Has the time come for EOR?

Oilfield Review

Volumn 22, Issue 4, 2010, Pages 16-35

  Al Mjeni, Rifaat ^a   Arora, Shyam ^b   Cherukupalli, Pradeep ^b   Van Wunnik, John ^b   Edwards, John ^c   Felber, Betty Jean ^c   Gurpinar, Omer ^c   Hirasaki, George J ^d   Miller, Clarence A ^d   Jackson, Cuong ^c   Kristensen, Morten R ^c   Lim, Frank ^e   Ramamoorthy, Raghu ^c  

^a Shell Development Oman LLC   (Oman)

^b PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT OMAN   (Oman)

^c Rice University ^*

^d RICE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^e ANADARKO PETROLEUM CORPORATION   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CHEMICAL FLOODING; ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY; FLOODING AGENT; GAS FLOODING; IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY; PRODUCTION LEVEL; VISCOSITY RATIOS; VISCOUS FINGERING;

OIL FIELDS; OIL WELL FLOODING; WELL FLOODING;

WATER INJECTION;

EID: 79958843045     PISSN: 09231730     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (67)

1. Hartstein A, Kusskraa Vand Godec M: "Recovering 'Stranded Oil' Can Substantially Add to U.S. Oil Supplies," Project Fact Sheet, US Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy (2006), http://fossil.energy.gov/programs/ oilgas/publications/eor-co2/C-10-Basin-Studies-Fact-Sheet.pdf (accessed November 8,2010).
2. For a recent review of enhanced recovery methods: Manrique E, Thomas C, Ravikiran R, Izadi M, Lantz M, Romero J and Alvarado V: "EOR: Current Status and Opportunities," paper SPE 130113, presented at the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, April 24-28,2010. For results of a biennial survey of activity:
3. 2 Miscible, Steam Dominate Enhanced Oil Recovery Processes," Oil & Gas Journal 108, no. 14 (April 19,2010): 36-53.
4. Moritis G: "EOR Oil Production Up Slightly," Oil & Gas Journal 96, no. 16 (April 1998): 49-77, http://www.ogj.com/index/current-issue/ oil-gas-journal/volume-96/issue-16.html (accessed February 7,2011).
5. A proposal made to the SPE in 2003 to clarify the definitions was not implemented. See Hite JR, Stosur G, Carnahan NF and Miller K: "I0R and EOR: Effective Communication Requires a Definition of Terms," Journal of Petroleum Technology 55, no. 6 (June 2003): 16.
6. One indication of the rise and fall of the term EOR is the naming of the biennial meeting sponsored by the SPE in Tulsa. The first five meetings, spanning 1969 through 1978, were called the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposia. From 1980 through 1992, the US Department of Energy jointly sponsored the conferences, and they were called the SPE/DOE Enhanced Oil Recovery Symposia. In 1994, the conferences returned to sole sponsorship by SPE, and again became the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposia, which they remain today. Throughout this 31-year period, conference papers covered topics typically considered both I0R and EOR.
7. Lake LW, Schmidt RL and Venuto PB: "A Niche for Enhanced Oil Recovery in the 1990s," Oilfield Review 4, no. 1 (January 1992): 55-61.
8. For an overview of EOR engineering, including criteria to consider: Green DW and Willhite GP: Enhanced Oil Recovery. Richardson, Texas, USA: Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE Textbook Series, vol. 6,1998.
9. For another set of criteria: Taber JJ, Martin FD and Seright RS: "EOR Screening Criteria Revisited - Part 1: Introduction to Screening Criteria and Enhanced Recovery Field Projects," SPE Reservoir Engineering 12, no. 3 (August 1997): 189-198.
10. Taber JJ, Martin FD and Seright RS: "EOR Screening Criteria Revisited - Part 2: Applications and Impact of Oil Prices," SPE Reservoir Engineering 12, no. 3 (August 1997): 199-205.
11. Schamel S: "Reactivation of the Idle Pru Lease of Midway-Sunset Field, San Joaquin Basin, CA," The Class Act DOE's Reservoir Class Program Newsletter 7, no. 2 (Summer 2001): 1-6, www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/oil-gas/ publications/newsletters/ca/casum2001.pdf (accessed November 10,2010).
12. Schamel S and Deo M: "Role of Small-Scale Variations in Water Saturation in Optimization of Steamflood Heavy-Oil Recovery in the Midway-Sunset Field, California," SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 9, no. 2 (April 2006): 106-113.
13. State of California Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, Online Production and Injection database, http://opi.consrv.ca.gov/opi (accessed December 3, 2010).
14. Blomberg JR: "History and Potential Future of Improved Oil Recovery in the Appalachian Basin," paper SPE 51087, presented at the SPE Eastern Regional Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, November 9-11,1998.
