Shell Oil Comapny

Third Wave Production, LLC

William Marsh Rice University

Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij, B.v.

Kirk Herbert Raney

Paul Gregory Shpakoff

Thomas Carl Semple

Charles Lee Edwards

Julian Richard Barnes

Johan Paul Smit

Jeffrey G Southwick

John K Borchardt

Louis N Kravetz

Jasper Roelf Smit

Arie Van Zon

Hendrik Dirkzwager

Robert Moene

Reinaldo Conrado Navarrete

John F Scamehorn

Robert Hardy Ellison

Nelson E Prieto

Edwin E Tucker

Marijke De Boer-Wildschut

Michael Joseph Doll

Leonard Michael Haberman

Werner Lilienthal

Stephen Franklin Capps

Paul Lee Tortorici, Jr

Kim Colson Millspaugh

Stephen P Giles

Maura Puerto

Anne M Brun

Grant Wesley Haddix

Delores Christian, Legal Representative

The present disclosure provides a novel process of using nonionic surfactants in wells at, near, or below their cloud point temperature for increased oil production from reservoir formations. Adjusting the surfactant cloud point temperature to be proximate to the reservoir temperature results in the maximum surface activity of the surfactant, increased adsorption, and better imbibition performance. The nonionic surfactants may be mixed with a solution on surface and then injected into formation brine for spontaneous brine imbibition and crude oil production from oil-wet unconventional reservoir formations.

Injection of nonionic surfactants into wells for increased oil production

The invention relates to a hydrocarbon recovery composition comprising an anionic surfactant, wherein said composition is in the solid state, and to a shaped article comprising said composition. Preferably, said composition is in the form of a powder. Further, the invention relates to a process for treating a hydrocarbon containing formation comprising the steps of a) transporting said composition or shaped article to the location of the hydrocarbon containing formation; b) dissolving said composition or shaped article in water thereby forming an aqueous fluid containing the hydrocarbon recovery composition; c) providing the aqueous fluid containing the hydrocarbon recovery composition to at least a portion of the hydrocarbon containing formation; and d) allowing the hydrocarbon recovery composition to interact with the hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon containing formation.

Composition and method for enhanced hydrocarbon recovery

A method of treating a hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising (a) providing a composition to at least a portion of the hydrocarbon containing formation, wherein the composition comprises a glycerol sulfonate of a propoxylated primary alcohol having a branched aliphatic group with an average carbon number from 10 to 24 and having an average number of branches per aliphatic group of from 0.7 to 2.5 and having at least 0.5 moles of propylene oxide per mole of primary alcohol; and (b) allowing the composition to interact with hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon containing formation.

Method and composition for enhanced hydrocarbons recovery

A method of treating a very high salinity high temperature hydrocarbon containing formation is described. The method includes (a) providing a hydrocarbon recovery composition to at least a portion of a hydrocarbon containing formation having a brine salinity of above about 13 wt % and a temperature of above about 7&#xb0; C., wherein the composition comprises a Cinternal olefin sulfonate; and (b) allowing the composition to interact with hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon containing formation.

Method and composition for enhanced hydrocarbons recovery from a very high salinity, high temperature formation

The present invention provides a method of treating a hydrocarbon containing formation comprising (a) providing a hydrocarbon recovery composition to at least a portion of the hydrocarbon containing formation, wherein the composition comprises one or more internal olefin sulfonates having 17 or more carbon atoms, (b) adding water and/or brine from the hydrocarbon formation to the composition, (c) adding a solubilizer which comprises an ethoxylated alcohol wherein the alcohol before ethoxylation had an average molecular weight of at least about 220 and (d) allowing the composition to interact with hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon containing formation. The solubilizer may comprise less than about 0.1 wt %, preferably from about 0.02 to about 0.05 wt %, of the total composition and it may have from about 5 to about 9 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol.

