Evaluating Chemical Stability Challenges in Surfactant Eor for High-Temperature, High-Salinity Reservoir: the Volve Field

Ghoty Hamidah; Novia Rita; Neneng Purnamawati

doi:10.25299/jgeet.2026.11.1.25700

Authors

Ghoty Hamidah Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Islam Riau, Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia.
Novia Rita Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Islam Riau, Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia.
Neneng Purnamawati Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Islam Riau, Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25299/jgeet.2026.11.1.25700

Keywords:

Surfactan, Recovery Factor, EOR, Volve Field, tNavigator

Abstract

This study evaluates the influence of surfactant concentration on oil recovery performance under high-temperature and high-salinity reservoir conditions in the volve field using numerical simulations. Several surfactant concentration scenarios were applied to analyze production response and recovery factor behavior. The result indicate that increasing surfactant concentration only slightly improves oil recovery, with recovery factor remaining within a narrow range from 19.82% to 19.93% across all scenarios. Limited performance is associated with thermal degradation, adsorption, salinity effects, and reduced interfacial tension efficiency under harsh reservoir conditions. This study is limited to numerical simulation and requires laboratory validation to confirm surfactant chemical behavior under actual reservoir conditions. Therefore, future research should prioritize laboratory evaluation of thermally stable surfactants before filed scale implementation.

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