Stability of Polymer and Surfactant Mixture Enhanced Foams in the Presence of Oil Under Static and Dynamic Conditions

Three different types of foaming agents including hydrocarbon surfactant TQ01, partial fluorinated surfactant BF01, and per-fluorinated surfactant QF01 exhibited good foaming ability and foam stability under 95°C high temperature and 32,325 ppm salinity conditions. The oil-tolerance ability order with respect to Malaysia Off-shore (MOS) crude oil for surfactant TQ01, BF01, and QF01 is TQ01 < BF01 < QF01. Introduction of polymer into the foam formula could significantly increase foam stability. Different polymers show different abilities of increasing foam stability. Spreading coefficient and entering coefficient are close to zero for surfactant BF01 foaming system and much less than zero for surfactant QF01 foaming system, so the oil-resistance ability of foam generated by surfactant QF01 is the strongest. For surfactant TQ01 foaming system, the calculated spreading coefficient and entering coefficient are greater than zero; therefore, the TQ01 foam system is more sensitive to MOS crude oil and its oil-resistance ability is the poorest. Core flooding test indicated that using the 0.4% BF01 and 0.2% YH1096 combined foaming formula could increase the pressure drop across the porous media significantly, indicating that strong foam was generated in the presence of MOS crude oil.