Surfactant-Based Compositions for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Arctic High-Viscosity Oil Fields.

To ensure the effective development of high-viscosity oil fields in the Arctic region with due regard to their extreme natural and climatic conditions, the Institute of Petroleum Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPC SB RAS) created a number of physicochemical methods and integrated technologies for enhancing oil recovery using "smart" compositions. These compositions are based on surfactants, coordinating solvents, and complex compounds that chemically evolve in situ, thus acquiring colloid-chemical properties optimal for oil displacement. The chemical evolution is induced by thermobaric reservoir conditions and interactions with the reservoir rock and reservoir fluids. This paper reports the data of laboratory research, field testing, and industrial operation of a number of technologies designed to enhance the oil recovery from high-viscosity deposits developed both under natural drive and with thermal steam treatment. These technologies involve the utilization of "smart" acidic and alkaline oil-displacing compositions based on surfactants and buffer systems operable in the Arctic. The paper further describes a laboratory investigation of physicochemical, acid–base, and rheological properties in "surfactant–polybasic acid–carbamide–polyol–aluminum salt–ammonium salt–water" systems. The industrial implementation of the newly-created technologies has good prospects for the development of high-viscosity oil fields in the Arctic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]