Recording: Enhanced Oil Recovery Fundamentals

January 1, 2100 | ::

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is considered to be a huge steppingstone in the energy transition, due to its carbon capture ability. Now with new funding from President Biden to help reach emission reduction goals, EOR is—and will continue to be—a major topic of discussion in the coming years. To help with understanding the need, process, and expectations for EOR, this introductory course will tackle the following:

• The window of opportunity for EOR and its crucial timing
• The necessity of pilots, the risks they address, and single-well vs. inter-well pilots
• How to optimize composition, tackle operational issues, consider enhanced surveillance, and understand value streams
• Reservoir characterization and data requirements for EOR

This program will also include case studies that will help attendees to apply this knowledge to practical, real-world situations. Whether you are already implementing EOR tactics, getting ready to onboard EOR, or just curious about the process and why it’s important moving forward, this event will help attendees hold deeper, more informed conversations regarding the future of EOR.

Learning Outcomes

• Review the basics of EOR, including its history, current processes, and physics for different oil targets
• Examine differences between EOR processes (polymer flooding, low salinity waterflooding, thermally active polymers, etc.)
• Discuss timing of response, project phasing, screening criteria, and value streams
• Explain the different types of pilots, why they’re necessary, associated risk, and how we can learn from EOR surprises
• Study reservoir and well design considerations, and operational issues
• Review how EOR is modelled, including optimization of composition, slug-size, and phasing

Overview of EOR

• What is EOR
• Historic and Current EOR Schemes
• Motivation for EOR in the Energy Transition
• Distribution of Remaining Oil and How it Dictates EOR
• Assessing the Ongoing Process

Fundamentals of EOR Processes

• Polymer Flooding
• Gell Treatments and Thermally Active Polymers
• Surfactant Polymer Flooding/ASP
• Low Salinity Waterflooding
• CO₂ and Miscible Gas Flooding
• Huff’n Puff

Screening of EOR Processes & Analogues

• Typical Screening Criteria
• Limitations of Screening Criteria
• Picking an Analogue
• Dimensionless Curves

Window of Opportunity and Timing of EOR Processes

• Secondary vs. Tertiary Processes
• Timing of Response
• Phasing of EOR projects
• Case Study: Timing of Gas Injection

The Role of Pilots and Learning from EOR Surprises

• Why Would We Need a Pilot?
• Risks Addressed by Pilots
• Kinds of Pilots
• Single-Well Pilots
• Observation Wells
• Inter-well Pilots
• Small-Scale EOR
• Learning from Case Histories

Understanding Value Streams, Energy Consumption/GHG, & Economics

• Synergistic Impacts of Low Salinity Water
• CO₂ Retention
• Sources of Injectant
• Timing Impact on Economics
• Energy Consumption

How EOR is Modeled

• Koval’s Method
• Spreadsheet Tools
• Reservoir Simulation
• Type Pattern Modelling
• Upscaling
• Uncertainty Modelling

Data Requirements & Reservoir Characterization for EOR

• Understanding the Baseline
• Polymer Flooding
• Low Salinity Waterflooding
• CO₂ and Miscible Gas Flooding

Well Design Considerations

• Pattern Conversion
• Spacing
• Corrosion
• Horizontal vs. Vertical Wells

Optimization of Composition, Slug-Size, & Phasing

• Slug-Size Considerations for Chemical Flooding
• Over-Enrichment of Miscible Gas Floods and Separation of Produced CO₂
• Tapered WAG in Miscible Floods
• Solvent Supply and Phasing

Surveillance

• Need for Enhanced Surveillance
• Tracers
• Composition of Produced Fluids
• Coring Behind the Flood

Operational lssues

• Quality Control of Chemical Supply
• Disposal of Produced Water in LoSal
• Treatment of Produced Water in Polymer Flooding and Chemical Flooding
• WAG Conversion

Review & Wrap-up

Gary Jerauld, Advisor—Enhanced Oil Recovery & Reservoir Engineering

Gary is a seasoned advisor and mentor to technical professionals in the areas of oil and gas E&P, reservoir management, EOR, and reservoir simulation and worked at BP for over 16 years as their Reservoir Engineering Advisor with a focus on EOR and Dynamic Displacement.

As a Reservoir Engineer in ARCO and BP, he had the opportunity to work on a diverse range of new developments, as well as produce fields encompassing different geographies and environments on five continents. The range includes some of the world’s largest waterfloods, massive offshore and deepwater projects, gas developments, and especially advanced recovery technologies. He devoted much of his early career to the fundamentals of multiphase flow in porous media and developed the three-phase relative permeability correlation that was used for over twenty years to design and model three-phase processes at Prudhoe Bay. He received the SPE IOR Pioneer award for his work on Brightwater and Low Salinity waterflooding.

This is a recorded session - no instructor interaction is available. Recordings will expire 90 days from date of purchase and downloading or copying of the recording in anyay is strictly prohibited

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Recording: Enhanced Oil Recovery Fundamentals