Oil production using multistage surfactant polymer chemical flood

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

providing a first oil recovery formulation comprising a first surfactant formulation;

injecting the first oil recovery formulation into the oil-bearing formation via an injection well thereby creating an oil-water interfacial tension less than 0.01 mN/m in a mixture of the first oil recovery formulation and oil of the formation;

providing a second oil recovery formulation comprising a second surfactant formulation, where the second surfactant formulation has a higher solubility in water than the first surfactant formulation and creates an interfacial tension of more than 0.01 mN/m in a mixture of the second oil recovery formulation and formation oil;

subsequent to the injecting of the first oil recovery formulation into the oil-bearing formation, injecting the second oil recovery formulation into the oil-bearing formation via the injection well wherein combining the second oil recovery formulation with the mixture of the first oil recovery formulation and oil within the oil-bearing formation creates an oil-water interfacial tension less than 0.01 mN/m; and

producing oil to a production well after injection of the first oil recovery formulation and the second oil recovery formulation into the formation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first oil recovery formulation and the second oil recovery formulation are aqueous.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first oil recovery formulation has a total dissolved solids content within 10 wt. % of the total dissolved solids content of the second oil recovery formulation.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first oil recovery formulation comprises divalent cations in a concentration of at least 50 mg/L.

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

providing a first oil recovery formulation comprising a first water and a first surfactant formulation mixed in the first water;

introducing the first oil recovery formulation into the oil-bearing formation, wherein the first oil recovery formulation creates an oil-water interfacial tension less than 0.01 mN/m in a mixture with oil of the formation;

adsorbing surfactant from the first oil recovery formulation into the oil-bearing formation, wherein sufficient surfactant is adsorbed from the first oil recovery formulation to remove a mixture of the first oil recovery formulation and oil of the formation from an oil and water mixture having an oil-water interfacial tension less than 0.01 mN/m;

providing a second oil recovery formulation comprising a second water and a second surfactant formulation mixed in the second water, wherein the second surfactant formulation is more hydrophilic than the first surfactant formulation and creates an interfacial tension of more than 0.01 mN/m in a mixture of the second oil recovery formulation and formation oil;

subsequent to the introducing of the first oil recovery formulation into the oil-bearing formation, combining the second oil recovery formulation with the mixture of the first oil recovery formulation and oil within the oil-bearing formation to create an oil-water interfacial tension less than 0.01 mN/m; and

producing oil from the oil-bearing formation after combining the first oil recovery formulation and the second oil recovery formulation with oil in the oil-bearing formation.