Patents by Inventor Webster M. Sawyer, Jr.

Webster M. Sawyer, Jr. has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Oil-displacing aqueous solution thickened with reservoir-tailored block copolymer
    Patent number: 3984333
    Abstract: An oil recovery process in which an aqueous solution is injected into a subterranean reservoir to displace oil through the reservoir is improved by thickening the solution with a substantially linear block copolymer containing both water-soluble and water-insoluble polymer chains. The composition and concentration of the copolymer are correlated with the temperature and injectivity of the reservoir to provide a thickened solution of selected mobility and stability within the reservoir.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 1975
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1976
    Assignee: Shell Oil Company
    Inventors: Eduard J. van de Kraats, Webster M. Sawyer, Jr.
  • Heat-stable calcium-compatible waterflood surfactant
    Patent number: 3943160
    Abstract: A waterflood oil recovery process, in which a mixture of petroleum sulfonate and alkoxylated alcohol sulfate surfactants is injected into a reservoir to displace oil, is improved by using a sulfate surfactant that contains at least one chain-branching substituent on a carbon atom alpha or beta to the sulfate group. In a reservoir that is relatively hot, the improved process provides good oil-displacement efficiency and polyvalent metal ion compatibility in addition to improved stability towards hydrolytic decomposition of the sulfate surfactant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 1972
    Date of Patent: March 9, 1976
    Assignee: Shell Oil Company
    Inventors: Robert Farmer, III, Jimmie B. Lawson, Webster M. Sawyer, Jr.