Abstract

Surfactants are widely used in the hydraulic fracturing process to enhance oil/gas productivity and reduce energy consumption by controlling for optimal viscosity of fracturing fluids, reducing surface/interfacial tension between the shale formations and the fracturing fluid, assisting fluid recovery after fracturing, altering the wettability of rock and reducing flow friction of fracturing.

The up-to-date progress of the application of surfactants in fracturing fluids for enhancing oil/gas recovery are summarized comprehensively from the aspects of single surfactant system, mixed surfactant system, surfactant combination with nanoparticles and polymers, mainly concentrating on the effect of surface tension reduction, wettability alteration and drag reduction from the point of experimental research and numerical simulation. And the broad application prospects of surfactant compound with nanoparticle and polymer are also outlooked.

Keywords: Surfactant; Oil/gas recovery; Surface tension; Drag reduction; Wettability alteration