Experimental evaluation of surfactant-stabilized microemulsions for application in reservoir conformance improvement technology

The field of microemulsion-assisted conformance improvement technology (ME-CIT) requires workflow planning in order to effectively decrease the water-to-oil ratio during production operations. This article deals with implementation a suitable ME-CIT route via experimental validation. ternary diagram identified different Winsor regions classify phase behavior. aggregation behavior micellar structures ME was studied dynamic light scattering tests. Relative experiments depicted presence I at low salinity upto 20,000 ppm total dissolved salts (TDS) content. At nearly 25,000ppm, this altered into III system. further changed Type 50,000 ppm. surfactant-based microemulsion exhibited favorable time-dependent flow attributes, as evident from observation that steady-state viscosity did not alter markedly elapse time. pseudoplastic rheology has been explained on macroscopic level and micelle morphology microscopic scale two phenomena: electro-shielding deformation. With increasing salinity, versus salt concentration plots revealed unique ‘M’ shape 7.34 s−1. describes an initial increase, then decreasing trend, followed by increase eventually near-constant content increases further. Porous media were conducted for optimized slug using sandstone core model. A pressure drop reduction water-cut percentages recorded flooding stage laboratory. In summary, proposed methodology contributes toward developing potential microemulsions systems application technology.