Advances in Midland Basin Expand Boundaries of CO2 EOR in Marginal Pay Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (06) ◽  
pp. 65-66
Author(s):  
Judy Feder
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Co2 Flooding ◽  
Improved Oil Recovery ◽  
Midland Basin ◽  
The North ◽  
Production Wells ◽  
Original Oil In Place ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of paper SPE 200460, “A Case Study of SACROC CO2 Flooding in Marginal Pay Regions: Improving Asset Performance,” by John Kalteyer, SPE, Kinder Morgan, prepared for the 2020 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Conference, originally scheduled to be held in Tulsa, 18–22 April. The paper has not been peer reviewed. As one of the first fields in the world to use carbon dioxide (CO2) in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), the Scurry Area Canyon Reef Operators Committee (SACROC) unit of the Kelly-Snyder field in the Midland Basin of Texas provides a unique opportunity to study, learn from, and improve upon the development of CO2 flood technology. The complete paper reviews the history of EOR at SACROC, discusses changes in theory over time, and provides a look at the field’s future. Field Overview and Development History The first six pages of the paper discuss the field’s location, geology, and development before June 2000, when Kinder Morgan acquired the SACROC unit and took over as operator. Between initial gas injection in 1972 and 2000, approximately 1 TCF of CO2 had been injected into the Canyon Reef reservoir. Since 2000, cumulative CO2 injection has sur-passed 7 TCF and yielded cumulative EOR of over 180 million bbl. The reservoir is a primarily limestone reef complex containing an estimated original oil in place (OOIP) of just under 3 billion bbl. The reservoir ranges from 200 ft gross thickness in the south to 900 ft in the north, where the limestone matrix averages 8% porosity and 20-md permeability. The Canyon Reef structure is divided into four major intervals, of which the Upper Canyon zone provides the highest-quality pay. The field was discovered in 1948 at a pressure of 3,122 psi. By late 1950, 1,600 production wells had been drilled and the reservoir pressure plummeted, settling as low as 1,700 psi. Waterflooding begun in 1954 enabled the field to continue producing for nearly 20 years, at which time the operators deter-mined that another recovery mechanism would be needed to maximize recovery and reach additional areas of the field. The complete paper discusses various CO2 injection programs that were developed and applied—including a true tertiary response from a miscible CO2 flood in 1981—along with their outcomes. Acquisition and CO2-Injection Redevelopment In June 2000 Kinder Morgan acquired the SACROC Unit and took over as operator. Approximately 6.7 billion bbl of water and 1.3 TCF of CO2 had been injected across the unit to that date, but the daily oil rate of 8,700 B/D was approaching the field’s economic limit. An estimated 40% of the OOIP had been produced through the combination of recovery methods that each previous operator had used. Expanding on the conclusions of its immediate predecessor, the operator initiated large-scale CO2-flood redevelopment in a selection of project areas. These redevelopments were based on several key distinctions differentiating them from previous injection operations.

Using Polymer Alternating Gas to Maximize CO2 Flooding Performance

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.. Li ◽  
D. S. Schechter
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Polymer Flooding ◽  
Combination Method ◽  
New Combination ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Co2 Flooding ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
The North ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
Wag Injection

Abstract Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been used commercially to recover oil from reservoirs by enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies for over 40 years. Currently, CO2 flooding is the second most applied EOR processes in the world behind steamflooding. Water alternating gas (WAG) injection has been a popular method to control mobility and improve volumetric sweep efficiency for CO2 flooding. The average improved recovery is about 9.7%, with a range of 6 to 20% for miscible WAG injection. Despite all the success of WAG injection, sweep efficiency during CO2 flooding is typically a challenge to reach higher oil recovery and better apply the technology. This paper proposes a new combination method called polymer alternating gas (PAG) to improve the volumetric sweep efficiency of the WAG process. The feature of this new method is that polymers are added to water during the WAG process to improve mobility ratio. In the PAG process, polymer flooding and immiscible/miscible CO2 injection are combined. To analyze the feasibility of PAG, models considering both miscible and polymer flooding processes are built to study the performance of PAG. In this paper, the sensitivity of polymer adsorption and concentration are studied. The feasibility of PAG in reservoirs with different permeabilities, different Dykstra-Parsons permeability variation coefficients (VDPs), and different fluids are also studied. A reservoir model from a typical section of the North Burbank Unit (NBU) is used to compare the performance between PAG, WAG, and polymer flooding. This study demonstrates that PAG can significantly improve recovery for immiscible/miscible flooding in homogeneous or heterogeneous reservoirs.

