Artficial Lift Techniques - Oil Well

RIGZONE - How Does Artificial Lift Work?
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How Does Artificial Lift Work?

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/HowItWorks//insight.asp?i_id=315 Artificial lift is a process used on oil wells to increase pressure within the reservoir and encourage oil to the surface. When the natural drive energy of the reservoir is not strong enough to push the oil to the surface, artificial lift is employed to recover more production. While some wells contain enough pressure for oil to rise to the surface without stimulation, most don't, requiring artificial lift. In fact, 96% of the oil wells in the US require artificial lift from the very beginning. Even those wells that initially posses natural flow to the surface, that pressure depletes over time, and artificial lift is then required. Therefore, artificial lift is generally performed on all wells at some time during their production life. Although there are several methods to achieve artificial lift, the two main categories of artificial lift include pumping systems and gas lifts. Methods of Artificial Lift The most common type of artificial lift pump system applied is beam pumping, which engages equipment on and below the surface to increase pressure and push oil to the surface. Consisting of a sucker rod string and a sucker rod pump, beam pumps are the familiar jack pumps seen on onshore oil wells.
Beam PumpSource: Calsac Corporation Above the surface, the beam pumping system rocks back and forth. This is connected to a string of rods called the sucker rods, which plunge down into the wellbore. The sucker rods are connected to the sucker rod pump, which is installed as a part of the tubing string near the bottom of the well. As the beam pumping system rocks back and forth, this operates the rod string, sucker rod and sucker rod pump, which works similarly to pistons inside a cylinder. The sucker rod pump lifts the oil from the reservoir through the well to the surface. Usually pumping about 20 times a minute, the pumping units are powered electronically or via gas engine, called a prime mover. In order for the beam system to work properly, a speed reducer is employed to ensure the pump unit moves steadily, despite the 600 revolutions per minute the engine achieves. Another artificial lift pumping system, hydraulic pumping equipment applies a downhole hydraulic pump, rather than sucker rods, which lift oil to the surface. Here, the production is forced against the pistons, causing pressure and the pistons to lift the fluids to the surface. Similar to the physics applied in waterwheels powering old-fashion gristmills, the natural energy within the well is put to work to raise the production to the surface.
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Hydraulic PumpSource: Schlumberger Hydraulic pumps are generally composed of two pistons, one above the other, which are connected by a rod that moves up and down within the pump. Both the surface hydraulic pumps and subsurface hydraulic pumps are powered by power oil, or clean oil that has been previously lifted from the well. The surface pump sends the power oil through the tubing string to the subsurface hydraulic pump installed at the bottom of the tubing string, the reservoir fluids are then sent up a second parallel tubing string to the surface. Electric submersible pump systems employ a centrifugal pump below the level of the reservoir fluids. Connected to a long electric motor, the pump is composed of several impellers, or blades, that move the fluids within the well. The whole system is installed at the bottom of the tubing string. An electric cable runs the length of the well, connecting the pump to a surface source of electricity.
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Electric Submersible PumpSource: Schlumberger The electric submersible pump applies artificial lift by spinning the impellers on the pump shaft, putting pressure on the surrounding fluids and forcing them to the surface. A mass producer, electric submersible pumps can lift more than 25,000 barrels of fluids per day. An emerging method of artificial lift, gas lift injects compressed gas into the well to reestablish pressure, making it produce. Even when a well is flowing without artificial lift, it many times is using a natural form of gas lift.
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Gas LiftSource: Tech Flo Consulting LLC The injected gas reduces the pressure on the bottom of the well by decreasing the viscosity of the fluids in the well. This, in turn, encourages the fluids to flow more easily to the surface. Typically, the gas that is injected is recycled gas produced from the well. With very few surface units, gas lift is the optimal choice for offshore applications. Occurring downhole, the compressed gas is injected down the casing tubing annulus, entering the well at numerous entry points called gas-lift valves. As the gas enters the tubing at these different stages, it forms bubbles, lightens the fluids and lowers the pressure. In the US, the majority of wells, 82%, employ a beam pump. Ten percent use gas lift, 4% use electric submersible pumps, and 2% use hydraulic pumps.
Sources
Oil & Gas Production in Nontechnical Language Oil and Gas: The Production Story
6/6/2011
RIGZONE - How Does Water Injection Work?
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How Does Water Injection Work?

