Formation of in-situ activated injection fluids for enhanced oil recovery applications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019322921-A1
Application number	US-201916385713-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 16, 2019
Priority date	Apr 19, 2018
Publication date	Oct 24, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

An aqueous injection fluid including: a polymer comprising hydrophilic moieties and a plurality of hydrophobic groups; and a surfactant that changes shape based on salinity and/or temperature.

First claim

1 . An aqueous injection fluid comprising:
a polymer comprising hydrophilic moieties and a plurality of hydrophobic groups; and a surfactant that changes shape based on salinity and/or temperature.

2 . The aqueous injection fluid of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant undergoes a sphere-to-rod transition based on salinity and/or temperature.

3 . The aqueous injection fluid of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of alkylated propylene oxide ethylene oxide sulfates, sodium dodecyl sulfate, pluronic type triblock copolymer surfactants, and a combination thereof.

4 . The aqueous injection fluid of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic groups are selected from the group consisting of a C 8 -C 18 alkyl an aralkyl, an alkylphenol, a haloalkyl, a quaternary ammonium halide and a combination thereof.

5 . The aqueous injection fluid of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophilic moieties are selected from the group consisting of an ethylenically unsaturated amide, an N-substituted derivative of the ethylenically unsaturated amide, an ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid, a sulfoalkyl ester of an unsaturated carboxylic acid, an aminoalkyl ester of an unsaturated carboxylic acids, a diallyl ammonium compound, a vinyl heterocyclic amide, a vinylaryl sulfonate, hydrolyzed acrylamide, non-hydrolyzed acrylamide, ethylene oxide, a monosaccharide, a urethane, and a combination thereof.

6 . The aqueous injection fluid of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is present in an amount of about 0.05 wt % to about 2.0 wt %, and the surfactant is present in an amount of about 0.05 wt % to about 2.0 wt %.

7 . The aqueous injection fluid of claim 1 , wherein a viscosity of the aqueous injection fluid changes as a function of salinity and/or temperature.

8 . A method for recovering oil from an oil reservoir, wherein the method comprises:
forcing oil into a producing well by introducing an aqueous injection fluid into the oil reservoir, wherein the aqueous injection fluid includes,
a polymer comprising hydrophilic moieties and a plurality of hydrophobic groups, and
a surfactant that changes shape within the oil reservoir based on salinity and/or temperature of the oil reservoir.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
injecting the aqueous injection fluid into the oil reservoir, wherein the aqueous injection fluid has a first viscosity at a point of injection, and wherein the aqueous injection fluid adaptively increases in viscosity to a second viscosity as the aqueous injection fluid encounters the oil reservoir.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising designing the aqueous injection fluid by controlling surfactant concentration by weight in the aqueous injection fluid and selecting the surfactant so the aqueous injection fluid has a peak viscosity that corresponds to a predetermined viscosity needed for the oil reservoir based on temperature and salinity within the oil reservoir.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the surfactant undergoes a sphere-to-rod transition based on salinity and/or temperature.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the surfactant is selected from the group consisting of alkylated propylene oxide ethylene oxide sulfates, sodium dodecyl sulfate, pluronic type triblock copolymer surfactants, and a combination thereof.

13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the hydrophobic groups are selected from the group consisting of a C 8 -C 18 alkyl, an aryl, an aralkyl, an alkylphenol, a haloalkyl, a quaternary ammonium halide, and a combination thereof.

14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the hydrophilic moieties are selected from the group consisting of an ethylenically unsaturated amide, an N-substituted derivative of the ethylenically unsaturated amide, an ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid, a sulfoalkyl ester of an unsaturated carboxylic acid, an aminoalkyl ester of an unsaturated carboxylic acids, a diallyl ammonium compound, a vinyl heterocyclic amide, a vinylaryl sulfonate, hydrolyzed acrylamide, non-hydrolyzed acrylamide, ethylene oxide, a monosaccharide, a urethane, and a combination thereof.

15 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the polymer is present in an amount of about 0.05 wt % to about 2.0 wt %, and the surfactant is present in an amount of about 0.05 wt % to about 2.0 wt %.

Assignees

• Exxonmobil Res & Eng Co

Inventors

• Jaishankar Aditya
• Mohan Aruna
• Yeganeh Mohsen S

Classifications

• C09K8/584 Primary

  characterised by the use of specific surfactants · CPC title

• C09K8/588 Primary

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

• C09K2208/30

  Viscoelastic surfactants [VES] · CPC title