Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)
 
 
ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY (E.O.R) BOOSTS NORTH AMERICA CRUDE RESERVES

Technologists predict that up to 600 billion additional barrels of oil will be produced with E.O.R. techniques during the next 50 years. This figure includes 400 billion barrels from the tar sands and shales.

INCREDIBLY, OVER 2500 OIL RESERVOIRS IN NORTH AMERICA HAVE BEEN ABANDONED PREMATURELY BECAUSE OF A COMBINATION OF GREED, LACK OF TECHNOLOGY AND LOW OIL PRICES.

THE OIL MAN'S GREED "SELL THAT OIL - NOW!"

Since August 1857, when Colonel Edwin L. Drake discovered the first oil well at Titusville, Pennsylvania, men have viciously raped oil reservoirs. Natural gas, usually found in or at the top of the oil reservoirs was flared to the atmosphere - trillions of cubic feet of it - for over 70 years. Also, wells were drilled far too close to each other. (Oil and gas conservation was not even contemplated until 60 years later.) When the gas pressure fell to zero, so did the oil flow. The fields were abandoned. Some of them with 90% of the oil left, many with over 50%.

OIL PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY HAS ADVANCED DRAMATICALLY IN THE PAST DECADE

If the oil in a reservoir has water under it, water will eventually be pumped with the oil in increasing amounts. Many of these types of reservoirs were abandoned prematurely for lack of technology to concurrently produce both the oil and water in large volumes.

CRUDE OIL PRICES ARE 7 TIMES HIGHER THAN 20 YEARS AGO

Today the price of oil is hovering in the $90.00 per barrel range but prior to the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Export Countries (OPEC) in 1972, crude oil was selling around $2.00 per barrel. Vast amounts of $1.50 per barrel oil were imported from Arab and Third World countries, so many domestic oil fields were abandoned because of low prices as recently as 20 years ago.

OIL COMPANIES HAVE BUDGETED OVER 100 BILLION DOLLARS FOR E.O.R. FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS.

ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY, SIMPLY PUT, MEANS ANY METHOD OF INCREASING THE NORMALLY EXPECTED AMOUNT OF OIL TO BE RECOVERED FROM A RESERVOIR.


THERE ARE THIRTEEN MAIN ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY PROCESSES IN USE TODAY THAT CAN BE DIVIDED INTO FIVE MAIN TYPES.
1. Mechanical E.O.R.
Originated in the 1920's and called "Secondary Recovery"
 
Volumetric Lift
Prior to the increase in oil prices caused by OPEC in 1972, the economics of large volume pumping of wells with a high water cut were unattractive.

Water Flooding
This is injection of water into the sand to replace oil taken out. Water Flooding is relatively cheap and is the most widely used method of E.O.R.

Air Injection
Air is compressed then injected into the semi depleted oil zone to repressure the reservoir; this will then sweep the oil to a producing well.

 
2. Miscible E.O.R.
Can be termed as "Tertiary Recovery"
 
Carbon Dioxide Gas Flooding
The gas we know as the bubbles in soda pop is 8 times more miscible (mixable) with oil than water. When injected into a depleted oil zone it repressures the reservoir and oil starts to flow again. There are over 60 Carbon Dioxide floods being carried out at present in North America.

Hydrocarbon Flooding
Natural gas and/or Liquified natural gas flooding is very effective but can be doubly costly. (i.e. Gas and L.N.G. can usually be sold for an immediate profit rather than purchased and used for E.O.R.)

Water and C02 Flooding
(or WAG Flooding)
It has become apparent that purchase and delivery costs are the only limiting factors in the even more wide-spread use of Carbon Dioxide for E.O.R.

3. Thermal E.O.R.
Usually used in heavy oil and/or tar sands
 

Fire Flooding
Air or oxygen is injected and the formation ignited. As the burning zone advances, the heat produced plus the Carbon Dioxide that is formed allow the oil to flow more easily to the production wells.

Cyclic Steam Stimulation
This system is usually referred to as the "Huff & Puff" system. It consists of three phases:

  1. Huff - the injection phase
  2. Soak - the shut-in phase
  3. Puff - the production phase

Steam Flooding
As its name implies, this system is a continuous injection of steam to heat the reservoir sands to allow the bitumen to be produced.

4. Chemical E.O.R.
New technology evolved from water flooding
 
Alkaline Flooding
This is usually water flooding preceded by an alkaline slug. The alkaline reduces the surface tension of the oil droplets in the formation causing them to coalesce (join) thus increasing oil flow.

Polymer Flooding
As in alkaline flooding, the water injection is preceded by a polymer ( a solvent type) slug. Subsequent increase in oil recovery is due to coalescence as with alkaline flood.

Surfactant Flooding
Surfactant Flooding is similar to alkaline and polymer flooding, however the water is preceded by a surfactant - a type of soap.

5. Horizontal Drilling
New technology evolved from water flooding
 
Horizontal Drilling
Horizontal drilling has become a major drilling and completion tool over the past 20 years. More on this subject to come later.

ENERGY DEMAND IS GOING UP AND THE OIL BUSINESS WILL BE AROUND FOR A LONG TIME. OVER 75% OF THE PRODUCTIVE JOBS IN THE FREE WORLD ARE BASED IN SOME WAY ON THE OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION ECONOMY.

Despite the fact that there are many alternate sources of energy it is important we keep in mind that crude oil and natural gas as energy for fuel for cars and heating are only a portion of their use in modern technology.The petrochemical and plastics industries (with over 70,000 man made chemicals and 3 million manufactured products, the tire, sulphur, paint, fabric, clothing, fertilizer, and cosmetics businesses, all require gas and oil as a basic feedstock. These industries will all still need their raw material for at least the next 50 years.
  All content © 2009 DAR Energy Inc.