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/HowItWorks//insight.asp?i_id=341 While primary production refers to oil that is recovered naturally from a producing well, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) improves the amount of oil recovered from a well by using some form of additional engineering technique. Water injection, also known as waterflood, is a form of this secondary EOR production process.
Baobab Subsea Production System Used in onshore and offshore developments, water injection involves drilling injection wells into a reservoir and introducing water into that reservoir to encourage oil production. While the injected water helps to increase depleted pressure within the reservoir, it also helps to move the oil in place. Whether water injection occurs after production has already been depleted or before production from the reservoir has been drained, waterflood sweeps remaining oil through the reservoir to production wells, where it can be recovered. Water Injection Methods The water used for water injection is usually some sort of brine, but it can also be made up of other sources that are treated. For example, in some reservoirs water is produced with the hydrocarbons, removed from the production and re-injected into the formation.
Enhanced Oil RecoverySource: Schlumberger It is important that the water being injected works within the formation. Filtration and processing of the water
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that will be injected are sometimes necessary to ensure that no materials clog the well pores and that bacteria is not permitted to grow. In an effort to reduce any corrosion within the reservoir, oxygen is often removed from the water, as well. While production wells can be converted into injection wells, water-injection wells are also drilled specifically for this purpose. Water is then pumped into the reservoir, or gravity can help to push the liquid into the formation. This solution positions water tanks on hills or somewhere above the well, and the water simply is fed into the wellbore. There are a number of techniques for determining where the water-injection wells should be drilled, as well as established patterns for water-injection wells in relation to production wells. One popular pattern, called the five-spot pattern, involves drilling four water-injection wells in a square around a production well. This is repeated around each production well on the reservoir, resulting in four production wells surrounding each water-injection well, as well. Other drilling techniques include the seven-spot pattern, which has six water-injection wells surrounding a production well, and the inverted seven-spot pattern, which describes six production wells surrounding one water-injection well. Also, wells can be drilled in line patterns, rather than spot patterns, where a direct line or staggered line of production wells is followed by a similar line of water-injection wells, and so on. In an edge waterflood, waterinjection wells are drilled along the outside borders of the field, and water is injected, with production flowing toward the production wells in the center of the reservoir. Improved Oil Recovery Primary production usually only recovers some 30 to 35% of the oil in place. Although the effectiveness of water injection varies according to the formation characteristics, a waterflood can recover anywhere from 5% to 50% of the oil that is remaining in the reservoir, greatly enhancing the productivity and economics of the development.
WaterfloodingSource: Perisai Petroleum Teknology This form of EOR is typically more productive when there are relatively small amounts of primary production, and the process becomes uneconomical when the water cut reaches the 90 to 99% level. Some waterfloods
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may take up to two years of injection before production is increased; and some reservoirs do not have the right characteristics, and water injection is not a viable option for increasing production from waning wells. (For example, water injection is never used on natural gas wells.) Another form of water injection involves introducing heated water into the reservoir. This helps to make the oil more fluid, especially in reservoirs that contain heavy oil. Also, the water can be treated with polymers to increase the viscosity of the water and help to encourage oil movement within the reservoir.
Sources
Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology etc...
6/6/2011
RIGZONE - How is Nitrogen Used in Oil and Gas Fields?
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How is Nitrogen Used in Oil and Gas Fields?

