recoverable oil

The estimates of total recoverable oil I suspect will be very different from the 50 mbo+ in place that the jv believe they have.
Time required to recover this oil must also be considered.


From slide 11 of recent presentation...

"Lost Hills holds 2.6 billion barrels of oil in place, and only 5 percent has been recovered to date. The Lost Hills holds reseves that will last for another century."

There is reason for the 5% figure.

Below is from the same site as the slide 11 quote was taken from (www.chevron.com).

Lost Hills holds 2.6 billion barrels of oil in place, and only 5 percent has been recovered to date. The reason for the low recovery is that the underground geology of the diatomite -- a mixture of clay, silt and diatoms (algae) -- is very tight and tough to "frac." Therefore, the oil does not flow easily. "It's like trying to move water through concrete," says Mike Morea, staff geologist. "Therefore, to enhance the oil's flow through diatomite, each oil well has to be hydraulically fractured, or 'frac'd.' "

Other technologies in the area, such as cyclic steaming, have been unsuccessful. However, a new application of oil technology shows promise: carbon dioxide injection. "CO2, unlike water, dissolves in oil and makes the oil flow better," explains Perri.

In addition to Cymric and Lost Hills, the other fields in the business unit also are performing at optimum levels. "At this point in their lives, the fields should be on a decline, but the production team is keeping the levels steady, which is outstanding," says Gerry Cales, technical team leader of the Lost Hills group.

Making the legacy last
Over the past 100 years, the San Joaquin Valley Business Unit has produced only 25 percent of the oil in the ground and each year is finding more oil than can be produced. Moreover, the Lost Hills Field holds reserves that will last for yet another century.

Of the CO2 enhanced oil recovery pilot, no company in the valley knows for sure whether the pilot will be successful or not. "We're all still learning about the diatomite," says Larry Skow, reservoir engineer. But San Joaquin employees describe themselves as educated risk takers, and they're aggressive. One way or another, they affirm, "we'll get it out."

Says Piron, "Ten years from now when many of the old wells in other fields have declined, Lost Hills will still be the cornerstone of the San Joaquin Valley."