06 — Technology Stack

The chemistry that doubles a field.

Eleven proven recovery technologies from Dow, SNF, Veolia, BASF and Hunting — the toolkit Tigbourne deploys across IOC and NOC oilfields, calibrated to each reservoir's geology and economics.

Providers

Dow logoSNF logoVeolia logoBASF logoHunting plc logo

ELEVATE™ chemistries

Dow logo

Dow

4 technologies

Surfactant and chemistry platform — four ELEVATE™ technologies across wettability, thermal, CEOR and gas-foam conformance.

Oil · Carbonates · Shale · Tight sandstone

ELEVATE™ Wettability Alteration

Surfactants alter rock wettability, reduce interfacial tension and manage capillary pressure to release oil from rock surfaces.

Benefits

  • Enhances injectivity and displacement efficiency for significant incremental recovery.
  • Resists thermal and chemical degradation at high temperatures and salinities.
  • Minimal adsorption in the formation; winterized versions for cold climates.

Economics

  • Lower operational energy and injection-pressure costs.
  • High ROI — minimal chemical loss combined with increased oil yield.

Heavy Oil · Bitumen · Steam Flood · SAGD

ELEVATE™ Thermal Recovery

Steam-foam conformance solutions and volatile surface-active agents tuned for high-temperature recovery — optimizes heat transfer and steam distribution.

Benefits

  • Minimises the Steam-to-Oil Ratio (SOR), increasing total oil output.
  • Thermal-stable; designed to resist degradation in steam systems.
  • Minimal impact on boilers and topside equipment; winterizable.

Economics

  • Reduced SOR translates to lower fuel and water-treatment costs.
  • Minimal topside impact prevents costly repairs and downtime.

Oil · Mature water-flooded reservoirs

ELEVATE™ CEOR (ASP / AP)

Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer or Alkaline-Polymer combinations interact with reservoir water to free trapped oil and make it mobile.

Benefits

  • Increases residual oil recovery by keeping oil flowing rather than emulsifying.
  • Lower slug viscosity prevents high-pressure gradients.
  • Enhanced phase stability deep in the reservoir; low surfactant retention.

Economics

  • Lower retention and improved stability cut cost per incremental barrel.
  • Reduced slug viscosity lowers pumping energy expenditure.

Oil + Gas · Conventional + Unconventional

ELEVATE™ Gas Foam Conformance

Tailor-made surfactants generate foam deep in the reservoir when combined with injected gas (CO₂, hydrocarbons, N₂) — restricting gas breakthrough.

Benefits

  • Diverts gas into bypassed pay-zones, maximizing oil recovery.
  • Low surfactant adsorption on reservoir rock — deep penetration.
  • No impact on topside facilities; no reservoir damage from emulsification.

Economics

  • More economical than mechanical interventions; optimises gas utilisation.
  • Reduces gas-recycling OPEX by restricting breakthrough.

Polymer EOR / IOR

SNF logo

SNF

1 technology

Polymer flooding and gel systems with EASEOR™ IIoT analytics for live mobility and conformance control.

Oil · All reservoir conditions

Polymer EOR/IOR Solutions

High-molecular-weight polymers viscosify injected water for mobility control; polymer gels correct permeability contrast and shut off water.

Benefits

  • Smart EASEOR™ IIoT sensors and analytics optimise efficiency and safety in real-time.
  • Decreases water cut and lowers CO₂ per barrel by 2–6× through energy-efficient sweep.
  • Extensive polymer range tailored to permeability, temperature, salinity and viscosity.

Economics

  • Energy-efficient sweep reduces lifting and water-handling costs.

Water technology for EOR

Veolia logo

Veolia

2 technologies

Closes the water loop — produced-water treatment, advanced recycling, and injectivity protection across multi-year EOR campaigns.

Oil · Injection wells

Produced Water Treatment

Removes oil, solids and scales to protect injection wells.

Benefits

  • Methodologies: MULTIFLO · TIPPS / AUTOFLOAT · POWER CLEAN.
  • Prevents well damage across multi-year EOR campaigns.

Economics

  • Industry benchmark: 5–20% OOIP for tertiary EOR.

Oil · SAGD · Steam systems

Advanced Recycling

Produces high-quality injection water and distillates for steam; closes the water loop and removes freshwater / disposal constraints.

Benefits

  • Methodologies: OPUS II · HPD Evaporation · SHALEFLOW.
  • Recycles produced water for SAGD steam — lifts steam rates.