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/HowItWorks//insight.asp?i_id=329 A colorless, odorless gas, Nitrogen is a non-hydrocarbon inert gas used for a variety of functions in the drilling, workover and completion phases of oil and gas wells, as well as in pigging and purging pipelines. Used both in onshore and offshore situations, applications for nitrogen include well stimulation, injection and pressure testing, Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), reservoir pressure maintenance, nitrogen floods and inert gas lift. Additionally, nitrogen can be used to help prevent flammable gases from igniting and protect tubulars from downhole corrosion.
Source: Generon Used to support drilling operations, nitrogen can be utilized for instrument panel inerting, as well as flare gas inerting, and pressure systems purging and testing. Also, nitrogen can be supplied for the engine starters, controls, dry bulk transfer and hoisting systems. Providing a dry air supply, nitrogen can extend the life of some systems, as well as prevent breakdowns. In workover and completion operations, nitrogen is an optimal choice to displace well fluids in order to initiate flow and clean wells because of its low density and high pressure characteristics. The high-pressure gas is also used for production stimulation through hydraulic fracturing. Also, nitrogen is used for cementing operations and controlling cement slurry weights. Additionally, nitrogen is used to maintain pressure in reservoirs that have either been depleted of hydrocarbons or experienced natural pressure reduction. Because nitrogen is immiscible (or does not mix) with oil and water, a nitrogen injection program or nitrogen flood can be used to move missed pockets of hydrocarbons from an injection well to a production well. Nitrogen can also be used in pigging and purging a pipeline. For example, nitrogen can be used as the driver to push the pigs through the pipe. Nitrogen can also be used to purge the pipeline after pigging has been completed. In this case, the dry gas is run through the line without the pig to dry up any remaining water in the pipeline. Also, nitrogen can be used in FPSOs and other situations where hydrocarbons are stored. In a process called tank blanketing, nitrogen is applied to an empty storage facility, to increase safety and provide a buffer for the entering hydrocarbons. How Does Nitrogen Generation Work? Developed by Dow Chemical in the 1970s, nitrogen generation through hollow fiber membrane technology has progressed over the last several decades. Now, the technology offers onsite generation through various
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output and capacity generators. Achieving up to 99.9% purity levels, nitrogen generation has made a myriad of applications in the oil and gas field more economical.
Nitrogen Membrane ModuleSource: Generon Nitrogen is produced through patented membrane filters. The process starts by atmospheric air being taken into a rotary screw compressor. Here the air is compressed to a designated pressure and air flow. Then, the compressed air is saturated with three to five parts per million of hydrocarbons and particulates. It is then introduced into the nitrogen generation system.
Source: Generon The air then enters a pre-filtration system, composed of either a demister or cyclone-type water separator to remove up to 94% of free liquids. Next, the air travels through two coalescing filters; the first is a 1.0 micron coalescing filter. And immediately, the air travels to a 0.01 micron coalescing filter. These filters remove 99.9999% of all contaminants from the air, which is still in a vapor state and saturated with water and hydrocarbons. Ensuring the remaining contaminants are in a vapor state, the air is then heated, raising the dew point. The air now enters an activated carbon vessel, where the hydrocarbons are absorbed. From here, the air travels through to a 0.01 micron particulate filter, which makes the air stream a specification of eight to ten parts per billion of contaminants. This guarantees a high-quality air is being supplied to the membrane modules. Now, the air is fed to a dehydration membrane. Here, the water is removed from the recently cleansed air, reaching dewpoints as low as negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The dry air is then introduced to the nitrogen membranes. In the nitrogen membranes, the oxygen is removed from the air, resulting in nitrogen at a purity level of 90 to
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99%. Because the nitrogen is supplied at a 70-degree Fahrenheit dewpoint, additional residual water vapor is then removed. Providing vast savings in comparison, onsite nitrogen generation is preferable over bulk nitrogen shipments. Furthermore, nitrogen can be created a various specifications for an assortment of uses.
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RIGZONE - How Does Well Acidizing Work to Stimulate Production?
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How Does Well Acidizing Work to Stimulate Production?

