Enhanced oil recovery: Environmental issues and state regulatory programs

Fluorosurfactants in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Fluorosurfactants are effective in a variety of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques including (i) improving subterranean wetting, (ii) increasing foam stability, and (iii) modifying the surface properties of the reservoir formation. While fluorosurfactants have been used in gas and oil exploration for four decades, the increased demand for petroleum and the greater understanding of the benef...

Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Biosurfactant Produced by Alcaligenes faecalis

A bacterial strain (designated as Alcaligenes sp. MS-103) isolated from oil sample of the Aghajari oilfield in the south of Iran, was able to produce an effective extracellular lipopolysaccharide biosurfactant (1.2±0.05 g/l) on molasses as a sole carbon source. The highest surface tension reduction to level 20 mN/m was achieved by biosurfactant produced by cells grown on molasses under optimum ...

Application of Nanoparticles for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery

In this paper, the potentials of using particles, especially nanoparticles, in enhanced oil recovery is investigated. The effect of different nanoparticles on wettability alteration, which is an important method to increase oil recovery from oil-wet reservoirs, is reviewed. The effect of different kinds of particles, namely solid inorganic particles, hydrophilic or hydrophobic nanoparticles, an...

Recovery rates, enhanced oil recovery and technological limits

Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques can significantly extend global oil reserves once oil prices are high enough to make these techniques economic. Given a broad consensus that we have entered a period of supply constraints, operators can at last plan on the assumption that the oil price is likely to remain relatively high. This, coupled with the realization that new giant fields are becomin...

Regulatory regimes and state cost containment programs.