Economics

  • Eliminates freshwater sourcing and disposal bottlenecks.

Surfactant, ASP, SP & AP flooding

BASF logo

BASF

3 technologies

Three chemical-EOR families built on the Aspiro surfactant platform — calibrated to reservoir geology and economics.

Oil · Post water-flood

Surfactant Flooding

Engineered surfactant formulations mobilise residual oil trapped in pore spaces after water-flooding — surfactant + water, no polymer or alkali.

Benefits

  • Unlocks residual oil water-flooding cannot recover.
  • 5–20% incremental OOIP recovery depending on reservoir conditions.
  • Wettability alteration improves displacement efficiency.

Economics

  • Reduces oil-water IFT to ultra-low levels — trapped droplets move.

Oil · Suitable reservoirs

ASP Flooding

Combines alkali, surfactant and polymer chemistries — IFT reduction plus mobility control — built on BASF's Aspiro surfactants.

Benefits

  • Typical incremental recovery: ~10–20%+ of OOIP in suitable reservoirs.
  • Mobilises oil trapped after water-flooding via ultra-low IFT.
  • Alkali synergy lowers surfactant adsorption — lower dosage and cost per barrel.

Economics

  • Alkali reduces surfactant adsorption onto rock; lower chemical cost per recovered barrel.

Oil · Hybrid programs

SP & AP Flooding

Hybrid strategies between simple polymer floods and full ASP — surfactant-polymer or alkaline-polymer combinations.

Benefits

  • SP: higher recovery than polymer alone, no alkali-related risks, faster to design and implement than ASP.
  • AP: lower chemical cost than SP/ASP, in-situ surfactant generation, particularly effective in acidic crude reservoirs.
  • Simpler chemistry and faster field implementation.

Economics

  • AP delivers in-situ surfactant generation at materially lower chemical cost.

Organic Oil Recovery

Hunting plc logo

Hunting plc

A biological process — zero CapEx, 4-week deployment

Nutrients stimulate dormant native microbes inside the reservoir to congregate at the oil-water interface, generate micro-droplets, and release trapped oil — simultaneously suppressing H₂S-producing sulfate-reducing bacteria.

Phase 1–2

Microbial Congregation

Nutrient injection stimulates resident dormant microbes that congregate at the oil-water interface.

Phase 3–4

Oil Micro-Droplet Formation

Oleophilic microbes reduce interfacial tension — micro oil droplets form and can flow through small pores.

Phase 5

Oil Recovery & H₂S Reduction

Mobilised droplets flow to producers; selective nutrient balance suppresses sulfate-reducing bacteria and reduces H₂S.

CEOR vs Chemical EOR

CapExZero$2–3M+
Lead time4 weeks2–3 years
ModeBatch treatmentContinuous injection
FootprintLow volume, environmentally friendlyLarge disposal / aquatic issues
TemperatureWorks up to 121 °CChemical instability above 70 °C

Representative results

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Single-well oil increase

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Multi-well field uplift

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First-year incremental (full rollout)

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First-year ROI

Industry-average: +127% production from pre- to post-treatment peak. Source: Oman field deployments and SPE papers.

The full stack

Eleven technologies in one view.

DowELEVATE™ Wettability AlterationSurfactant · IFTCarbonates, shale, tight sandstone
DowELEVATE™ Thermal RecoverySteam-foam · SAGDHeavy oil, bitumen
DowELEVATE™ CEOR (ASP/AP)Alkali-Surfactant-PolymerMature water-flooded fields
DowELEVATE™ Gas Foam ConformanceFoam conformance · CO₂Conventional + unconventional
SNFPolymer EOR/IORMobility control · gelAll reservoir conditions
VeoliaProduced Water TreatmentMULTIFLO · POWER CLEANInjection-well protection
VeoliaAdvanced RecyclingOPUS II · HPD · SHALEFLOWSAGD, steam systems
BASFSurfactant FloodingAspiro surfactant + waterPost water-flood reservoirs
BASFASP FloodingAlkali · Surfactant · PolymerSuitable conventional reservoirs
BASFSP & AP FloodingHybrid SP / APAcidic crude, hybrid programs
HuntingOrganic Oil RecoveryBiological · microbesMature fields, < 121 °C

Logos are used for illustrative purposes only. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Engagement

Bring us a field. We'll bring the chemistry.

Tigbourne underwrites the CapEx and arranges the service consortium. Operators retain control of the wellbore — and share incremental production past the breakeven point.

Discuss a deployment