(53a) Surfactant EOR Process Development Fundamentals (Webcast Not Available)

Fundamentals of enhanced oil recovery via surfactant flooding are presented. Topics include phase behavior as a function of salinity; interfacial tension and correlations with solubility parameter; adsorption and phase trapping losses including use of alkaline agents; mobility control via polymer and other viscous phases. The importance of sweep efficiency and ability to overcome reservoir heterogeneities is presented, for development of robust process technology. Laboratory methods for process design and development are presented.