Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery Overview

Principles

Definition

Chemical enhanced oil recovery is a research field and methodological approach within reservoir engineering concerned with mobilizing residual oil left in subsurface reservoirs after primary and secondary recovery processes. It investigates the application and optimization of chemical agents, including polymers, surfactants, alkalis, and combinations thereof, to alter reservoir fluid properties and rock-fluid interactions, thereby improving sweep efficiency and displacement efficiency to increase total hydrocarbon recovery.

Ontological type

Core Methods

Chemical Agents

Reservoir Conditions

Key developments

Key Figures

Physico‑Chemical Integration era

Norman R. Morrow[1], affiliated with Boston University[2] and the University of Calgary[3], emerged as a central figure in the Physico-Chemical Integration era. His 1997 study Salinity, Temperature, Oil Composition, and Oil Recovery by Waterflooding[4] contributed to key theoretical and practical understandings by showing how salinity, temperature, and oil composition influence waterflood performance, thereby bridging reservoir physics with chemical formulation in this era. This work by Morrow[1] helped institutionalize design paradigms that link core-scale mechanisms to field strategies, underpinning systematic screening of surfactants, alkalis, and polymers. Morrow[1], together with Boston University[2] and the University of Calgary[3], helped propagate laboratory-to-pilot scaling practices that anchored recovery design paradigms in this era.

Wettability-Centered EOR era

Kevin J. Webb [1] is associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [3] and the University of Maryland, College Park [4] during this era. Webb [1] contributed to establishing low salinity oil recovery as a practical wettability-control mechanism, with the 2008 study Low salinity oil recovery - an experimental investigation [7] providing crucial experimental validation that salinity manipulation can enhance spontaneous imbibition and displacement under reservoir conditions. K. S. Sorbie [2] is affiliated with University of Leeds [5] and Heriot-Watt University [6] during this era. Sorbie [2] advanced theory and modeling of wettability and low-salinity effects, reinforcing experimental findings in Low salinity oil recovery - an experimental investigation [7] and highlighting the importance of interfacial chemistry in EOR during 2000-2014.

Field Benchmarking & Deployment era

Muhammad Shahzad Kamal [1], affiliated with The University of Melbourne [3] and Government College University, Faisalabad [4], is an author contributing to field-scale benchmarking of chemical EOR during the Field Benchmarking & Deployment era. His work is exemplified by the 2017 Review on Surfactant Flooding: Phase Behavior, Retention, IFT, and Field Applications [7], which synthesizes phase behavior, retention, interfacial tension, and field deployment considerations to inform reliable screening and design across reservoirs. Abdullah S. Sultan [2], affiliated with University of Strathclyde [5] and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals [6], is a contributor to chemical EOR benchmarking in this era. His contribution is also captured in the same 2017 review [7], which consolidates insights on phase behavior, retention, and IFT to support standardized screening, retention management, and scalable field deployment.