Application of surfactants in unconventional liquid reservoirs (ULR) for both frac and EOR applications has been the subject of speculation, controversy, disappointment and in some cases, success. In this presentation, we attempt to come to a greater understanding of what governs the process and how to better design surfactant systems to capitalize on the imbibition mechanism via wettability alteration. Lab results showing how to design surfactant molecules for specific applications will be presented. It will be demonstrated that surfactants (nonionic, cationic and anionic) must be designed on a case by case basis that accounts for oil properties, salinity, mineralogy and reservoir temperature.
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