A Laboratory Investigation of the Effect of Ethanol-Treated Carbon Dioxide Injection on Oil Recovery and Carbon Dioxide Storage

SPE Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Saira ◽  
Emmanuel Ajoma ◽  
Furqan Le-Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Molar Fraction ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Injection ◽  
Treated Carbon ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Experimental Runs

Summary Carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery is the most economical technique for carbon capture, usage, and storage. In depleted reservoirs, full or near-miscibility of injected CO2 with oil is difficult to achieve, and immiscible CO2 injection leaves a large volume of oil behind and limits available pore volume (PV) for storing CO2. In this paper, we present an experimental study to delineate the effect of ethanol-treated CO2 injection on oil recovery, net CO2 stored, and amount of ethanol left in the reservoir. We inject CO2 and ethanol-treated CO2 into Bentheimer Sandstone cores representing reservoirs. The oil phase consists of a mixture of 0.65 hexane and 0.35 decane (C6-C10 mixture) by molar fraction in one set of experimental runs, and pure decane (C10) in the other set of experimental runs. All experimental runs are conducted at constant temperature 70°C and various pressures to exhibit immiscibility (9.0 MPa for the C6-C10 mixture and 9.6 MPa for pure C10) or near-miscibility (11.7 MPa for the C6-C10 mixture and 12.1 MPa for pure C10). Pressure differences across the core, oil recovery, and compositions and rates of the produced fluids are recorded during the experimental runs. Ultimate oil recovery under immiscibility is found to be 9 to 15% greater using ethanol-treated CO2 injection than that using pure CO2 injection. Net CO2 stored for pure C10 under immiscibility is found to be 0.134 PV greater during ethanol-treated CO2 injection than during pure CO2 injection. For the C6-C10 mixture under immiscibility, both ethanol-treated CO2 injection and CO2 injection yield the same net CO2 stored. However, for the C6-C10 mixture under near-miscibility,ethanol-treated CO2 injection is found to yield 0.161 PV less net CO2 stored than does pure CO2 injection. These results suggest potential improvement in oil recovery and net CO2 stored using ethanol-treated CO2 injection instead of pure CO2 injection. If economically viable, ethanol-treated CO2 injection could be used as a carbon capture, usage, and storage method in low-pressure reservoirs, for which pure CO2 injection would be infeasible.

The Density of Oil/Gas Mixtures: Insights From Molecular Simulations

SPE Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (05) ◽  
pp. 1798-1808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Mehana ◽  
Mashhad Fahes ◽  
Liangliang Huang
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Molecular Simulations ◽  
Molecular Size ◽  
Liquid Hydrocarbon ◽  
Pure Liquid ◽  
Co2 Flooding ◽  
Gravity Segregation ◽  
Induced Dipole ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
Density Behavior

Summary Gravity segregation of reservoir fluids is mainly controlled by density. Although most gases used in the field for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) result in a reduction in density upon mixing with the oil, carbon dioxide (CO2) can result in an increase of the density upon mixing. Experimental observations confirmed this behavior. In addition, field operations report an early breakthrough for CO2 flooding, which is related to the associated gravity segregation caused by the abnormal density behavior. However, the molecular interactions at play that have an impact on the observed macroscopic behavior have not been well-understood or deeply investigated. Molecular simulation of methane, propane, and CO2 mixtures with octane, benzene, pentane, and hexadecane is studied up to the miscibility limit at temperatures up to 260°F (400 K), and pressures up to 6,000 psi (400 bar). There is a proximity between the values of density obtained through molecular simulations and those obtained through experimental work and equation-of-state (EOS) methods. It is evident that oil/CO2 mixtures sustain their density to a higher gas mole percentage compared with other gases, with the density in some cases exceeding the pure liquid-hydrocarbon density even when gas density at those conditions is lower. Our results have demonstrated that the proposed mechanisms in literature—namely, intermolecular Coulombic and induced dipole interactions and the stretching of the alkane molecules—might not be the key to understanding the oil/CO2 density behavior. However, the molecular size of the gas seems to play an important role in the density profile observed.

Effecting a Pneumatic Operated Assembly, for an Improved Oil Recovery IOR, in Onshore Wells

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abednego Ishaya, Wakili
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Pressure Control ◽  
Compressed Air ◽  
Improved Oil Recovery ◽  
Secondary Recovery ◽  
Pressure Development ◽  
Hydrocarbon Formation ◽  
Original Oil In Place

