E O R

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Introduction
The production stage is the most important stage of a well's life,
when the oil and gas are produced.
By this time, the oil rigs used to drill and complete the well have
moved off the wellbore, and the top is usually outfitted with a
collection of valves called a Christmas tree or Production trees.
These valves regulate pressures, control flows, and allow access to
the wellbore in case further completion work is needed.
From the outlet valve of the production tree, the flow can be
connected to a distribution network of pipelines and tanks to
supply the product to refineries, natural gas compressor stations, or
oil export terminals.
As long as the pressure in the reservoir remains high enough, the
production tree is all that is required to produce the well.
If the pressure depletes and it is considered economically viable, an
artificial lift method can be employed.
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Flowing Wells
Defined as any well which has
sufficient pressure in the
reservoir to cause the oil or gas
to flow naturally to the surface
through the wellbore.
A well which produces oil or gas
without any means of artificial
lift.
They require relatively little
equipment or expense to bring
the oil to the surface.
The equipment commonly used
consists of tubing, wellhead
and x-mas tree.

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Recovery
Recovery of hydrocarbons from an oil reservoir is commonly
recognized to occur in several recovery stages. These are:
Primary Recovery.
the recovery of hydrocarbons from the reservoir using the
natural energy of the reservoir as a drive.
Secondary Recovery.
the recovery aided or driven by the injection of water or gas from
the surface.

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Secondary Recovery

Secondary recovery is the result of human intervention in the

reservoir to improve recovery when the natural drives have
diminished to unreasonably low efficiencies.
Two techniques are commonly used:
Waterflooding involve injection of water at the base of a
reservoir to:
Maintain the reservoir pressure, and
Displace oil towards production wells.

Gas Injection - This method is similar to waterflooding in

principal, and is used to maintain gas cap pressure even if oil
displacement is not required

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Secondary Recovery

Secondary Recovery Method (Waterflooding)

Waterflooding is the most common method of the

Secondary Recovery.
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Why water ???

Is widely available and inexpensive relative to other

fluids, easy to inject and efficient in displacing Oil.

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Why Waterflood is Needed?

Weak Natural Reservoir Energy Low Oil Recovery

Under-Saturated Oil Reservoirs.
Negligible Aquifer Support.

Low Permeability Reservoirs High Pressure Drop due to

Production
Less than 50 md.

Large Reservoirs Delayed Support from

Aquifer (Edge Water)

Heterogeneous Reservoirs Lack of Communication

Between Oil and Water
Tar Mates, etc. Zones.
Permeability Barriers.

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When?

When Waterflooding is Needed?

P diminishes with continued withdrawal of oil

Original Method of Waterflooding

When P reached intolerable low, start adding water

Method of Waterflooding Today

Start immediately to add bbl water for each bbl oil

removed from reservoir

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WATER CHEMISTRY

Corrosion by Water Affected by

Oxygen levels, even 8 ppm is significant
Salinity
Hydrogen sulfide, souring effect
Carbon dioxide
Temperature
Pressure

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Tertiary Recovery (Enhance Oil Recovery EOR).

A range of techniques broadly labeled Enhanced Oil

Recovery that are applied to reservoirs in order to improve
flagging production.

Infill Recovery.
Carried out when recovery from the previous three phases have
been completed. It involves drilling cheap production holes
between existing boreholes to ensure that the whole reservoir
has been fully depleted of its oil.

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Tertiary Recovery (EOR)

Primary and secondary recovery methods usually only extract

about 35-55% of the original oil in place. Clearly it is extremely
important to increase this figure.
Many enhanced oil recovery methods have been designed to
do this, and a few will be reviewed here. They fall into three
broad categories:
Thermal EOR
Chemical EOR
Miscible Gas
All are extremely expensive, are only used when
economical.

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Thermal EOR

These processes use heat to improve oil recovery by

reducing the viscosity of heavy oils and vaporizing lighter
oils, and hence improving their mobility.

The techniques include:

In-situ combustion (injection of a hot gas that combusts with
the oil in place.)/ Fireflooding
Steam Injection (One of most common methods)
Increasing the relative permeability to oil (micellar and
alkaline floods).
Thermal EOR is probably the most efficient EOR
approach.

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Thermal EOR

Reduce Viscosity
Activates solution gas drives in some cases by evolving
any dissolved gases
Thermally expand oil and increase permeability
Create distillation or even thermally crack oil

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Thermal EOR
In Situ Combustion
Initiates combustion of oil in the formation
Air is pumped into the reservoir to allow ignition
Heat and gas generate reservoir pressure and
decrease viscosity by heating and cracking
Temperature 600 to 1200F
Combustion Gases
O2
Organic Acid
CO2
Sulfides
Chlorides
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Thermal EOR-Steam Flooding

Steam is injected some wells & oil produced from others

Steam-saturated zone forms around injector

Condensed steam develops farther away

Temperatures decline to reservoir temperature with distance

Steam at 500 to 700F, some lower

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Thermal EOR-Steam Flooding

Continuous Steam Injection

Dedicated well for steam
injection
Intermittent Steam Injection
Huff n puff
Injection occurs for short time &
well is then returned to
production

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CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2) FLOODING

CO2 flooding -- 3 methods of injection

Pure liquid CO2 (>5atm @ ambient) followed by water or carbonated water
Carbonated water
CO2 at sufficient pressure to produce miscibility with reservoir oil

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WAG = WATER-ALTERNATING-GAS (CO2 FLOODING)

Injection of high-pressure CO2

gas
Followed intermittently by
water injection
Example
SACROC unit in Kelly Snyder
Field in Texas.

1. CO2 injection
2. CO2 reduces viscosity
3. Alternating water injector
4 Producer (gas, CO2, oil & water)
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 Integrating CO2-EOR and CO2 Storage Could Increase Storage Potential

CO2 Source
Oil to Production Well
Market

CO2
Injection

CO2
Recycled

Swept Area

Current Water Oil Bank Stage #1

Oil Contact
Stage #2
Unswept Area
Original
Water
Oil Contact Stage #3
TZ/ROZ

Saline Reservoir
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Chemical EOR

These processes use chemicals added to water in the injected fluid

of a waterflood to alter the flood efficiency in such a way as to
improve oil recovery.
This can be done in many ways, examples are listed below:
Increasing water viscosity (polymer floods).
Decreasing the relative permeability to water (cross- linked
polymer floods).
Microwave heating downhole.
Hot water injection.

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Ultimate Recovery . . .

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