A laboratory study of chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) by spontaneous imbibition of non-ionic palm-oil based surfactant solution

Indonesia's crude oil production is currently in a declining stage where the majority of oil comes from mature fields. Along with the ever-increasing oil demand, the challenge in sustaining production still need settlement. Therefore, characteristics of palm oil-based surfactants were studied in the laboratory to address that arising challenge and especially to determine the most favorable surfactant solution for the "K" field in South Sumatera. In the laboratory, the palm oil-based surfactant was formulated into five-volume concentrations of 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5% and 1%. The compatibility test was done to assess if those solutions dissolve completely in injection water. Interfacial tension of each solution was measured to select the solution with interfacial tension value below 1.00E-02 dyne/cm. Eventually, the oil recovery factor of selected solutions was obtained through a spontaneous imbibition test. The compatibility test performed in five surfactant solutions has given the solution's appearances ranging from clear to milky. The interfacial tension value was measured to support the selection of surfactant solutions that will be used in further tests. Hence, surfactant solutions with a volume concentration of 0.3% and 0.5% are selected. The oil recovery factor of 78.07 % and 73.77% has been obtained from the spontaneous imbibition test on 0.3% and 0.5% surfactant solution. Besides being the efficacious future solution for "K" field in South Sumatera, the use of Palm-oil based surfactant for CEOR must also be considered for other mature oil fields in Indonesia. Along with it, this paper also signifies that studies relating to palm oil-based surfactant derivatives are developing rapidly in Indonesia.