Surfactant Flood Process Design for Loudon

Abstract

Summary: Laboratory steps required to design a successful surfactant flooding process for the high–salinity Loudon field are described. These steps involved (1) phase-behavior tests to identify two synthetic surfactant components; (2) Berea coreflood tests to establish the desirability of incorporating polymer in the microemulsion and to optimize blend ratio, microemulsion salinity, drive–water salinity, and bank size; and (3) Loudon rock corefloods to provide a final check in reservoir core material. The process recovered significant quantities of residual oil in two 1–acre pilot tests without the use of a cosurfactant, a cosolvent alcohol, or a low-salinity preflush.