1. n. []

Traditionally, the third stage of hydrocarbon production, comprising recovery methods that follow waterflooding or pressure maintenance. The principal tertiary recovery techniques used are thermal methods, gas injection and chemical flooding. The term is sometimes used as a synonym for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), but because EOR methods today may be applied at any stage of reservoir development, the term tertiary recovery is less commonly used than in the past.

See related terms: API gravity,  chemical flooding,  enhanced oil recovery,  EOR,  fluid flow,  formation pressure,  in-situ combustion,  miscible displacement,  primary recovery,  residual oil,  secondary recovery,  steamflood,  thermal recovery