A method of treating a hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising (a) providing a composition to at least a portion of the hydrocarbon containing formation, wherein the composition comprises a derivative selected from the group consisting of a carboxylate or a sulfate or glycerol sulfonate of an ethoxylated/propoxylated primary alcohol having a branched aliphatic group with an average carbon number from 10 to 24 and having an average number of branches per aliphatic group of from 0.7 to 2.5 and having at least 0.5 moles of propylene oxide per mole of primary alcohol and having at least 0.5 moles of ethylene oxide per mole of primary alcohol; and (b) allowing the composition to interact with hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon containing formation.

A method of treating a hydrocarbon containing formation, comprising (a) providing a hydrocarbon recovery composition to at least a portion of the hydrocarbon containing formation, wherein the hydrocarbon recovery composition comprises a propoxylated composition which comprises (1) a glycerol sulfonate of a propoxylated primary alcohol having a branched aliphatic group with an average carbon number from 10 to 24 and having an average number of branches per aliphatic group of from 0.7 to 2.5 and having at least 0.5, preferably from 3 to 12, moles of propylene oxide per mole of primary alcohol and (2) polypropylene glycol; provided that the primary alcohol is propoxylated by contacting the alcohol with propylene oxide in the presence of a catalytically effective amount of one or more of the phosphate salts of lanthanum series elements or the rare earth elements, preferably a carbonate salt thereof, wherein the propoxylated composition comprising the propoxylated alcohol and from 1 to 30 wt % of polypropylene glycol is produced; and (b) allowing the composition to interact with hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon containing formation.

A method of treating a hydrocarbon containing formation is described. The method includes (a) providing a hydrocarbon recovery composition to at least a portion of the hydrocarbon containing formation, wherein (i) when the salinity of the brine is from about 2 wt % to about 4 wt %, the composition comprises a blend of a Cinternal olefin sulfonate and a Cinternal olefin sulfonate wherein the weight ratio of the Cinternal olefin sulfonate to the Cinternal olefin sulfonate is from about 90:10 to about 70:30 and (ii) when the salinity of the brine is greater than about 4 wt % up to about 13 wt % the composition comprises a blend of a Cinternal olefin sulfonate and a Cinternal olefin sulfonate wherein the weight ratio of the Cinternal olefin sulfonate to the Cinternal olefin sulfonate is from about 90:10 to about 70:30; and (b) allowing the composition to interact with hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon containing formation.

A method of treating a hydrocarbon containing formation is described. The method may include providing a hydrocarbon recovery composition to the hydrocarbon containing formation. Hydrocarbons in the hydrocarbon containing formation may interact with the hydrocarbon recovery composition. The hydrocarbon recovery composition may include an aliphatic anionic surfactant and an aliphatic nonionic additive. In some embodiments, an aliphatic anionic surfactant may be branched. In other embodiments, an aliphatic nonionic additive may be branched.

A branched ester composition obtainable by the reaction of a carboxylic acid with a branched alcohol composition under esterification reaction conditions wherein the branched alcohol composition has from about 8 to about 36 carbon atoms and an average number of branches per molecule of from about 0.7 to about 3.0, said branching comprising methyl and ethyl branches. The present invention further relates to personal care compositions for topical application to the skin or hair comprising said branched ester composition. The branched ester composition of the invention provides improved formulation flexibility.

Branched ester composition

A detergent composition having cold water solubility and exhibiting high calcium tolerance can be produced from biodegradable branched ether derivative compositions derived from a branched ether primary alcohol represented by the formula: wherein Rrepresents hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl radical having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, Rrepresents a hydrocarbyl radical having from 1 to 7 carbon atoms, x is a number ranging from 0 to 16, preferably from 3 to 13, wherein the total number of carbon atoms in the alcohol ranges from 9 to 24.

Branched primary alcohol compositions and derivatives thereof

A detergent composition having cold water solubility and exhibiting high calcium tolerance can be produced from biodegradable branched ether derivative compositions derived from a branched ether primary alcohol represented by the formula:wherein Rrepresents hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl radical having from 1 to 3 carbon atoms, Rrepresents a hydrocarbyl radical having from 1 to 7 carbon atoms, x is a number ranging from 0 to 16, preferably from 3 to 13, wherein the total number of carbon atoms in the alcohol ranges from 9 to 24.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Kirk Herbert Raney