Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

High potential recovery -- Gas repressurization

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/676971· OSTI ID:676971

The objective of this project was to demonstrate that small independent oil producers can use existing gas injection technologies, scaled to their operations, to repressurize petroleum reservoirs and increase their economic oil production. This report gives background information for gas repressurization technologies, the results of workshops held to inform small independent producers about gas repressurization, and the results of four gas repressurization field demonstration projects. Much of the material in this report is based on annual reports (BDM-Oklahoma 1995, BDM-Oklahoma 1996, BDM-Oklahoma 1997), a report describing the results of the workshops (Olsen 1995), and the four final reports for the field demonstration projects which are reproduced in the Appendix. This project was designed to demonstrate that repressurization of reservoirs with gas (natural gas, enriched gas, nitrogen, flue gas, or air) can be used by small independent operators in selected reservoirs to increase production and/or decrease premature abandonment of the resource. The project excluded carbon dioxide because of other DOE-sponsored projects that address carbon dioxide processes directly. Two of the demonstration projects, one using flue gas and the other involving natural gas from a deeper coal zone, were both technical and economic successes. The two major lessons learned from the projects are the importance of (1) adequate infrastructure (piping, wells, compressors, etc.) and (2) adequate planning including testing compatibility between injected gases and fluids, and reservoir gases, fluids, and rocks.

Research Organization:
BDM-Oklahoma, Inc., Bartlesville, OK (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC22-94PC91008
OSTI ID:
676971
Report Number(s):
NIPER/BDM--0350; ON: DE98000492
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

GAS INJECTION/WELL STIMULATION PROJECT
Technical Report · Wed Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 2005 · OSTI ID:876135

Method for repressurizing an oil reservoir
Patent · Tue Sep 19 00:00:00 EDT 1967 · OSTI ID:6160388

Summary of air repressurization for enhanced oil recovery. Consultant report
Technical Report · Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1978 · OSTI ID:5878713