Steamflood pilot in the O'Connell Ranch Field. Final report

Technical Report · Wed Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1983

OSTI ID:6133672

Martin, F D

This project was a cooperative effort with Corona Oil Company of Dallas, TX. The purpose of the project was to investigate the technical feasibility of a small steamflood project to recover heavy oil from the O'Connell Ranch Field, Guadalupe Co., NM. The heavy oil of the Santa Rosa sandstone should not be confused with the Santa Rosa Tar Sands. The Santa Rosa reservoir is thin and shallow; permeability and porosity are low in comparison to reservoirs where successful steamfloods have taken place. Because of the shallow depth of this part of the reservoir, low injection pressures must be maintained to avoid fracturing the formation. This requirement, together with the low permeability, has resulted in relatively low steam injection rates. Since the steam rates are low and the pay interval is fairly thin, much of the injected heat undoubtably has been lost to adjacent rock. To date, no significant oil response has occurred; after 16 months of steam injection, only 70 barrels of oil have been produced. At the present rate of injection, calculations suggest that modest response may occur within a few months. Methods of stimulating the injection well for improved injectivity are necessary for the project to be economically attractive. Additional drilling has located deeper and thicker parts of the reservoir, and these areas should be investigated. 4 figures, 20 tables.

• Research Organization: New Mexico Inst. of Mining and Technology, Socorro (USA). New Mexico Petroleum Recovery Research Center
• OSTI ID: 6133672
• Report Number(s): NMERDI-2-69-3302; ON: DE83902175
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
DATA
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FEDERAL REGION VI
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INFORMATION
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
RECOVERY
STEAM INJECTION
STIMULATION
THERMAL RECOVERY
USA
VISCOSITY
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS