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?