REPORT: ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY COULD MEAN $BILLIONSPlans to...

REPORT: ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY COULD MEAN $BILLIONS

Plans to increase oil production in Wyoming by as many as 1.2 billion barrels were outlined in a report to University of Wyoming trustees at their November meeting.

Trustees reviewed a report by UW's Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute (EORI) Director James Steidtmann.

A long-time member of the UW Department of Geology and Geophysics faculty, Steidtmann says estimates by the Wyoming Geological Survey indicate that approximately eight billion barrels of original oil in place remain in Wyoming oil fields and that between 5 and 15 percent of this can be recovered with broad applications of EOR technologies. This could mean as much as $2 billion in revenue to the state in royalties and taxes over the next 20 years. He is optimistic such benefits can be accomplished through research coupled with technology transfer programs delivered to the oil industry through conferences, workshops and cooperative arrangements with Wyoming producers.

After primary recovery through conventional drilling, most of the oil remains in the ground. Many producers have employed water flooding to obtain additional oil from Wyoming fields, as well as other technologies that use materials such as brines, salts, surfactants and polymers that help increase the flow of oil to the pumps. A carbon dioxide (CO2) injection method also shows potential to bolster Wyoming oil production.

The 2004 Wyoming Legislature, on the recommendation of a Governor's task force, provided $2.4 million to the EORI to expand its research and capabilities for transferring technologies into the state.

Mike Boyles, a reservoir geologist, and Shaochang Wo, a specialist in reservoir simulation, have been hired to complete the institute staff. Together, with input from institute project leaders in the UW Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, the institute team will build reservoir models for production forecasts. Team members from the UW Department of Economics and Finance will use these models to assist in EOR economic predictions. Steidtmann says these forecasts will benefit Wyoming producers in maximizing production and minimizing risk for enhanced oil recovery.

Already the economic benefits of enhanced recovery are being tested by Anadarko's Salt Creek EOR project near Midwest. Recently members of the state's EOR Commission toured the site where CO2 is being used to free up oil that remains trapped underground after conventional pumping and water flooding.

"A part of our state-mandated mission is to develop economic and efficient ways to separate CO2 from power plant flue gasses, and we are funding a research team in UW's Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department for that work," Steidtmann adds.

An advantage of using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery is that it offers important environmental as well as economic benefits through an emerging activity known as carbon sequestration. In a complex process, CO2 is collected and used for EOR while at the same time being stored underground rather than vented into the atmosphere. Steidtmann points out that coal-fired electricity generating plants, along with some other energy production operations in the state, produce large volumes of CO2 that can be used for EOR while at the same time being sequestered. He adds that a pipeline network to transport CO2 is currently in place from the LaBarge area in western Wyoming to oil fields in Wyoming and northern Colorado.

"In addition to sequestering CO2, enhanced oil recovery in general has important environmental implications because it takes place in areas previously disturbed during drilling and primary production when power lines and pump jacks were installed. EOR is not conducted in pristine areas, and in fact, many of the power lines and pump jacks can eventually be removed during and after EOR," Steidtmann explains.

In cooperation with several Wyoming producers, the EORI already is beginning to apply developing technologies to recover the state's oil reserves. Steidtmann acknowledges that, by their very nature, some of these efforts will require continued research and testing before they can be successfully applied. He is optimistic that workshops, demonstration projects and assistance in applying this knowledge will help Wyoming producers and the state of Wyoming reap the economic rewards resulting from increased production, especially


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Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute
The Wyoming Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute - Commission and Technical Advisory Board Meeting and Fieldtrip, July 18 - 20, 2007. ...
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