15. Uren LC and Fahmy EH: "Factors Influencing the Recovery of Petroleum from Unconsolidated Sands by Water-Flooding," Transactions of the AIME 77 (1927):318-335.
16. Atkinson H: "Recovery of Petroleum from Oil Bearing Sands," US Patent No. 1,551,311 (November 29,1927).
17. Ellis T, Erkal A, Goh G, Jokela T, Kvernstuen S, Leung E, Moen T, Porturas F, Skillingstad T, Vorkinn PB and Raffn AG: "Inflow Control Devices - Raising Profiles," Oilfield Review 21, no. 4 (Winter 2009/2010): 30-37.
18. For more on wettability: Abdallah W, Buckley JS, Carnegie A, Edwards J, Herold B, Fordham E, Graue A, Habashy T, Seleznev N, Signer C, Hussain H, Montaron B and Ziauddin M:" Fundamentals of Wettability," Oilfield Review 19, no. 2 (Summer 2007): 44-61. (Pubitemid 350069516)
19. Jadhunandan PP and Morrow NR "Effect of Wettability on Waterflood Recovery for Crude-Oil/Brine/Rock Systems," SPE Reservoir Engineering 10, no. 1 (February 1995): 40-46.
20. Free-water level may not correspond to the oil/water contact because of the filling history of the reservoir.
21. A change in distribution of pore throats, such as occurs in a sand-shale sequence, also results in an abrupt saturation change because the rocks have different capillary pressure curves. Filling and depletion history can also influence the saturation distribution.
22. Mixed wettability can also occur because different minerals present in the rock have different affinities for water and oil.
23. Seccombe J, Lager A, Jerauld G, Jhaveri B, Buikema T, Bassler S, Denis J, Webb K, Cockin A and Fueg Eand Paskvan F: "Demonstration of Low-Salinity EOR at Interwell Scale, Endicott Held, Alaska," paper SPE 129692, presented at the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, April 24-28,2010.
24. Rao DN, Girard M and Sayegh SG: "The Influence of Reservoir Wettability on Waterflood and Miscible Flood Performance," Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology 31, no. 6 (June 1992): 47-55.
25. Rao et al, reference 19.
26. 2-crude oil system, solubility is the main driver.
27. Moritis (2010), reference 2.
28. Moritis (2010), reference 2.
29. Hirasaki GJ and Miller CA: "Recent Advances in Surfactant EOR," paper SPE 115386, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, September 21-24,2008.
30. Montis (2010), reference 2.
31. Braden WB: "A Viscosity-Temperature Correlation at Atmospheric Pressure for Gas-Free Oils," Journal of Petroleum Technology 18, no. 11 (November 1966): 1487-1490.
32. For a recent review of electrical heating methods: Das S: "Electro-Magnetic Heating in Viscous Oil Reservoir," paper SPE/PS/CHOA 117693, presented at the International Thermal Operations and Heavy Oil Symposium, Calgary, October 20-23,2008.
33. Moritis (2010), reference 2.
34. For more on heavy-oil reservoirs: Alboudwarej H, Felix J, Taylor S, Badry R, Bremner C, Brough B, Skeates C, Baker A, Palmer D, Pattison K, Beshry M, Krawchuk P, Brown G, Calvo R, Cañas Triana JA, Hathcock R, Koerner K, Hughes T, Kundu D, López de Cárdenas J and West C: "Highlighting Heavy Oil," Oilfield Review 18, no. 2 (Summer 2006): 34-53. (Pubitemid 44579347)
35. Kumar VK, Gutiérrez D, Thies BP and Cantrell C: "30 Years of Successful High-Pressure Air Injection: Performance Evaluation of Buffalo Field, South Dakota," paper SPE 133494, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Florence, Italy, September 19-22,2010.
36. Yang H, Britten C, Liyanage PJ, Solairaj S, Kim DH, Nguyen O, Weerasooriya U and Pope G: "Low-Cost High-Performance Chemicals for Enhanced Oil Recovery," paper SPE 129978, presented at the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, April 24-28,2010.
37. Fadili A, Kristensen MR and Moreno J: "Smart Integrated Chemical EOR Simulation," paper IPTC 13762, presented at the International Petroleum Technology Conference, Doha, December 7-9,2009.
38. Adapted from Teletzke GF, Wattenbarger RC and Wilkinson JR: "Enhanced Oil Recovery Pilot Testing Best Practices," SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering 13, no. 1 (February 2010): 143-154.
39. Teletzke et al, reference 33.
40. Teletzke et al, reference 33.
41. Bondor PL, Hite JR and Avasthi SM: "Planning EOR Projects in Offshore Oil Fields," paper SPE 94637, presented at the SPE Latin American and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, Rio de Janeiro, June 20-23,2005.
42. Bondor et al, reference 36.
43. Lim F, Munoz E, Browning B, Joshi N, Jackson C and Smuk S: "Design and Initial Results of EOR and Flow Assurance Laboratory Fluid Testing for K2 Field Development in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico," paper OTC 19624, presented at the Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, May 5-8,2008.