Abstract As hydrocarbon formation continues, owing to its natural sourcing, technologies have continually emerged on how these hydrocarbons can be effectively produced at a commercial benchmark. Asides its natural drive system, the enhanced oil recovery methods have been one key approach that has been effected towards increasing hydrocarbon's production rate, from its reservoirs. The natural reservoir energy has allowed for about 10% production of original oil in place. And, extending a field's productive life by employing the secondary recovery has further improved production to 20 to 40%, with EOR amounting to about 30 to 60% production. This however, would tell of the impending need towards further developments on increasing upon this production rate. Hence, the approach on using a pneumatic operated assembly with considerations made on onshore wells. This paper seeks to depict a focal on "Pneumatic IOR (Improved Oil Recovery)" as a method to be effected for onshore wells towards improving its productivity. The pneumatic system uses compressed air, contained in a cylinder - through specialized tubing, alongside pressure control systems, that helps regulate the flow and amount of the compressed air; to propel a metallic bar that will act on the reservoir surface. A force of impact, which will induce vibrations inwards, is generated. The mechanical motion of the metal bars for which this compressed air acts upon will provide the travel force, which when it acts on the reservoir surface of interest, will induce geologic stresses. This stresses and vibrations are important constituents in increasing pressure, downhole. Thereby, enabling fluid flow upwards through the wellbore to the surface. And, this will proffer the necessary physics, needed for pressure development downhole, which will be of importance in improving Oil Recovery.

Novel Dual-Tubing Technique to Eliminate the Shut-in Period in CO2 Huff-n-Puff Injection for Heavy Oil Carbonate Reservoirs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakaria Hamdi ◽  
Nirmal Mohanadas ◽  
Margarita Lilaysromant ◽  
Oluwole Talabi
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Injection Rate ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Production Time ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Dual Porosity Model ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
First Time

Abstract Some heavy oil production can be established using conventional methods; however, these methods are often somewhat ineffective with low recovery factors of less than 20%. Carbon dioxide (CO2) huff-n-puff or cyclic CO2 injection is one of the Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods that can be used in stimulating aging wells to recover some residual oil. The shut-in stage of this method results in a significant delay in the production time, and hence lower oil recovery. For the first time, in this paper, an attempt is made to overcome this issue by a novel approach, employing dual tubing completions. The aim of this is to increase the oil recovery with the production during soak time. Also, a majority of the remaining heavy oil reservoirs are carbonates, hence the research was focused on the same conditions. Numerical simulation is done using dual-tubing conditions in a dual-porosity model with conventional tubing as a base case. Optimization studies are done for injection rate, injection time, soaking time, production time, and huff-n-puff cycles. The results show that the recovery factor can increase significantly, with no discontinuity in production. Preliminary economic studies for the cases also showed a net increase in profit of 7% (1.3 million Dollars for the case chosen). This demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed method which can be implemented into conventional operations, for a more sustainable economy in the era of low oil prices.

scholarly journals Enabling Large-Scale Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Using Offshore Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Infrastructure Developments—A Review

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Ingolf Eide ◽  
Melissa Batum ◽  
Tim Dixon ◽  
Zabia Elamin ◽  
Arne Graue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Reservoir Performance ◽  
High Investment ◽  
Co2 Eor ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
And Storage

Presently, the only offshore project for enhanced oil recovery using carbon dioxide, known as CO2-EOR, is in Brazil. Several desk studies have been undertaken, without any projects being implemented. The objective of this review is to investigate barriers to the implementation of large-scale offshore CO2-EOR projects, to identify recent technology developments, and to suggest non-technological incentives that may enable implementation. We examine differences between onshore and offshore CO2-EOR, emerging technologies that could enable projects, as well as approaches and regulatory requirements that may help overcome barriers. Our review shows that there are few, if any, technical barriers to offshore CO2-EOR. However, there are many other barriers to the implementation of offshore CO2-EOR, including: High investment and operation costs, uncertainties about reservoir performance, limited access of CO2 supply, lack of business models, and uncertainties about regulations. This review describes recent technology developments that may remove such barriers and concludes with recommendations for overcoming non-technical barriers. The review is based on a report by the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum (CSLF).

scholarly journals Investigation of Properties Alternation during Super-Critical CO2 Injection in Shale

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai Wang ◽  
Kouqi Liu ◽  
Juan Han ◽  
Kegang Ling ◽  
Hongsheng Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Supercritical Co2 ◽  
Indentation Test ◽  
Nitrogen Adsorption ◽  
Xrd Analysis ◽  
Bet Surface Area ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Co2 Flooding ◽  
Recovery Method ◽  
Injection Process

The low recovery of oil from tight liquid-rich formations is still a major challenge for a tight reservoir. Thus, supercritical CO2 flooding was proposed as an immense potential recovery method for production improvement. While up to date, there have been few studies to account for the formation properties’ variation during the CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) process, especially investigation at the micro-scale. This work conducted a series of measurements to evaluate the rock mechanical change, mineral alteration and the pore structure properties’ variation through the supercritical CO2 (Sc-CO2) injection process. Corresponding to the time variation (0 days, 10 days, 20 days, 30 days and 40 days), the rock mechanical properties were analyzed properly through the nano-indentation test, and the mineralogical alterations were quantified through X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition, pore structures of the samples were measured through the low-temperature N2 adsorption tests. The results showed that, after Sc-CO2 injection, Young’s modulus of the samples decreases. The nitrogen adsorption results demonstrated that, after the CO2 injection, the mesopore volume of the sample would change as well as the specific Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area which could be aroused from the chemical reactions between the CO2 and some authigenic minerals. XRD analysis results also indicated that mesopore were altered due to the chemical reaction between the injected Sc-CO2 and the minerals.

