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Condensed presentation on oil recovery i …

Arif — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:14:14 +0000

Condensed presentation on oil recovery involving surfactant and other chemical flooding. It includes rate of return from yield. Quote “interfacial tension reduction alone does not result in good oil recovery”
Malcolm_Pitts_SURTEK.pdf

Processes such as steam flooding inv …

Arif — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:07:09 +0000

Processes such as steam flooding involve injecting high-pressure steam at about 340° C into the oil bearing rock formations. The steam heats the crude oil, reducing its viscosity and applying pressure to force the material through the rock matrix toward recovery wells. Unfortunately, the same changes in the physical characteristics of the crude oil that make it more mobile in the formation also render it more susceptible to capillary phenomena that can cause the oil mass to break up within the pores of the rocks and leave inaccessible pockets of oil droplets. In such processes, surfactants are used to alter the wetting characteristics of the oil–rock–steam interfaces to improve the chances of successful recovery. Those surfactants must be stable under the conditions of use such as high temperatures and pressures and extremes of pH.

huff and puff: to breathe very hard; to …

Arif — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:34:57 +0000

huff and puff: to breathe very hard; to pant as one exerts effort
Cyclic steam stimulation (steam injection): (1) injection, (2) soaking and (3)production.
Steam is first injected into a well for a certain amount of time to heat the oil in the surrounding reservoir to a temperature at which it flows. Left to “soak” for some time after. Oil is produced out at first by natural flow.