02/06/2026
High-Performance Surfactant-Based Oil Displacement Agent
In a reservoir, oil is often trapped in small pores and adhered to rock surfaces due to capillary forces and high interfacial tension.
Oil displacement agents reduce interfacial tension between oil and water, alter wettability, or increase mobility of oil.
They help recover oil that cannot be produced by primary (natural pressure) or secondary (water flooding) recovery methods.
✅ Surfactant-based oil displacement agents offer a proven technical solution. Their working mechanism is built on four key principles:
🔹 Wettability reversal – Converts oil-wet surfaces to water-wet, causing oil films to detach spontaneously
🔹 Emulsification & solubilization – Reduces oil-water interfacial tension, dispersing crude oil into fine droplets in water
🔹 Pe*******on & swelling – Small molecules pe*****te wax crystals, resins, and asphaltene structures, weakening molecular interactions
🔹 Detachment (Roll-up mechanism) – Under ultralow interfacial tension, oil films shrink into oil droplets and are carried away by water flow
💡 Key advantages over traditional solvent-based cleaners:
✔ High removal efficiency – Achieves >90% production enhancement for high-viscosity, high-wax, high-asphaltene crude oils
✔ Formation-friendly – Minimal damage to pore throat structures, avoids secondary precipitation
✔ Excellent tolerance – Suitable for salinities up to 200,000 mg/L and temperatures up to 120°C (248°F)
✔ Environmentally responsible – Uses biodegradable surfactants, low toxicity and eco-risk
✔ Operationally simple – Can be injected together with routine operations like water flooding, acidizing, or fracturing — no special equipment needed
