Method, system, and composition for producing oil

1. A process for recovering oil from an oil-bearing formation, comprising:

mixing a surfactant, water, a polymer, an alkali metal bicarbonate optionally combined with alkali metal carbonate and an ammonia liquid to form an oil recovery formulation;

introducing the oil recovery formulation into the oil-bearing formation;

contacting the oil recovery formulation with oil in the oil-bearing formation; and

producing oil from the oil-bearing formation after introduction of the oil recovery formulation into the oil-bearing formation;

calculating the minimum quantity of alkali metal bicarbonate optionally combined with alkali metal carbonate required to precipitate 100% of the estimated amount of calcium cations in the formation; and

limiting the alkali metal bicarbonate optionally combined with alkali metal carbonate mixed with the surfactant, water, polymer, and ammonia liquid to at most 10 times the calculated minimum quantity of alkali metal bicarbonate optionally combined with alkali metal carbonate.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the amount of ammonia liquid mixed with the surfactant, the polymer, the alkali metal bicarbonate optionally combined with alkali metal carbonate and the water is selected to comprise from 0.01 wt. % to 5 wt. % of the total weight of the oil recovery formulation and the amount of alkali metal bicarbonate mixed with the surfactant, water, the polymer, and the ammonia liquid is selected to comprise from 0.001 wt. % to 1 wt. % of the total weight of the oil recovery formulation.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the ammonia liquid is anhydrous liquid ammonia.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the surfactant is a blend of anionic surfactants selected from the group consisting of an alpha olefin sulfonate compound, an internal olefin sulfonate compound, a branched alkyl benzene sulfonate compound, a propylene oxide sulfate compound and an ethylene-propylene oxide sulfate compound.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the polymer is partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamides.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the oil recovery formulation comprises from 0.05 wt. % to 5 wt. % of the surfactant, from 200 ppm to 10000 ppm of the polymer, from 0.01 wt. % to 5 wt. % of the ammonia liquid, and from 0.001 wt. % to 1 wt % of the alkali metal bicarbonate optionally combined with alkali metal carbonate.

7. The process of claim 1 wherein the oil-bearing formation is a subterranean formation having a calcium ion exchange capacity of at least 0.25 meq/100 grams and a temperature of at least 60° C.

8. The process of claim 1 wherein the oil-bearing formation is a subsea formation.

9. The process of claim 1 wherein the oil recovery formulation has a dynamic viscosity within 50% of the dynamic viscosity of oil of the oil-bearing formation when measured isothermally at a formation temperature.