Purpose
ULTRAFLO-N technology is classified as a comprehensive Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) method and is designed to:
- Increase the oil displacement coefficient
- Improve sweep efficiency during water flooding
The technology enables extraction of residual oil that remains unrecoverable through conventional water flooding of oil reservoirs, even when using established EOR methods. This is achieved by targeting crucial nano-scale elements of the oil-bearing formation:
Film-bound oil
Capillary-trapped oil
How it works
The ULTRAFLO reagent is a heterogeneous multicomponent composition containing hydrophobic (80%) and hydrophilic (73%) micellar particles with a size of 1.25 nm in its structure, capable of self-organization processes.
Stability of the reagent in mineralized water, ensured by the formation of ionic exchange between hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanoparticles and calcium ions or modifications of the colloidal state caused by ionic forces, the salt effect..
Changing the molecular-surface properties of the rock from “phobic” to “philic” and back to “phobic” (wettability of rock surfaces).
Reducing the interfacial tension at the “oil-water” boundary to 0.005 mN/m.
Penetration into low-porosity and nano-sized channels and destruction of stable microemulsions, constantly formed in reservoir conditions in low-porosity channels.
Increasing the “apparent viscosity” of the ULTRAFLO reagent, which exceeds the viscosity of water by 5-10 times, contributes to an increase in the coverage of the oil-bearing formation and the involvement of low-permeability oil-bearing rocks in the process, while aligning the injection profile.
Weakening of structural-mechanical bonds in asphaltene-resin-paraffin deposits (ARPD), which leads to dispersion (destruction) of ARPD and creates an obstacle for paraffin deposition in the formation.
Advantages
The presence of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanoparticles in ULTRAFLO enables it to target the following crucial nano-objects in oil-bearing formations:
- Capillary-trapped and film-bound oil (solvated boundary layers in reservoir pores),
- Low-permeability reservoirs with permeability below 0.05 µm²,
- Nanotubular forms of hydromica minerals in the reservoir,
- The three-phase contact line,
- Reservoir microemulsions.
The unique consumer properties of ULTRAFLO are determined by special manifestations in its compositions and ensembles of:
“Giant” effects in enhanced oil recovery from formations with hard-to-recover oil reserves, specifically targeting nano-objects in productive oil reservoirs.
Submolecular complexes,
Quantum-sized cooperative-synergistic phenomena and processes.