Potential of a Locally Made ASP Formulation Ogbonor (Irvingia Gabonensis) in Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes

The quest for techniques to recover the remaining 60–80% of the original oil in place (OOIP) left upon conventional oil recovery methods has become imperative. Alkaline–surfactant–polymer (ASP) flooding has emerged as one of the most promising and widely applicable techniques due to its significant improvement on the displacement and sweep efficiency. A number of the attempts has been devoted to investigating the combination of up to three substances to form the appropriate ASP system for a given application, which has been without a number of technical challenges. This paper reviews the possibility of employing an appropriately engineered synthesis of an ASP substance which incorporates all the three components in one. Research has been conducted into the suitability of an ASP system formulated using locally available and thus economically viable raw materials (Ogbonor seeds, Irvingia gabonensis, potash, and salt). The study shows the best level of salinity needed for the retention of the polymer gel viscosity is 30g/l and the maximum viscosity of the polymer solution is 1.086, in the absence of additives. This brought to a conclusion that the chosen additive (potash) does not have a significant effect on the polymer solution that will result in highest viscosity which enhances a good percentage of oil recovery. Polynomial models relating the resulting polymer viscosity with concentration and salinity have been developed, applicable for predicting polymer viscosity at different concentrations of salt and additive.