Oilfield Chemicals

Adapting to the Entire Industrial Chain of "Drilling → Oil Production → Gathering and Transportation"

In oilfield development, surfactants need to cope with harsh environments such as high temperature (80-150℃), high pressure (10-30MPa), and high salinity (mineralization > 100,000 mg/L). Their core functions are "stabilizing the system, improving oil recovery, and preventing blockage and wax deposition".

Oilfield Stage	Core Requirements	Common Types and Examples of Surfactants	Mechanism of Action / Advantages
Drilling Stage (Drilling Fluid Modification)	1. Stabilize drilling fluid (water-based / oil-based) to prevent sedimentation 2. Lubricate drill pipes to reduce friction 3. Reduce fluid loss (minimize drilling fluid leakage into the formation)	- Anionic: Sodium Fatty Acid (emulsifier for oil-based drilling fluid), Sulfonated Asphalt (fluid loss reducer) - Non-ionic: Fatty Alcohol Polyoxyethylene Ether (AEO-15, lubricant)	1. Sodium fatty acid emulsifies the oil phase to form a stable W/O drilling fluid, suspending cuttings; 2. AEO-15 adsorbs on the drill pipe surface to form a lubricating film, reducing friction by 15%-20%; 3. Sulfonated asphalt forms a dense filter cake on the wellbore to prevent drilling fluid leakage
Oil Production Stage (Improving Oil Recovery)	1. Tertiary oil recovery (chemical flooding): Reduce oil-water interfacial tension to displace residual oil 2. Plugging removal: Clear wax/asphalt blockages in formation pores	- Anionic: Petroleum Sulfonate (ORS-41, main agent for chemical flooding), Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate (LAS, plugging remover) - Non-ionic-Anionic Compound: AEO-9 + Petroleum Sulfonate (ratio 1:3)	1. Petroleum sulfonate reduces the oil-water interfacial tension from 30mN/m to below 10⁻³mN/m, stripping residual oil from the rock surface to flow with the displacement fluid; 2. The compound system is resistant to high salinity (mineralization > 200,000 mg/L), adapting to high-salinity formations in oilfields
Oil and Gas Gathering and Transportation (Wax Prevention / Demulsification)	1. Prevent wax precipitation in crude oil to avoid pipeline blockage 2. Break the crude oil-water emulsification system to achieve oil-water separation	- Cationic: Polyoxyethylene Alkyl Amine (wax inhibitor) - Non-ionic: Span-80 + Tween-80 (compound demulsifier, ratio 2:1)	1. Polyoxyethylene alkyl amine adsorbs on the wax crystal surface to prevent wax crystals from growing and aggregating; 2. The compound demulsifier destroys the emulsifying film through "hydrophilic end adsorbing water phase - hydrophobic end adsorbing oil phase", causing water droplets to coalesce and settle