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/HowItWorks//insight.asp?i_id=320 Stimulation is performed on a well to increase or restore production. Sometimes, a well initially exhibits low permeability, and stimulation is employed to commence production from the reservoir. Other times, stimulation is used to further encourage permeability and flow from an already existing well that has become underproductive. A type of stimulation treatment, acidizing is performed below the reservoir fracture pressure in an effort to restore the natural permeability of the reservoir rock. Well acidizing is achieved by pumping acid into the well to dissolve limestone, dolomite and calcite cement between the sediment grains of the reservoir rocks. There are two types of acid treatment: matrix acidizing and fracture acidizing.
Well AcidizingSource: MPG Petroleum A matrix acid job is performed when acid is pumped into the well and into the pores of the reservoir rocks. In this form of acidization, the acids dissolve the sediments and mud solids that are inhibiting the permeability of the rock, enlarging the natural pores of the reservoir and stimulating flow of hydrocarbons. While matrix acidizing is done at a low enough pressure to keep from fracturing the reservoir rock, fracture acidizing involves pumping highly pressurized acid into the well, physically fracturing the reservoir rock and dissolving the permeability inhibitive sediments. This type of acid job forms channels through which the hydrocarbons can flow. There are different acids used to perform an acid job on wells. A common type of acid employed on wells to stimulate production is hydrochloric acids (HCI), which are useful in removing carbonate reservoirs, or limestones and dolomites, from the rock. Also, HCI can be combined with a mud acid, or hydrofluoric acid (HF), and used to dissolve quartz, sand and clay from the reservoir rocks. In order to protect the integrity of the already completed well, inhibitor additives are introduced to the well to prohibit the acid from breaking down the steel casing in the well. Also, a sequestering agent can be added to block the formation of gels or precipitate of iron, which can clog the reservoir pores during an acid job. After an acid job is performed, the used acid and sediments removed from the reservoir are washed out of the well in a process called backflush. For more information about reservoir stimulation, take a look at How Does Well Fracturing Work to Stimulate Production?
Sources
Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology Oil & Gas The Production Story
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RIGZONE - How Does Well Acidizing Work to Stimulate Production?
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RIGZONE - What Is Tight Gas, and How Is It Produced?
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What Is Tight Gas, and How Is It Produced?

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/HowItWorks//insight.asp?i_id=346 While conventional natural gas streams from the earth relatively easily, unconventional gas finds are more difficult to develop and more costly to produce. As technologies and skills improve, unconventional gas is a variable concept because some finds may become more easily or economically produced over time, no longer making them unconventional. Right now, there are six main types of unconventional gas, including deep gas, gas-containing shales, coalbed methane, geopressurized zones, Arctic and subsea hydrates, and tight gas.
Major Tight Gas Reserves in the USSource: EIA, www.eia.doe.gov Unconventional natural gas deposits are likely to account for much of the world's remaining reserves. According to the EIA, there is more than 309 Tcf of recoverable tight natural gas deposits in the US, which represents some 17% of the total natural gas reserves in the country. Helping to boost interest in developing technologies that can overcome the challenges of producing unconventional gas resources in the United States, the Natural Gas Policy Act offers incentives to companies exploring for and producing unconventional gas plays. What Is Tight Gas? Tight gas refers to natural gas reservoirs locked in extraordinarily impermeable, hard rock, making the underground formation extremely "tight." Tight gas can also be trapped in sandstone or limestone formations that are atypically impermeable or nonporous, also known as tight sand.
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Impermeable Pores in Tight Gas FormationSource: USGS, www.energy.usgs.gov While a conventional gas formation can be relatively easily drilled and extracted from the ground unassisted, tight gas requires more effort to pull it from the ground because of the extremely tight formation in which it is located. In other words, the pores in the rock formation in which the gas is trapped are either irregularly distributed or badly connected with overly narrow capillaries, lessening permeability -- or the ability of the gas to travel through the rock. Without secondary production methods, gas from a tight formation would flow at very slow rates, making production uneconomical. While conventional gas formations tend to be found in the younger Tertiary basins, tight gas formations are much older. Deposited some 248 million years ago, tight gas formations are typically found in Palaeozoic formations. Over time, the rock formations have been compacted and have undergone cementation and recrystallisation, which all reduce the level of permeability in the rock. Typical conventional natural gas deposits boast a permeability level of .01 to .5 darcy, but the formations trapping tight gas reserves portray permeability levels of merely a fraction of that, measuring in the millidarcy or microdarcy range. In order to overcome the challenges that the tight formation presents, there are a number of additional procedures that can be enacted to help produce tight gas. Deviating drilling practices and more specific seismic data can help in tapping tight gas, as well as artificial stimulation, such as fracturing and acidizing. Developing Tight Gas One of the most important aspects of drilling for any petroleum is predetermining the success rate of the operation. Operators do not just drill anywhere. Extensive seismic data is gathered and analyzed to determine where to drill and just what might be located below the earth's surface. These seismic surveys can help to pinpoint the best areas to tap tight gas reserves. A survey might be able to locate an area that portrays an improved porosity or permeability in the rock in which the gas is located. Should wells directly hit the best area to develop the reserve, costs of development can be minimized. Most tight gas formations are found onshore, and land seismic techniques are undergoing transformations to better map out where drilling and development of these unconventional plays. Typical land seismic techniques include exploding dynamite and vibroseis, or measuring vibrations produced by purpose-built trucks. While these techniques can produce informational surveys, advancements in marine seismic technologies are now being applied to land seismic surveys, enhancing the information available about the world below. Not only providing operators with the best locations for drilling wells into tight gas formations, extensive seismic surveys can help drilling engineers determine where and to what extent drilling directions should be deviated.
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Directional DrillingSource: MacKenzie Gas Project, www.mackenziegasproject.com While vertical wells may be easier and less expensive to drill, they are not the most conducive to developing tight gas. In a tight gas formation, it is important to expose as much of the reservoir as possible, making horizontal and directional drilling a must. Here, the well can run along the formation, opening up more opportunities for the natural gas to enter the wellbore. A common technique for developing tight gas reserves includes drilling more wells. The more the formation is tapped, the more the gas will be able to escape the formation. This can be achieved through drilling myriad directional wells from one location, lessening the operator's footprint and lowering costs. Production Stimulation After seismic data has illuminated the best well locations, and the wells have been drilled, production stimulation is employed on tight gas reservoirs to promote a greater rate of flow. Production stimulation can be achieved on tight gas reservoirs through both fracturing and acidizing the wells. Fracturing, also known as "fracing," a well involves breaking the rocks in the formation apart. Performed after the well has been drilled and completed, hydraulic fracturing is achieved by pumping the well full of frac fluids under high pressure to break the rocks in the reservoir apart and improve permeability, or the ability of the gas to flow through the formation. Additionally, acidizing the well is employed to improve permeability and production rates of tight gas formations. Acidation involves pumping the well with acids that dissolve the limestone, dolomite and calcite cement between the sediment grains of the reservoir rocks. This form of production stimulation helps to reinvigorate permeability by reestablishing the natural fissures that were present in the formation before compaction and cementation. Furthermore, deliquification of the tight gas wells can help to overcome some production challenges. In many tight gas formations, the reservoirs also contain small amounts of water. This water can collect and undermine production processes. Deliquification is achieved in this instance through artificial lift techniques, such as using a beam pumping system to remove the water from the reservoir, although this has not proven the most
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effective way to overcome this challenge. Engineers continue to develop new techniques and technologies to better produce tight gas. Through their efforts, maybe one day, tight gas will no longer be considered an unconventional play.
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RIGZONE - How Does Gas Injection Work?
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How Does Gas Injection Work?

