Fluorosurfactants in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Fluorosurfactants are effective in a variety of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques including (i) improving subterranean wetting, (ii) increasing foam stability, and (iii) modifying the surface properties of the reservoir formation. While fluorosurfactants have been used in gas and oil exploration for four decades, the increased demand for petroleum and the greater understanding of the benefits of fluorosurfactants have led to growing acceptance for fluorosurfactants throughout the petroleum industry. This mini-review summarizes the published research for fluorosurfactants in EOR from 1977 to 2007. The references in this mini-review are mostly patents (vs peer reviewed articles) and laboratory models of the benefits of fluorosurfactants in EOR (vs actual oil and gas recovery experiments). This summary of the published reports on fluorosurfactants in EOR provides petroleum scientists and engineers an overview of this emerging technology.