Post on 19-Mar-2018
Storage 3: EOR
Vanessa Nuñez Lopez
Gulf Coast Carbon Center
Bureau of Economic Geology
The University of Texas at Austin
IEA GHG CCS Summer School
Austin, TX, July 6-12, 2014
Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is…
• Oil recovery by injection of fluids not commonly
present in the reservoir
• Excludes pressure maintenance or
waterflooding
• Not necessarily tertiary recovery….
Recovery Mechanisms
Source: Adapted from the Oil & Gas Journal, Apr. 23, 1990
Conventional
Recovery
Enhanced
Recovery
Tertiary
Recovery
Other
Chemical
Solvent
Thermal
Pressure
MaintenanceWater - Gas Reinjection
Secondary
Recovery
Artificial LiftPump - Gas Lift - Etc.
Waterflood
Natural Flow
Primary
Recovery
EOR using CO2
CO2-EOR (The basics)
CO2-EOR is a technology that targets the residual oil in depleted oil
reservoirs by the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2).
What is it?
How does it work?
CO2 is a solvent: it
mixes with the oil
Where is it applied?In depleted light-oil reservoirs that have gone through
primary recovery (natural flow) and, in most cases,
secondary recovery (mainly waterflooding).
• Oil expands (swells)
• Oil viscosity is reduced
• Interfacial tension (IT) disappears*
Recovery Techniques with Solvents...
• Pattern flooding
• Gravity stable
• Soak or stimulation
• Water alternating with gas-WAG
(mobility control)
Strong
Aquifer
Oil Bank
Steep Dip Angle
Gas Cap
CO2
Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP)
• Miscible: Above MMP
• Immiscible: Below MMP
At constant temperature and composition, MMP is the lowest pressure at
which miscibility can be achieved. At MMP, the interfacial tension is zero
and no interface exists as the fluids have become one single phase.
Types of Miscibility
• First contact
• Multiple contact
Types of Flooding
Miscibility: two fluids are miscible when they dissolve in all
proportions producing a homogeneous solution. Miscibility goes
beyond solubility!
The process…
U.S Department of Energy - NETL
Recycling
Water Pump
Surface Infrastructure
U.S Department of Energy - NETL
Production manifoldProduction well
Injection well
Separator
Surface Infrastructure
U.S Department of Energy - NETL
CO2 recycling facility
CO2 compressor
Typical Production: Weyburn Unit (Midale Sand)
CO2-EOR Production: Historical
Denver Unit of the Wasson Field, West Texas
More than
120 million
incremental
barrels
through
2008
Specific CO2 FloodsMeans San Andres Unit
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992
BO
PD
Year
Began (
Nov.
'83)
CO
2In
jection
Continued Waterflood
18% HCPVCO
2Injection
37.2
38.7
3.2
11 (7)*
To Date
Ultimate
P+S EOR
Recovery, % OOIP
*Original EOR Estimate
Seminole San Andres Unit
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
80000
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992
BO
PD
Year
Recovery, % OOIP
*Original EOR Estimate
45.2
47.2
6.7
17 (17)*
To Date
Ultimate
P+S EOR
Continued Waterflood
25% HCPVCO
2Injection
CO
2In
jectio
n
Be
ga
n (
Ma
r. '8
3)
Ford Geraldine Unit
0
500
1000
1500
2000
1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992
BO
PD
Year
Began (
Feb. '8
1)
CO
2In
jection
21.8
21.8
7
15 (8)*
To Date
Ultimate
P+S EOR
Recovery, % OOIP
*Original EOR Estimate 46% HCPVCO2 Injection
20 MCF/D CO2Source Secured
End ofWater Injection Continued Waterflood
100
10,000
1,000
1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
(From Folger and Guillot, 1996)
Actual Oil
Continued
Waterflood
Ba
rre
ls/D
ay
Year
Sundown Slaughter
Began (
Jull.