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/HowItWorks//insight.asp?i_id=345 Typically, a well will produce at its highest production rate at the beginning of the production cycle; and then production will wane. In an effort to increase production from both oil and natural gas wells, secondary production methods are employed. A type of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), secondary production includes water flooding and gas injection. Secondary Production: Gas Injection Secondary production methods are employed to increase production by boosting depleted pressure in a formation. As the oil or natural gas in a formation is produced, the hydrocarbons remaining in the reservoir may become trapped because the pressure in the formation has lessened, making production either slow dramatically or stop altogether.
Gas Injection & Production WellSource: www.libyaninvestment.com A form of secondary production, gas injection is used on a well to enhance waning pressure within the formation. Systematically spread throughout the field, gas-injection wells are used to inject gas and effectively sweep the formation for remaining petroleum, boosting production. Somewhat similar to water injection, or water flooding, gas injection is a pressure maintenance program that can be employed on a reservoir at the start of the production process or introduced after production has already started to lessen. Here, gas is injected into the gas cap of the formation, whereas in water injection, the water is injected directly into the production zone. Cycling in a Natural Gas Reservoir Sometimes known as cycling, gas injection can entail re-injection of produced natural gas. In this instance, as the pressure drops in a natural gas field, the condensate separates from the dry gas in the reservoir. The condensate liquids block the pores within the reservoir, making extraction practically impossible. Cycling is used to prevent the condensate from separating from the natural gas in the reservoir. In this process, the natural gas liquids (condensate) are stripped from the gas on the surface after it has been produced from the reservoir, and the dry gas is then re-injected into the reservoir through injection wells. Again, this helps to maintain pressure in the reservoir while also preventing the separation within the hydrocarbon.
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Natural Gas Disposal Solution Additionally, gas injection can serve as an economical way to dispose of uneconomical gas production on an oil reservoir. While in the past, low levels of natural gas that were produced from oil fields were flared or burned off, that practice is discouraged in some countries and against the law in others.
Flaring Now, the low levels of natural gas that are produced from prolific oil fields are re-injected into the formation as form of disposal, as well as pressure maintenance. Here, produced wet gas from oil fields are stripped of their natural gas liquids, compressed and pumped into an injection well. If the oil field is highly saturated, the natural gas is injected in the free gas cap; but if the oil field is undersaturated, the gas is injected directly into the oil reservoir. Gas Injection, Gas Lift & Gas Miscible Process Although the terms are sometimes interchanged, gas injection and gas lift are two separate processes that are used to increase production. While gas injection is a secondary production method, gas lift is a type of artificial lift. Artificial lift is another way to increase production from a well by increasing pressure within the reservoir. The main types of artificial lift include gas lift and pumping systems, such as beam pumps, hydraulic pumps and electric submersible pumps. While gas injection is achieved by injecting gas through its own injection well, gas lift occurs through the production wells. In gas lift, compressed gas is injected down the casing tubing annulus of a production well, entering the well at numerous entry points called gas-lift valves. As the gas enters the tubing at these different stages, it forms bubbles, lightens the fluids and lowers the pressure, thus increasing the production rate of the well. Furthermore, a type of EOR employed on a well in the tertiary production process, a gas miscible process can be used to increase production. The difference in this recovery method is that the gases introduced into the reservoir are not naturally occurring. In a gas miscible process, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and LPG are injected into the reservoir.
Sources
Oil & Gas Production in Nontechnical Language Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology etc...
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RIGZONE - What Is EOR, and How Does It Work?
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What Is EOR, and How Does It Work?

