EFFECT OF SEAWATER DILUTION AND IONIC CHANGE AT WATER-OIL-CALCITE INTERFACES

Advanced oil recovery methods are used in order to achieve higher yields in oil exploration, which is still necessary for the global demand for its derivatives. One of these methods is based on the injection of low salinity brine, where the extraction of natural surfactant components from the oil to the brine happens, modifying the interfacial tension between the phases and influencing the oil-brine-rock interactions. In addition, new advanced recovery methodologies, using transition metals such as copper (II), are emerging. It is based on the formation of a new mineral on the surface of the rock that contains the oil, leading to a change in the wettability of the system and facilitating the oil recovery process.