PALM OIL-BASED METHYL ESTER SULPHONATE AS AN OIL WELL STIMULATION AGENT

Methyl ester sulphonate (MES) is a surfactant (surface-active agent) that can reduce interfacial tension between water and oil. The compound can be diluted not only in water but also in oil. MES surfactant can be used in chemical stimulation processes to increase and enhance oil recovery (EOR) from reservoirs by reducing the interfacial tension between the oil and water formation. One of the success criteria in surfactant application as a stimulation agent is its effect on the interfacial value between oil and water droplets in a particular saline condition. Hence, the palm oil-based MES oil well stimulation agent was tested in three saline conditions before it was injected into the core. This study was aimed at determining the total oil recovery from a crude oil reservoir after injection of the palm oil-based MES stimulation agent into the core. The formulation of the palm oil-based MES as a stimulation agent consists of 70% palm oil-based MES, 20% solvent, 7% non-ionic surfactant and 3% co-solvent. Using 0.5% and 1% concentrations of the stimulation agent tested at 10000, 20 000 and 30 000 ppm water salinity, the interfacial tension between oil and water was reduced to 10(-4) dyne cm(-1). The total oil recovery with a 0.5% concentration of the palm oil-based MES stimulation agent was between 88% and 94%. However, the total oil recovery increased in the range of 90%-99% with the injection of a 1% palm oil-based MES stimulation agent into the core. Based on these results, the palm oil-based MES surfactant can be used effectively as a stimulation agent in a real crude oil reservoir.