The present work deals with synthesis of an anionic biodegradable surfactant for application in chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process. Alpha sulfonated ethyl ester (α-SEE) was synthesized from palm oil via trans-esterification process. The surfactant was characterized by FTIR, GC, TGA, FE-SEM and EDX analyses. Critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined by surface tension measurement at air–aqueous interface. The efficiency of α-SEE was studied by calculating the interfacial tension (IFT) between crude oil and surfactant solution, and by investigating the ability of the surfactant to alter the wettability nature of carbonate and quartz surfaces. Salt effect was studied at CMC of surfactant to obtain an ultra-low IFT value of the order of 10⁻³ mN/m at optimal salinity. Addition of organic alkali also showed synergistic effect on IFT between crude oil and surfactant solution. The surfactant favorably altered the wettability of oil-wet carbonate and quartz surfaces to water-wet, which is desirable for oil recovery. The surfactant showed potential application in EOR owing to its enhanced interfacial properties and rock-wetting characteristics. Flooding experiments were conducted with surfactant slugs at different α-SEE concentrations to achieve about 25%–27% additional oil recoveries after conventional flooding.