MICROEMULSIONS AND NANOEMULSIONS APPLIED TO WELL STIMULATION AND ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY (EOR)

Abstract

Well stimulation and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) plays an important role in oil production. Microemulsions and nanoemulsions fluids have been studied as a fluid to enhance the efficiency of these processes. In EOR, the chemical methods act on the alteration of physicochemical rock/fluid properties reducing the residual oil saturation and increasing the displacement of oil in the porous medium. Several authors have investigated the use of acid micro and nanoemulsions as systems of production enhancement. The study, under different conditions, indicated that acid nanoemulsion systems present a potential to be used as a retarded acid system, stimulating carbonate formation using a low concentration of surfactant and oil phase, offering an alternative fluid system to stimulate production in carbonate formations, especially in environmentally sensitive areas. Overall, this paper presents a review of laboratory studies of production improvements and enhanced oil recovery using microemulsion and nanoemulsion systems.