Claims
- 1. A method of improving production of heavy crude oil from a well by blending a water surfactant solvent solution with the oil to be produced comprising the continuous sequential steps of mixing a water soluble surfactant with water to produce a first solution by introducing a proportional stream of surfactant into a metered stream of water, mixing said first solution with an oil solvent to produce a second solution by introducing a metered stream of solvent into said first solution, and pumping the second solution into the well, and mixing the crude oil to be produced with the second solution to form an emulsion, and continuously producing the formed emulsion.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said surfactant is at least one surfactant selected from the group consisting of a water soluble ethoxylated alkyl phenol and a water soluble ethoxylated alcohol wherein the alcohol contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said water soluble ethoxylated alkyl phenol comprises ethoxylated nonylphenol having an average number of ethylene oxide units per molecule of from 20 to approximately 50 and the ethylene oxide units of the ethoxylated alcohol comprises from 30% to 90% by weight of the ethoxylated alcohol surfactant.
- 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said first solution is formed having a surfactant concentration of from one to ten percent by weight.
- 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the mixture contains solvent at a concentration of from 1000 ppm to twenty percent by weight of said mixture.
- 6. The method of claim 3 wherein sufficient solvent is added to the recovered crude after removal from the wellbore to raise the API gravity of the crude oil in the recovered emulsion to at least 12 degrees.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of application U.S. Ser. No. 740,611 filed June 3, 1985, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (2)
Entry |
Berkman et al, Emulsions and Foams, Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1941, pp. 285, 286. |
Simon et al, "Down-Hole Emulsification for Improving Viscous Crude Protection", Journal of Petroleum Technology, vol. XX, No. 12, Dec. 1968, pp. 1349-1353. |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
740611 |
Jun 1985 |
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