Wettability measurements on two sandstones: an experimental investigation before and after CO2 flooding

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Cut Aja Fauziah ◽  
Emad A. Al-Khdheeawi ◽  
Ahmed Barifcani ◽  
Stefan Iglauer
Keyword(s):  
Contact Angle ◽  
Co2 Storage ◽  
Contact Angle Measurement ◽  
Contact Angles ◽  
Angle Measurement ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Co2 Flooding ◽  
Berea Sandstone ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Wettability of rock–fluid systems is an important for controlling the carbon dioxide (CO2) movement and the capacities of CO2 geological trapping mechanisms. Although contact angle measurement is considered a potentially scalable parameter for evaluation of the wettability characteristics, there are still large uncertainties associated with the contact angle measurement for CO2–brine–rock systems. Thus, this study experimentally examined the wettability, before and after flooding, of two different samples of sandstone: Berea and Bandera grey sandstones. For both samples, several sets of flooding of brine (5 wt % NaCl + 1 wt % KCl in deionised water), CO2-saturated (live) brine and supercritical CO2 were performed. The contact angle measurements were conducted for the CO2–sandstone system at two different reservoir pressures (10 and 15 MPa) and at a reservoir temperature of 323 K. The results showed that both the advancing and receding contact angles of the sandstone samples after flooding were higher than that measured before flooding (i.e. after CO2 injection the sandstones became more CO2-wet). Moreover, the Bandera grey samples had higher contact angles than Berea sandstone. Thus, we conclude that CO2 flooding altered the sandstone wettability to be more CO2-wet, and Berea sandstone had a higher CO2 storage capacity than Bandera grey sandstone.

Mechanism Analysis of Indigenous Microbial Enhancement for Residue Oil Recovery

2011 ◽  
Vol 365 ◽  
pp. 305-311
Author(s):  
Fu Chang Shu ◽  
Yue Hui She ◽  
Zheng Liang Wang ◽  
Shu Qiong Kong
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Mechanism Analysis ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Injection Wells ◽  
The North ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Production Wells ◽  
Microbial Enhancement ◽  
Filtration Properties ◽  
Technological Treatment

Biotechnological nutrient flooding was applied to the North block of the Kongdian Oilfield during 2001-2005. The biotechnology involved the injection of a water-air mixture made up of mineral nitrogen and phosphorous salts with the intent of stimulating the growth of indigenous microorganisms. During monitoring of the physico-chemical, microbiological and production characteristics of the North block of the Kongdian bed, it was revealed significant changes took place in the ecosystem as a result of the technological treatment. The microbial oil transformation was accompanied by an accumulation of carbonates, lower fatty acids and biosurfactants in water formations, which is of value to enhanced oil recovery. The microbial metabolites changed the composition of the water formation, favored the diversion of the injected fluid from closed, high permeability zones to upswept zones and improved the sweep efficiency. The results of the studies demonstrated strong hydrodynamic links between the injection wells and production wells. Microbiological monitoring of the deep subsurface ecosystems and the filtration properties of the fluids are well modified, producing 40000 additional tons of oil in the test areas.

Extraction of Dissolved Methane in Brines by CO2 Injection: Implication for CO2 Sequestration

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (05) ◽  
pp. 791-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Taggart
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Co2 Sequestration ◽  
Co2 Injection ◽  
Dissolved Gas ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
Two Component ◽  
Component Solubility ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
Term Storage

Summary The solubility of carbon dioxide (CO2) in underground saline formations is considered to offer significant long-term storage capability to effectively sequester large amounts of anthropogenic CO2. Unlike enhanced oil recovery (EOR), geosequestration relies on longer time scales and involves significantly greater volumes of CO2. Many geosequestration studies assume that the initial brine state is one containing no dissolved hydrocarbons and, therefore, apply simplistic two-component solubility models starting from a zero dissolved-gas state. Many brine formations near hydrocarbons, however, tend to be close to saturation by methane (CH4). The introduction of excess CO2 in such systems results in an extraction of the CH4 into the CO2-rich phase, which, in turn, has implications for monitoring of any sequestration project and offers the possibly additional CH4 mobilization and recovery.

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