44. In a forward-contact miscibility test, the gas phase is equilibrated with a set quantity of oil. The spent oil is removed and the gas is equilibrated with another set quantity of fresh oil. This step iterates. A backward-contact miscibility test keeps the oil phase and repeatedly exposes it to a set quantity of the original gas phase.
45. Sebastian HM and Lawrence DD: "Nitrogen Minimum Miscibility Pressures," paper SPE/DOE 24134, presented at the SPE/DOE Eighth Symposium on Enhanced Oil Recovery, Tulsa, April 22-24,1992.
46. Liu S, Zhang DL, Yan W, Puerta M, Hirasaki GJ and Miller CA: "Favorable Attributes of Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer flooding," SPE Journal 13, no. 1 (March 2008): 5-16. The surfactant was supplied by Shell Chemical with Procter and Gamble.
47. A hard brine contains salts of divalent ions such as calcium and magnesium.
48. Winsor PA: "Hydrotropy, Solubilisation and Related Emulsification Processes," Transactions of the Faraday Society 44 (1948): 376-398.
49. The solubilization ratio of a component is the ratio of the volume of that component that is in the microemulsion phase to the volume of solute, which in this case is the surfactant.
50. Arora S, Horstmann D, Cherukupalli P, Edwards J, Ramamoorthy R, McDonald T, Bradley D, Ayan C, Zaggas J and Cig K: "Single-Well In-Srtu Measurement of Residual Oil Saturation After an EOR Chemical Flood," paper SPE 129069, presented at the SPE EOR Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia, Muscat, Oman, April 11-13,2010.
51. * to Evaluate the Performance of Chemical EOR Agents," paper SPE 136767, presented at the SPE International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE, November 1-4,2010.
52. Wettability change brought about by ASP injection can change the NMR response in a way that may make it difficult to measure the saturation change. Laboratory measurements can indicate whether the method will work in a given situation.
53. Stoll WM, al Shureqi H, Finol J, Al-Harthy SAA, Oyemade S, de Kruijf A, van Wunnik J, Arkesteijn F, Bouwmeester R and Faber MJ: "Alkaline- Surfactant-Polymer Flood: From the Laboratory to the Field," paper SPE 129164, presented at the SPE EOR Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia, Muscat, Oman, April 11-13,2010.
54. Shutang G and Qiang G: "Recent Progress and Evaluation of ASP Flooding for EOR in Daqing Oil Field," paper SPE 127714, presented at the SPE EOR Conference at Oil and Gas West Asia, Muscat, Oman, April 11-13,2010.
55. He L, Jinling L, Jidong Y, Wenjun W, Yongchun Z and Liqun Z: "Successful Practices and Development of Polymer Flooding in Daqing Oilfield," paper SPE 123975, presented at the SPE Asia Pacific Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Jakarta, August 4-6,2009.
56. He et al, reference 49.
57. Moritis (2010), reference 2.
58. Tang GQ and Morrow NR: "Salinity, Temperature, Oil Composition, and Oil Recovery by Waterflooding," SPE Reservoir Engineering 12, no. 4 (November 1997): 269-276. (Pubitemid 127463945)
59. RezaeiDoust A, Puntervold T, Strand S and Austad T: "Smart Water as Wettability Modifier in Carbonate and Sandstone: A Discussion of Similarities/Differences in the Chemical Mechanisms," Energy & Fuels 23, no. 9 (September 17,2009): 4479-4485.
60. Seccombe et al, reference 18.
61. Pu H, Xie X, Yin P and Morrow NR: "Low Salinity Waterflooding and Mineral Dissolution," paper SPE 134042, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Florence, Italy, September 19-22,2010.
62. Pu et al, reference 55.
63. Skrettingland K, Holt T, Tweheyo MT and Skjevrak I: "Snorre Low Salinity Water Injection - Core Flooding Experiments and Single Well Field Pilot" paper SPE 129877, presented at the SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, April 24-28,2010.
64. For example: Onyekonwu MO and Ogolo NA: "Investigating the Use of Nanoparticles in Enhancing Oil Recovery," paper SPE 140744, presented at the 34th Annual SPE International Conference and Exhibition, Tinapa-Calabar, Nigeria, July 31-August 7,2010.
65. Felber BJ: "Selected U.S. Department of Energy EOR Technology Applications," paper SPE 89452, presented at the SPE/DOE Fourteenth Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, Tulsa, April 17-21,2004.
66. 2 Injection," paper SPE 135627, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Florence, Italy, September 19-22,2010.
67. For an example of in situ shale retorting: Fowler TD and Vinegar HJ: "Oil Shale ICP - Colorado Field Pilots," paper SPE 121164, presented at the SPE Western Regional Meeting, San Jose, California, USA, March 24-26,2009.