Surfactant compositions comprising a
reaction product of a saccharide
polymer and a
fatty acid or a fatty ester may be obtained in an aqueous fluid in the presence of a
hydroxide base and a neutral surfactant or a
reaction product form thereof, the saccharide
polymer comprising a
dextran, a
dextrin compound, or any combination thereof. One or more zwitterionic surfactants may be combined with the surfactant composition in a ratio sufficient to render the resulting combined surfactant composition brine-tolerant, even when both the
reaction product and one or more of the zwitterionic surfactant(s) are brine-intolerant. The one or more zwitterionic surfactants may be further selected to render the combined surfactant composition non-emulsifying toward oleaginous fluids.