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Alkali Surfactant Polymers

Section Head: Dr. Guoyin Zhang


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Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) flooding is an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique
usually performed as a supplement to water-flooding. ASP is a modified form of SurfactantPolymer (SP) flooding. Both recovery techniques involve the simultaneous, "slug,"
injection of a solution consisting of a surfactant and a water-soluble polymer, usually
partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), to improve oil mobility, control, and
recovery in a chemical flood. The surfactant reduces the surface tension between the oil, the
water used in the flood, and the rock, easing its release from the rock. The polymer
modifies the viscosity of the otherwise adhesive oil and mobilizes it.
Where SP floods use a water solution that is typically surfactant-based, ASP flood solutions
include an alkali component, such as Sodium Carbonate, and significantly less surfactant.
The alkaline component of an ASP injection reacts with acidic oil to form natural soap. This
soap naturally emulsifies the oil into the water of the injection slug, improving oil recovery.
An additional benefit of ASP techniques is that they are less detrimental to the long-term
production of the well. The lower surfactant concentration is less disruptive to the
reservoir's sustainability.
Environmental factors, such as the acidity of the oil and the availability of soft water,
determine viable circumstances for ASP techniques. These natural restrictions are further
compounded by the large volume of pre-operational research that must be conducted;
polymer identification, fluid analysis, ASP slug composition, and modeling/simulation are
all conducted to optimize the technique. Multiple years are required for most field
applications.
The Alkali Surfactant Polymer group performs research in improving the techniques and
technologies used in ASP flooding. These efforts support PRRC goals to reduce the
ecological impact of oil recovery operations and improve the technologies and techniques
available to the oil industry.

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