Surfactants based on lauric acid, epichlorohydrin and propylene oxide were obtained in two ways. In the first way, by interaction of lauric acid with propylene oxide, ester was synthesized, then, epichlorohydrin was added and the reaction was conducted. In the case of the synthesis according to the second way, lauric acid was first reacted with epichlorohydrin, then, with propylene oxide. In both cases, the reactions were carried out at 150-160 degrees C using triethyl amine as a catalyst. The obtained chloropropoxy-propoxy and propoxy-chloropropoxy esters of lauric acid are nonionic surfactants. Using IR- and NMR-spectroscopy, the composition and structure of the obtained products were identified. High surface activity of aqueous solutions of the synthesized products at the interface with air was determined by tensiometric measurements and some of their colloido-chemical parameters were determined (critical micelle concentration, surface pressure, maximum adsorption, minimum cross-sectional area of the polar group, changes of free Gibbs energy of the micelle formation and adsorption processes). The regularities of change in colloido-chemical parameters were revealed depending on the sequence of alternation of chloropropoxy- and propoxy-units. Studies of petrocollecting capacities of the obtained surfactants have been conducted in parallel for pure-state reagents and their 5% wt. aqueous dispersion. By laboratory tests on the example of thin (thickness <1 mm) films of Pirallahy oil (from oil field in Azerbaijan) on the surface of waters with different degrees of mineralization, the high petrocollecting ability of the obtained cooligomers was determined and a significant effect of the sequence of chloropropoxy and propoxy units on the efficiency of oil recovery was revealed
