Environmental impact of the coalinga enhanced-oil-recovery project

Technical Report · Thu Sep 07 04:00:00 EDT 1978

OSTI ID:6828500

McLeod, J

The Coalinga Polymer Demonstration Project, funded jointly by the Shell Oil Company and the U.S. Department of Energy, is designed to test polymer flooding as a method of enhancing oil recovery in existing oil fields. Polysaccharide biopolymer will be mixed with water and injected into the underground oil reservoir. Its effect will be to increase the viscosity of the water, thus reducing its ability to flow in the reservoir and causing it to enter otherwise bypassed pore spaces (where it can contact more oil). The goal of the Coalinga Project is to generate data to calibrate a reservoir model that will be used in predicting the performance of a full-scale waterflood followed by a polymer flood. The purpose of this report is to assess the impact of the Coalinga Project on the environment of the Coalinga Oil Field in Fresno County, California. Our basic conclusion is that the project will have no significant adverse impact.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 6828500
• Report Number(s): UCID-17916
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
020900 -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
CALIFORNIA
CARBOHYDRATES
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FLUID INJECTION
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
NORTH AMERICA
OIL WELLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
POLYSACCHARIDES
SACCHARIDES
USA
WATERFLOODING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS
WESTERN REGION