A well never produces all of the oil in the reservoir it drains. Primary production recovers only a fraction of the oil originally in place, and in tight unconventional reservoirs that recovery factor can be low. The remaining oil stays in the rock, trapped by capillary forces, held by unfavorable wettability, or bypassed in pore space the well never effectively contacted. Improved oil recovery and enhanced oil recovery are the methods used to recover some of that remaining oil. They matter because the additional barrels come from wells that have already been drilled and completed, so incremental recovery, even a few percent of the oil in place, is highly economic. Surfactants are central to chemical enhanced oil recovery because they act directly on the forces that trap oil: by lowering interfacial tension they reduce the capillary pressure that immobilizes oil, and by altering wettability they free oil from the grain surfaces so it can flow. The CrudeChem CSURF surfactants described in Section One, and the ScaleSurf combination fluids described below, are the products that deliver this in the field.

The ScaleSurf line is CrudeChem's family of combination fluids, designed, as the data sheets state, to reduce cost by minimizing logistics, storage, and pumping costs. Instead of pumping a separate surfactant, a separate scale inhibitor, and a separate paraffin and asphaltene inhibitor, the operator pumps one combination product that contains all of those functions. The ScaleSurf range includes the numbered combination products ScaleSurf 1090 and ScaleSurf 2080, for which technical data sheets exist, and the configuration coded products SS1500, SSC1800, and SC1900, which correspond to the Scale/Surf, Surf/Clay/Scale, and Surf/Clay combinations.

ScaleSurf 1090 is one of CrudeChem's combination products, and the data sheet describes it as a concentrated combination formulation of a non-emulsifying low surface tension and interfacial tension surfactant, a paraffin and asphaltene inhibitor, and an iron tolerant polymeric scale inhibitor. It therefore brings three functions into one product. The non-emulsifying surfactant lowers surface tension and interfacial tension and prevents the formation of crude oil in water emulsions. The paraffin and asphaltene inhibitor controls the organic deposits that restrict flow in the wellbore and near wellbore region. The iron tolerant polymeric scale inhibitor prevents carbonate and sulfate scale and, importantly, continues to function in the presence of iron, which can deactivate less robust scale chemistry. The data sheet states that ScaleSurf 1090 is purposefully designed to improve efficiency in acidizing, well stimulation, and fracturing operations and ultimately to improve oil production.

The mechanisms described on the data sheet follow from the three components. When ScaleSurf 1090 is used in acidizing, it disperses oils and sludge so that the acid makes maximum contact with the formation rather than channeling past oil coated rock. The product breaks through water blocks and prevents crude oil in water emulsions, and its ultralow interfacial tension improves flowback and permeability and reduces oil and water emulsion. The scale inhibition component inhibits the formation of new scale and, as the data sheet puts it, de-crystallizes existing scales, which further improves permeability. The physical properties describe a clear liquid, light yellow to dark brown in color, with a characteristic odor, a density of 8.2 to 9.0 pounds per gallon, a pour point of 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and a pH of 3 to 8. The product is water soluble, and its surface tension measured at 0.1 percent in deionized water is 27 to 30 dynes, which confirms the low surface tension performance of the surfactant component. For acid treatments, ScaleSurf 1090 is added into the acid during loading at a rate of 1 gallon per 1,000 gallons of acid, and for completion and fracturing work it is used at a rate of 0.5 to 1 gallon per thousand. The data sheet notes that the treating rate varies with the treatment type, the emulsifying character of the formation oil, the treating fluid, and the volume of solids generated during the acid job and recommends field testing to optimize the rate. ScaleSurf 1090 is shipped in intermediate bulk containers and bulk truck transport.

SS1500 is the Scale/Surf configuration of the CrudeChem combination fluid line, a two-function product that combines a non-emulsifying low surface tension and interfacial tension surfactant with a scale inhibitor. It is built for wells where the two priorities are improving oil mobility and flowback on the one hand and preventing carbonate and sulfate scale on the other, without the need for the paraffin or clay control functions carried by other combination products. The surfactant component lowers surface tension and interfacial tension to reduce capillary pressure, break water blocks, prevent crude oil in water emulsions, and improve flowback and permeability, while the scale inhibitor component provides threshold inhibition and crystal modification to keep scale from depositing in the treated zone. By delivering both functions in one product, SS1500 reduces the number of separate products and injection systems an operator must manage.

SSC1800 is the Surf/Clay/Scale configuration of the CrudeChem combination fluid line, the most complete of the combination products, bringing together three functions in one fluid: a non-emulsifying low surface tension and interfacial tension surfactant, a clay stabilizer, and a scale inhibitor. It is built for wells that face all three damage mechanisms at once. The surfactant component improves oil mobility, breaks water blocks, prevents emulsions, and improves flowback. The clay stabilizer component protects water sensitive clays in the formation, suppressing the swelling and the fines migration that occur when fresh or low salinity water contacts certain clays and that would otherwise reduce near wellbore permeability. The scale inhibitor component prevents carbonate and sulfate scale from depositing in the treated zone. SSC1800 allows an operator to address surfactant, clay, and scale challenges with a single treatment, ensuring that all three protections are placed together and uniformly into the formation while reducing logistics and cost.

SC1900 is the Surf/Clay configuration of the CrudeChem combination fluid line, a two-function product that combines a non-emulsifying low surface tension and interfacial tension surfactant with a clay stabilizer. It is built for wells where the concerns are improving oil mobility and flowback together with protecting water sensitive clays, but where scale is not a governing problem. The surfactant component lowers surface tension and interfacial tension to reduce capillary pressure, break water blocks, prevent crude oil in water emulsions, and improve flowback and permeability. The clay stabilizer component protects the water sensitive clays of the formation, suppressing clay swelling and fines migration when fresh or low salinity water contacts the rock, which preserves near wellbore permeability. SC1900 gives an operator surfactant and clay protection in a single product, reducing the number of separate chemicals and injection systems to manage in plays where clay sensitivity is a known issue.