson, Adam; Heinson, Christopher; Britton, Larry N.; Malik, Taimur; Dwarakanath, Varadarajan; Pope, Gary A.

doi:10.2523/100089-ms

Cited by 63 publications

(80 citation statements)

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“…, Rosen & Kunjappu, 2012 Most nonionic surfactants become less soluble in brines as the concentration of total dissolved ions increases. (Rosen & Kunjappu, 2012) Anionic sulfate and sulfonate surfactants are used at high salinities in both lab scale tests and filed trial in EOR processes, (Adams & Schievelbein, 1987, Hirasaki et al, 2011, Levitt et al, 2009, Liu et al, 2008 but will often adsorb strongly on positively charged limestone surfaces in the presence of dissolved acidic CO 2 at high pressure. (Lawson, 1978, Tabatabal et al, 1993 Surfactants with desirable aqueous solubility and low adsorption on carbonate mineral formations at high temperature and high salinity conditions are needed for CO 2 EOR in the Middle East reservoirs and elsewhere.…”

Section: As Defined In Equationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Switchable Amine Surfactants for Stable CO2/Brine Foams in High Temperature, High Salinity Reservoirs

Elhag

Chen

et al. 2014

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Ethoxylated amine surfactants of the form C 12-14 N(EO) x have been characterized for foam generation to improve the sweep efficiency for CO 2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) up to 120 °C in the presence of high salinity brine of 22%TDS. These surfactants are switchable from the nonionic (unprotonated amine) state in dry CO 2 to cationic (protonated amine) in the presence of an aqueous phase with a pH below 6. Potentiometric titration of two surfactants with 2 or 15 EO groups was conducted at 90 °C to test the switchability of the surfactant from nonionic to cationic forms at different pH values.Ethoxylated amine with 2 EO groups showed more affinity for protonation when compared to 15 EO due to the hinderance effect of the larger molecule that covers the ionizable nitrogen head. For C 12-14 N(EO) 2 , viscous C/W foams were produced by injecting the surfactant either in the CO 2 phase or the brine phase, which indicates good surfactant transport to the interface in either case. The optimum foam quality was observed at 90% and 95% when the surfactant was injected from brine phase or CO 2 phase, respectively. C 12-14 N(EO) 2 was effective in lowering the interfacial tension between water and CO 2 at 120 °C and 22%TDS from ~ 40 mN/m to 5 mN/m with CMC value of 0.038 mM. This significant reduction in interfacial tension enhances foam generation and foam stability.

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Section: As Defined In Equationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Switchable Amine Surfactants for Stable CO2/Brine Foams in High Temperature, High Salinity Reservoirs

Elhag

Chen

et al. 2014

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“…Phase behavior procedures were similar to those described by Levitt and Jackson, 2006. In a borosilicate glass pipette, two ml of oil were mixed with 2 ml of surfactant solution in brine at different salinities.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation and Manufacturing Quality Control of Chemicals for Surfactant Flooding

Zhao¹,

Howes²,

Dwarakanath³

et al. 2010

Proceedings of SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium

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The success of chemical flooding rests heavily on the ability to deliver high-quality and repeatable surfactant in the field. While high-quality surfactants can easily be produced at lab scale, high oil recovery can be achieved only if similar quality product is produced at field scale. Scale-up of chemical production from batch-scale laboratory processes to field-scale continuous production requires a comprehensive program to evaluate surfactants produced at the bench-, pilot-plant and commercial scale to establish surfactant performance. Given the difference between batch-scale and continuous processes, small differences in surfactant structure can result thereby inducing differences in phase behavior and consequently oil recovery. Rigorous laboratory work is therefore required to synthesize and characterize surfactant samples in order to understand the correlation between structures/composition and performance in oil recovery. Following laboratory synthesis, pilot-plant studies are used to investigate process variables in order to understand their viability range and their impact on the large-scale product. Other important concerns are: optimal operational conditions, process repeatability, supply chain management, logistics, quality assurance/quality control, feedstock availability and dedicated procurement team. We present a case study for a proposed light oil surfactant polymer flood where a rigorous path for scale-up of surfactants from lab to pilot and finally field scale was evaluated via phase behavior experiments and coreflood testing. We show that phase behavior results are well correlated with coreflood recovery. For EOR, they are superior performance criteria to traditional specifications of physical and compositional properties for quality control. For the two-surfactant system presented herein, 272 surfactant samples, 512 formulations and 20 corefloods were conducted. The results from this large effort were utilized to develop appropriate manufacturing and quality-control processes to ensure the delivery of high-performance surfactants for field application.

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“…In this plot two clouds of fields are subject to MGI: light oil fields (API [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] like Rainbow fields in Canada and heavier oil fields (API 20 -30) Alaskan fields like Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk fields where enriched gas is injected. The offshore fields under consideration are located between these two types of fields.…”

Section: Application Of Hydrocarbon Miscible Gas Injectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modified EOR Screening Criteria as Applied to a Group of Offshore Carbonate Oil Reservoirs

Bourdarot¹,

Ghedan

2011

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This screening study has been applied on a group of offshore carbonate oil reservoirs. The methodology is based on the EOR screening criteria set forth by Taber et. al. 1,2 enriched with additional screening criteria. The EOR techniques screened included solvent flooding (miscible, immiscible hydrocarbon and CO2 Gas flooding), chemical flooding (Polymer flooding, and Surfactant and Polymer flooding), as well as Thermal flooding (Steam injection and In-situ combustion) techniques. The screening study investigated the challenging and the killing parameters of each technique if any, indicating the most applicable EOR technique.By comparing the depth and API gravity data of the reservoirs under study to that of the worldwide producing EOR projects, it was possible to define at a glance which EOR methods have been already experienced for the same conditions of reservoir depth and API oil gravities. Furthermore, by considering the relatively high pressure and temperature of the heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs under study, with its low viscosity oil, and the associated high salinity formation water, several EOR methods can be discarded including: Steam Injection, In Situ Combustion, and Polymers. Two methods were found to be most suitable for most of the reservoirs: Miscible Hydrocarbon and CO2 Gas injection. Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP) has been estimated using correlations. A miscible gas injection could be achieved in most of the reservoirs by adding 2 to 13% C3-C4 to processed gas. CO2 mimimum miscibility pressure, MMP, is expected to be about 1000 psi lower than most of the reservoir pressures, making CO2 miscible flooding to be easily achieved.Surfactant Polymers flooding could reduce Remaining Oil Saturation in reservoirs with more than 50mD permeability. This technology is less mature, than other EOR technologies. It is yet too challenging due to the high salinity, high temperature and carbonate formation.

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Identification and Evaluation of High-Performance EOR Surfactants

Cited by 63 publications

References 0 publications

Switchable Amine Surfactants for Stable CO2/Brine Foams in High Temperature, High Salinity Reservoirs

Switchable Amine Surfactants for Stable CO2/Brine Foams in High Temperature, High Salinity Reservoirs

Evaluation and Manufacturing Quality Control of Chemicals for Surfactant Flooding

Modified EOR Screening Criteria as Applied to a Group of Offshore Carbonate Oil Reservoirs

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