Texaco Inc.

Reed Lignin, Inc.

Other

Getty Oil Company

Texaco Producing Inc.

Lawrence E Whittington

Douglas G Naae

Mohan V Kudchadker

Francis E Debons

James E Varnon

Lawrence R Morrow

Larry D Pedersen

Alfred Brown

Vernon H Schievelbein

Michael G DaGue

Dan Edward Kieke

Will A Ledoux

George Kalfoglou

William C Richardson

Warren C Haltmar

Jean B Allison

A method of making surfactants from lignin is disclosed by reducing lignin in the presence of a metal oxide or iron based catalyst in an organic hydrogen donor solvent to produce lignin phenol and subjecting the lignin phenol to one or a combination of several reactions such as alkoxylation, alkylation, sulfonation, sulfation, alkoxysulfation, and sulfomethylation. The lignin surfactants so produced can be employed in a surfactant system to recover oil from underground formations.

Catalytic method for the preparation of lignin phenol surfactants in organic solvents

Catalytic method for the preparation of lignin phenol surfactants in

The invention is a method for forming a high viscosity gel by mixing about 0.9% to about 3.0% by weight of hydroxy propyl cellulose having an average molecular weight greater than about 1,000,000 about 0.4% to about 3.0% by weight of an alkali metal dodecyl sulfate in the ratio of about 3:1 to about 1:1.5 of cellulose to sulfate, and a brine having a salinity greater than about 20,000 ppm TDS.

Method for forming a high viscosity gel

A method for the enhanced recovery of oil comprised of injecting into an oil containing formation an aqueous surfactant system comprised of a blend of an oil soluble amine, a lignin selected from the group consisting of lignosulfonates and sulfonated alkali and soda lignins, and a water soluble anionic or non-ionic surfactant and water; driving the surfactant system through the formation and producing the oil mobilized by the surfactant system. A surfactant composition useful for enhanced oil recovery methods comprised of an oil soluble amine, a lignin, and a water soluble anionic or non-ionic surfactant.

Use of lignin/amine/surfactant blends in enhanced oil recovery

The invention is an aqueous shear-thickening composition comprising in one embodiment about 0.2% to about 1% by weight of hydroxypropyl cellulose having an average molecular weight between about 1,000,000 and about 1,300,000, about 0.1% to about 0.7% by weight of an alkali metal dodecyl sulfate in a ratio of about 2.5:1 to about 1.5:1 hydroxypropyl cellulose to alkali metal dodecyl sulfate, and water containing less than about 2000 ppm TDS.

Shear-thickening solutions with hydroxypropyl cellulose

The invention is a method for decreasing formation permeability in an underground formation around a wellbore by injecting an aqueous fresh water solution comprising about 0.9% to about 3.0% by weight of hydroxy propyl cellulose having an average molecular weight greater than about 1,000,000 and about 0.4% to about 3.0% by weight of an alkali metal dodecyl sulfate in the ratio of about 3:1 to about 1:1.5 of cellulose to sulfate, said formation must contain a connate brine having a salinity greater than about 20,000 ppm TDS, or an injected brine having a salinity greater than about 20,000 ppm TDS to mix and react with the aqueous solution to form a gel. The invention is also a method for forming a high viscosity gel by mixing hydroxy propyl cellulose, alkali metal dodecyl sulfate and sufficient salinity.

Gel method for decreasing permeability around a wellbore

The invention is a method of producing surfactants from lignin which comprises subjecting lignin to two reactions, alkylation with an alkyl chain having about 3 to about 24 carbon atoms at phenolic sites, and oxidation sufficient to break the lignin into smaller polymeric and monomeric units. The invention also includes using these lignin surfactants in surfactant floods for enhanced oil recovery.

Alkylated oxidized lignins as surfactants

A method of producing surfactants from lignin is disclosed by reducing lignin in the presence of a carbon monoxide or hydrogen reducing agent at high temperature and pressure to produce low molecular weight lignin phenols and subjecting the lignin phenols to one or a combination of several reactions such as alkoxylation, alkylation, sulfonation, sulfation, alkoxysulfation, and sulfomethylation. The lignin surfactants so produced can be employed in a surfactant system to recover oil from underground formations.

Recovering hydrocarbons with surfactants from lignin

Surfactants from lignin

The permeability of an underground formation near a wellbore can be substantially decreased by the injection of one or more slugs of an aqueous solution containing an in situ forming gel of lignosulfonate and a monomer of acrylamide or acrylic acid, initiated by persulfate or hydroxylamine and a relatively small amount of a metal salt having a polyvalent cation. The gel can be formed in the formation by delaying the mixing of all of the gel components into the aqueous solution until just prior to injection or splitting up the components into two aqueous solutions so that they are not mixed until they are in the formation.

Method for decreasing permeability around a wellbore

A method for the enhanced recovery of oil comprised of injecting into an oil containing formation a surfactant system comprised of an oil soluble amine modified lignin and an anionic or nonionic surfactant; driving the surfactant system through the formation and producing the oil mobilized by the surfactant system. A surfactant composition useful for enhanced oil recovery methods comprised of an oil soluble amine modified lignin and an anionic or nonionic surfactant.

Method of enhanced oil recovery and compositions useful therein

Disclosed is a surfactant waterflooding oil recovery process for use in high salinity water-containing formations employing two separate surfactant-containing slugs or a single slug in which the composition is changed from the first to the last portion of the slug injected into the formation. The first portion of the surfactant fluid contains a surfactant combination which exhibits optimum low surface tension characteristics, and the second or latter portion of the surfactant slug contains a blend of surfactants which produces a high viscosity fluid. Use of hydrophilic viscosity-increasing polymer is thus avoided, eliminating the interaction between polymer and surfactant which causes a reduction in surfactant effectiveness.

Surfactant waterflood oil recovery process

Disclosed is a method for conducting an enhanced oil recovery process comprising injecting an oil displacing fluid into an injection well and recovering petroleum displaced by the fluid from one or more spaced-apart production wells, by an improved method in which the sweep efficiency or horizontal conformance of the displacement process is increased. A fluid is injected into the producing well, which fluid has a viscosity not substantially greater than the viscosity of water at the conditions of injection, but which reacts with oil present in the formation, forming a viscous emulsion which restricts the flow of fluids through the portion of the formation contacted by the emulsion-forming fluid. As a result of this treatment, there is a reduction in tendency for the displaced and injected fluids to form cusps as they approach the production well, thereby failing to sweep substantial portions of the formation. The injected fluid contains one or more surfactants specifically tailored to form a viscous emulsion with the particular formation crude oil and formation water or brine exhibiting maximum viscosity at formation conditions. The viscous emulsion-forming fluid may be injected into all of a group of wells surrounding a central injection well in approximately equal amounts, for the purpose of improving sweep efficiency, or the treatment may be selectively applied to certain of the wells where the formation exhibits a preferred direction of permeability, or where for other reasons the pattern integrity is poor.

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Katy, TX, United States of America

Lawrence E Whittington