Due to the high viscosity and poor fluidity of heavy oil, it brings many difficulties to its extraction. To extract these heavy oils, it is sometimes necessary to inject an aqueous solution of surfactants underground to transform high viscosity heavy oils into low viscosity oil in water emulsions, which are then extracted to the surface. The surfactants used in this heavy oil emulsification and viscosity reduction method include sodium alkyl sulfonate, polyoxyethylene alkyl alcohol ether, polyoxyethylene alkylphenol ether, polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene polyamine, polyoxyethylene alkyl alcohol ether sulfate sodium salt, etc. The extracted water in oil emulsion requires water separation and the use of some industrial surfactants as demulsifiers for dehydration. These emulsifiers are water in oil emulsifiers. Commonly used are cationic surfactants or cyclic acids, asphaltene acids, and their multivalent metal salts. 

Special heavy oil cannot be extracted using conventional pumping methods and requires steam injection for thermal recovery. Improving thermal recovery efficiency requires the use of surfactants. Injecting foam into steam injection wells, that is, injecting high temperature resistant foaming agent and non condensable gas, is one of the commonly used modulation methods. 

The commonly used foaming agents include alkylbenzene sulfonate, alpha olefin sulfonate, petroleum sulfonate, sulfonated polyoxyethylene alkyl alcohol ether, and sulfonated polyoxyethylene alkyl phenol ether. Due to their high surface activity and stability against acids, bases, oxygen, heat, and oil, fluorinated surfactants are ideal high-temperature foaming agents. In order to facilitate the passage of dispersed oil through the pore throat structure of the formation or to drive out the oil on the surface of the formation, a surfactant called a thin film diffusion agent is needed, commonly used is an oxyalkylated phenolic resin polymer surfactant.