Recovery of Nigerian Crude Oils Using Local Surfactant and Polymer

Traditionally, oil production strategies have followed primary depletion, secondary recovery, and tertiary recovery processes. Primary depletion uses the natural reservoir energy to accomplish the displacement of oil from the porous rocks to the producing wells. An average of 10 to 20 percent of original oil in place (OOIP) can be recovered through primary recovery. Secondary recovery methods are processes in which the oil is subjected to immiscible displacement with injected fluids such as water or gas. It is estimated that about thirty to fifty percent of the OOIP can be produced through the entire life of a mature reservoir that has been developed under primary and secondary recovery methods. The remaining oil is still trapped in the porous media.