Method of using multicarboxylate compositions in enhanced oil recovery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11248159-B2
Application number	US-201916259247-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2019
Priority date	Mar 26, 2014
Publication date	Feb 15, 2022
Grant date	Feb 15, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the use of a multicarboxylate, such as an alkyl alkoxy dicarboxylate, in enhanced oil recovery processes. Embodiments relate to an aqueous stream and the use thereof. The aqueous stream includes a compound having the chemical formula: R1-R2-R3, wherein R1 includes a branched or unbranched, saturated or unsaturated, cyclic or non-cyclic, hydrophobic carbon chain having an oxygen atom linking R1 and R2; R2 includes an alkoxylated chain comprising ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, or a combination thereof; and R3 includes a branched or unbranched hydrocarbon chain and 2-5 —COOH or —COOM groups wherein M is a monovalent, divalent, or trivalent cation. R3 includes 2-12 carbon atoms.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aqueous stream for injecting into a subterranean reservoir, the aqueous stream having a composition comprising water and:
from 0.01 to 20% by weight of an additive compound comprising the chemical formula:
R 1 -R 2 -R 3 , wherein:
R 1 comprises a branched or unbranched, saturated or unsaturated, cyclic or non-cyclic, hydrophobic carbon chain having an oxygen atom linking R 1 and R 2 ;
R 2 comprises an alkoxylated chain comprising at least one oxide group selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, and combinations thereof; and
R 3 consists of a branched or unbranched hydrocarbon chain and 2-5 —COOH or 2-5 —COOM groups, wherein M is a monovalent, divalent, or trivalent cation, and wherein R 3 comprises 2-12 carbon atoms.

2. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein:
R 1 comprises 7-150 carbon atoms;
R 2 comprises from 0 to 80 ethylene oxide groups, from 0 to 80 propylene oxide groups, and from 0 to 80 butylene oxide groups;
R 3 comprises any of 2, 3, or 4 —COOH or 2, 3, or 4 —COOM groups; and
M comprises Na, K, NH4, Ca, Mg, or Ba.

3. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein:
R 1 comprises 7-150 carbon atoms;
R 2 comprises an aryl group;
R 3 comprises any of 2, 3, or 4 —COOH or 2, 3, or 4 —COOM groups; and
M comprises Na, K, NH4, Ca, Mg, or Ba.

4. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises from 250 to 5000 ppm of a polymer.

5. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of xanthan gum, scleroglucan, water soluble unhydrolyzed or partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides, hydrophobically-modified associative polymers, co-polymers of polyacrylamide, 2-acrylamido 2-methylpropane sulfonic acid and its sodium salt, N-vinyl pyrrolidone, and combinations thereof.

6. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises from 0.3 to about 5 weight percent of an alkali.

7. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises an alkali selected from the group consisting of sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium silicate, tetrasodium EDTA, sodium metaborate, sodium citrate, sodium tetraborate, and combinations thereof.

8. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises from 0.5 to about 6.0 weight percent of a co-solvent.

9. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises a co-solvent selected from the group consisting of isopropyl alcohol, ethanol, n-propyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, sec-butyl alcohol, n-amyl alcohol, sec-amyl alcohol, n-hexyl alcohol, sec-hexyl alcohol, alcohol ethers, polyalkylene alcohol ethers, polyalkylene glycols, poly(oxyalkylene)glycols, poly(oxyalkylene)glycol ethers, and combinations thereof.

10. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises from 0.1 to 15 weight percent of a surfactant that is not a multicarboxylate.

11. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises a surfactant that is not a multicarboxylate selected from the group consisting of anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, non-ionic surfactants and combinations thereof.

12. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises a surfactant that is not a multicarboxylate selected from the group consisting of sulfates, sulfonates, and combinations thereof.

13. The aqueous stream of claim 1 , wherein the composition further comprises a component selected from the group consisting of a polymer, an alkali, a co-solvent, a surfactant that is not a multicarboxylate, and combinations thereof.

14. The aqueous stream of claim 13 , wherein the component is selected from the group consisting of from 250 to 5000 ppm of the polymer, from 0.3 to about 5 weight percent of the alkali, from 0.5 to about 6.0 weight percent of the co-solvent, from 0.1 to 15 weight percent of the surfactant that is not the multicarboxylate, and combinations thereof.

15. A method of enhancing oil recovery in a subterranean reservoir, comprising:
a) providing at least one injection/production well pair comprising an injection well and a production well in the subterranean reservoir;
b) injecting an aqueous stream via the injection well into the subterranean reservoir; and
c) recovering oil via the production well from the subterranean reservoir;
wherein the aqueous stream has a composition comprising:
from 0.01 to 20% by weight of an additive compound comprising the chemical formula:
R 1 -R 2 -R 3 , wherein:
R 1 comprises a branched or unbranched, saturated or unsaturated, cyclic or non-cyclic, hydrophobic carbon chain having an oxygen atom linking R 1 and R 2 ;
R 2 comprises an alkoxylated chain comprising at least one oxide group selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, and combinations thereof; and
R 3 consists of a branched or unbranched hydrocarbon chain and 2-5 —COOH or 2-5 —COOM groups, wherein M is a monovalent, divalent, or trivalent cation, and wherein R 3 comprises 2-12 carbon atoms.

Assignees

• Chevron Usa Inc

Inventors

• Shong Robert George
• Dwarakanath Varadarajan
• Winslow Gregory A
• Thach Sophany

Classifications

• C07C59/305

  containing ether groups, [IMAGE cpc-sch-C07C-0958.gif] groups,[IMAGE cpc-sch-C07C-0959.gif] groups, or[IMAGE cpc-sch-C07C-0960.gif] groups · CPC title

• C09K8/584 Primary

  characterised by the use of specific surfactants · CPC title

• C09K8/588

  characterised by the use of specific polymers {(polymeric surfactants C09K8/584)} · CPC title

• E21B43/16

  Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons · CPC title