‘92)
CO
2In
jection
NETL, 2008
CO2 Injection volume matters!
feet F % md feet API cp %HCPV %OOIP MCF/STB MCF/STB -
field scale projects
Dollarhide TX Trip. Chert 7,800 120 17.0 9 48 40 0.4 30 14.0 2.4 1985
East Vacuum NM Oolitic dolomite 4,400 101 11.7 11 71 38 1.0 30 8.0 11.1 6.3 1985
Ford Geraldine TX Sandstone 2,680 83 23.0 64 23 40 1.4 30 17.0 9.0 5.0 1981
Means TX Dolomite 4,400 100 9.0 20 54 29 6.0 55 7.1 15.2 11.0 1983
North Cross TX Trip. Chert 5,400 106 22.0 5 60 44 0.4 40 22.0 18.0 7.8 1972
Northeast Purdy OK Sandstone 8,200 148 13.0 44 40 35 1.5 30 7.5 6.5 4.6 1982
Rangely CO Sandstone 6,500 160 15.0 5 to 50 110 32 1.6 30 7.5 9.2 5.0 1986
SACROC (17 pattern) TX Carbonate 6,400 130 9.4 3 139 41 0.4 30 7.5 9.7 6.5 1972
SACROC (14 pattern) TX Carbonate 6,400 130 9.4 3 139 41 0.4 30 9.8 9.5 3.2 1981
South Welch TX Dolomite 4,850 92 12.8 13.9 132 34 2.3 25 7.6
Twofreds TX Sandstone 4,820 104 20.3 33.4 18 36 1.4 40 15.6 15.6 8.0 1974
Wertz WY Sandstone 6,200 165 10.7 16 185 35 1.3 60 10.0 13.0 10.0 1986
producing pilots
Garber OK Sandstone 1,950 95 17.0 57 21 47 2.1 35 14.0 6.0 1981
Little Creek MS Sandstone 10,400 248 23.4 75 30 39 0.4 160 21.0 27.0 12.6 1975
Majamar NM Anhydritic dolomite 4,050 90 10.0 11.2 49 36 0.8 30 8.2 11.6 10.7 1983
Majamar NM Dolomitic sandstone 3,700 90 11.0 13.9 23 36 0.8 30 17.7 8.1 6.1 1983
North Coles Levee CA Sandstone 9,200 235 15.0 9 136 36 0.5 63 15.0 7.4 1981
Quarantine Bay LA Sandstone 8,180 183 26.4 230 15 32 0.9 19 20.0 2.4 1981
Slaughter Estate TX Dolomitic sandstone 4985 105 12.0 8 75 32 2.0 26 20.0 16.7 3.7 1976
Weeks Island LA Sandstone 13,000 225 26.0 1200 186 33 0.3 24 8.7 7.9 3.3 1978
West Sussex WY Sandstone 3,000 104 19.5 28.5 22 39 1.4 30 12.9 8.9 1982
Field Projects ==> 11.7 6.3 AVERAGE
10.4 6.3 MEDIAN
Pilot Projects ==> 12.5 6.4 AVERAGE
8.9 6.0 MEDIAN
Gross Net
CO2 Utilization Ratio Gross Net
1. Natural CO2 supplies already found and defined in
geological structures;
2. Industrial, high concentration sources of CO2 (e.g.
refineries and fertilizer plants) that are currently being
captured and used by the CO2-EOR industry; and
3. The large volumes of low concentration power plant
and industrial emissions of CO2 that needs to be
captured and stored to mitigate CO2 emissions.
Potential Sources of CO2 for EOR
U.S. CO2-EOR Operations, CO2 Sources: 2014
CO2 Supply Shortage
Recent Expansion of Natural CO2 Supplies for EOR
US Domestic Oil Resource Base
Ferguson et al., 2009
ROIP “Stranded” - 400 Billion Barrels
(of 596 billion barrels OOIP)
CO2-EOR Potential in the U.S.
Gulf Coast CO2-EOR Potential Distribution
4.7 billion barrel incremental oil
2.6 billion tons storage potential
Nuñez-Lopez, 2008
*Stored volumes do not include losses during Recycle
***Retention is defined as a percentage of purchased volumes
Is CO2 stored during EOR? Yes!
BIG SKY
WESTCARB
SWP
PCOR
MGSC
SECARB
MRCSP
DOE Regional Sequestration Partnerships
Carbon Sequestration Potential in Oil Reservoirs
Final Thoughts…
• A massive target of 400 billion barrels of “technically
stranded” oil in the U.S. could be developed through
CO2-EOR.
• The CO2 EOR industry has extensive experience and a
proven record of injecting CO2 into geologic formations
in a safely way.
• EOR could be an enabling path for large-scale carbon
sequestration efforts.
Questions?