Study of Interfacial Tension Between Oil and Surfactant Polymer Flooding

Abstract

Surfactant polymer flooding is an important technology for enhancing oil recovery. It is generally thought that the lower the interfacial tension (IFT) between the combination flooding and oil is the higher oil recovery is. Some physical stimulation experiments have been conducted to show that a system with low IFT could bring better oil recovery than one with ultralow IFT in heterogeneous reservoirs. Emulsion experiments and visual experiments have also been carried out to determine the reason. This article presents results of those experiments and gives the possible mechanism of those results.