Increasing Recovery Factor in Heavy Oil Fields Using Alternating Steam and Surfactant Injection

Fossil fuels, particularly oil, currently dominate theglobal energymatrix. With a projected 30% increase in demand by 2040 compared to2010, it is crucial to maintain current oil production levels. Toachieve this, it is necessary to increase the oil recovery factorthrough alternative methodologies that will improve oil extractionfrom reservoirs and exploration viability in mature fields. Whileprevious studies have investigated thermal and chemical methods toincrease the recovery factor, this study aims to explore the synergybetween steam and non-ionic surfactants varying the surfactant degreesof ethoxylation and injection configurations. The experimental studyinvestigated the application of solutions of ethoxylated nonylphenolsurfactants (NP-10EO and NP-100EO) combined with steam injection intobanks at different concentrations and injection configurations. Theresults showed that combining the NP-100EO surfactant (0.5% m/m) withsteam demonstrated the highest oil recovery (64.88%) compared to conventionalsteam (45.19%). The most effective configurations were surfactant+ steam + surfactant (65.06%) and surfactant + steam + water (65.88%).These findings suggest that the proposed technique of steam injectionand surfactant solution could be a promising alternative. By revitalizingmarginal fields, this technique could help extend production and stimulatelocal and regional development.