URL: http://www.rigzone.com/HowItWorks//insight.asp?i_id=313 Oil production is separated into three phases: primary, secondary and tertiary, which is also known as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Primary oil recovery is limited to hydrocarbons that naturally rise to the surface, or those that use artificial lift devices, such as pump jacks. Secondary recovery employs water and gas injection, displacing the oil and driving it to the surface. According to the US Department of Energy, utilizing these two methods of production can leave up to 75% of the oil in the well. The way to further increase oil production is through the tertiary recovery method or EOR. Although more expensive to employ on a field, EOR can increase production from a well to up to 75% recovery.
Enhanced Oil RecoverySource: Schlumberger Used in fields that exhibit heavy oil, poor permeability and irregular faultlines, EOR entails changing the actual properties of the hydrocarbons, which further distinguishes this phase of recovery from the secondary recovery method. While waterflooding and gas injection during the secondary recovery method are used to push the oil through the well, EOR applies steam or gas to change the makeup of the reservoir. Whether it is used after both primary and secondary recovery have been exhausted or at the initial stage of production, EOR restores formation pressure and enhances oil displacement in the reservoir. There are three main types of EOR, including chemical flooding, gas injection and thermal recovery. Increasing the cost of development alongside the hydrocarbons brought to the surface, producers do not use EOR on all wells and reservoirs. The economics of the development equation must make sense. Therefore, each field must be heavily evaluated to determine which type of EOR will work best on the reservoir. This is done through reservoir characterization, screening, scoping, and reservoir modeling and simulation. Thermal Recovery Thermal recovery introduces heat to the reservoir to reduce the viscosity of the oil. Many times, steam is applied to the reservoir, thinning the oil and enhancing its ability to flow. First applied in Venezuela in the 1960s, thermal recovery now accounts for more than 50% of applied EOR in the US.
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Thermal RecoverySource: Alberta Geological Survey Chemical Injection Chemical injection EOR helps to free trapped oil within the reservoir. This method introduces long-chained molecules called polymers into the reservoir to increase the efficiency of waterflooding or to boost the effectiveness of surfactants, which are cleansers that help lower surface tension that inhibits the flow of oil through the reservoir. Less than 1% of all EOR methods presently utilized in the US consist of chemical injections. Gas Injection Gas injection used as a tertiary method of recovery involves injecting natural gas, nitrogen or carbon dioxide into the reservoir. The gases can either expand and push gases through the reservoir, or mix with or dissolve within the oil, decreasing viscosity and increasing flow.
Carbon Dioxide EORSource: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Carbon dioxide EOR (CO2-EOR) is the method that is gaining the most popularity. While initial CO2-EOR
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developments used naturally occurring carbon dioxide deposits, technologies have been developed to inject CO2 created as byproducts from industrial purposes. First employed in the US in the early 1970s in Texas, CO2-EOR is successfully used in Texas and New Mexico and is expected to become more widely spread in the future. Nearly half of the EOR employed in the US is a form of gas injection. Other EOR applications gaining acceptance are low-salinity water flooding, which is expected to increase production by nearly 20%, and well stimulation, which is a relatively low-cost solution because it can be employed to single wells (rather than the whole reservoir). Offshore EOR Applications Although EOR applications are predominantly employed onshore, technologies are being developed to expand the reach of EOR to offshore applications. Challenges that presently exist for offshore EOR include economics of the development; the weight, space and power limitations of retrofitting existing offshore facilities; and fewer wells that are more widely spaced contributing to displacement, sweep and lag time. Currently, the application of EOR is being considered for a number of offshore developments. With successful subsea processing and secondary recovery methods employed in offshore environments through water and gas injection, the technologies to apply EOR methods is quickly nearing. EOR in the US The US Department of Energy estimates that currently there are 89 billion barrels of additional oil trapped in onshore reservoirs. This is in great contrast to the country's current domestic proven reserves, which is estimated at 21.9 billion barrels. The DOE stresses that much of this production could be tapped by implementing EOR methods, namely the injection of carbon dioxide.
Area Focus for Potential EORSource: DOE In fact, the governmental agency claims that the pervasive application of EOR technologies on US reserves could increase the country's oil recovery from approximately 30% to more than 60%. If this oil was added to the US proven reserves, the country would rank fifth in the world for the size of its reserves. If this oil could be recovered, the country's dependence on foreign oil would be greatly depreciated, an effort for which the US has been striving. However, a wider application of EOR methods on US reservoirs requires a much higher cost of production, and the price of oil must legitimize the investment.
Sources
Oil & Gas Production in Nontechnical Language Oil and Gas: The Production Story
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6/6/2011

