Improved Oil Recovery by Wettability Alteration

C19 IMPROVED OIL RECOVERY BY WETTABILITY ALTERATION Abstract 1 In the last few decades oil companies have developed several oil recovery methods motivated by the fact that over 50% of the oil in place remains trapped in the formation due to several factors including adverse wettability conditions. Such recovery processes tend to be very costly in their application due to the nature of the injection fluids and/or surfactants used. This fact motivates research for other processes more economically viable. To achieve such goal it is essential the understanding of the mechanisms that control wetting and the fundamentals of rock-fluid interactions.