Abstract: Sacrificial agents employed in methods of obtaining oil from rock formations by surfactant flooding comprising oxidized and/or chlorinated lignin and lignin-like derivatives obtained form inexpensive and readily available sources. In one form of the invention such derivatives present in E-stage wood pulp bleach plant effluent are concentrated by the use of macroporous resins, reverse osmosis or membrane dialysis. In another form of the invention, new sources of the derivatives are provided from forest industry by-products. In a further form of the invention, the derivatives are complexed with iron which significantly improves the sacrificial agent activity of the derivatives. Such sacrificial agents reduce the amount of expensive surfactant required in the oil recovery method.