Artficial Lift Techniques - Oil Well

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RIGZONE - How Does Artificial Lift Work?

How Does Artificial Lift Work?

RIGZONE - How Does Artificial Lift Work?

RIGZONE - How Does Artificial Lift Work?

RIGZONE - How Does Artificial Lift Work?

RIGZONE - How Does Water Injection Work?

How Does Water Injection Work?

RIGZONE - How Does Water Injection Work?

RIGZONE - How Does Water Injection Work?

RIGZONE - How is Nitrogen Used in Oil and Gas Fields?

How is Nitrogen Used in Oil and Gas Fields?

RIGZONE - How is Nitrogen Used in Oil and Gas Fields?

RIGZONE - How is Nitrogen Used in Oil and Gas Fields?

RIGZONE - How Does Well Acidizing Work to Stimulate Production?

How Does Well Acidizing Work to Stimulate Production?

RIGZONE - How Does Well Acidizing Work to Stimulate Production?

RIGZONE - What Is Tight Gas, and How Is It Produced?

What Is Tight Gas, and How Is It Produced?

RIGZONE - What Is Tight Gas, and How Is It Produced?

RIGZONE - What Is Tight Gas, and How Is It Produced?

RIGZONE - What Is Tight Gas, and How Is It Produced?

RIGZONE - How Does Gas Injection Work?

How Does Gas Injection Work?

RIGZONE - How Does Gas Injection Work?

RIGZONE - How Does Gas Injection Work?

RIGZONE - What Is EOR, and How Does It Work?

What Is EOR, and How Does It Work?

RIGZONE - What Is EOR, and How Does It Work?

RIGZONE - What Is EOR, and How Does It Work?

RIGZONE - What Is EOR, and How Does It Work?

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