Chemical EOR processes modify properties of fluid-fluid and rock-fluid interfaces in the pore space
with the aim of mobilizing additional oil. The initial mobilization takes place on the scale of the individual
pore. Therefore, observations on the pore scale provide valuable insights into water-oil displacement
mechanisms; the understanding of these mechanisms enables an efficient design of the injection water
chemistry. In this article, we present a first step towards a statistical and topological fingerprint of EOR
processes used to characterize and optimize EOR processes. We use microfluidics to observe changes in the
oil distribution in the pore space and the formation of emulsion phases. The oleic phase was analyzed by
statistical and topological means showing a systematic change as a function of alkali concentration. In
particular, Lorenz diagrams and the normalized Euler characteristic appeared as sensitive to changes in the
water chemistry. It turned out that the displacement processes are influenced by emulsion formation,
especially at low and high alkali concentrations. This is implicitly reflected in the statistical and topological
analysis, but has not yet been explicitly taken into account.