Green Surfactants for Offshore Applications

Abstract Surfactants have many applications in the oil and gas industry including minimizing water blocks, improving stimulation and fracture fluid recovery and matrix acidizing fluids. The surfactants should be minimally absorbed by the formation and stay in the stimulation fluid and foam treatment fluids during the cleanup. This reduces hydrostatic head, improves lifting capability, and prevents incompatibilities. Some of the currently used surfactants and non-emulsifiers (NEs) do not meet the EPA NPDES regulations in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Developing and identifying green surfactants that can be used as alternatives is essential. This should be done without compromising the performance and/or cost. Several experiments were conducted to evaluate the novel green surfactants in different applications. Non-emulsifier (NE) testing included crude oil fluid compatibility and solubility in various solutions. Surface tension, contact angle, interfacial tension, and fluid recovery tests were conducted for fracturing fluid recovery applications. Some of the novel green surfactants showed outstanding performance compared to the currently used surfactants. They can be used in fracturing fluids as both flow back and potentially non-emulsifier (NE) additives and they are cost-effective. The new surfactants provide a green alternative to the currently used surfactants and meet the EPA NPDES regulations for primary application in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM).