Louisana fireflood economics 'good'

Journal Article · Sat Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1979 · Drilling; (United States)

OSTI ID:6863718

A Louisiana fireflood project expected to recover 700,000 bbl of heavy oil by 1982 has recovered more than one-half that amount even though air injection rates have been lower than planned. The field test is designed to test the efficiency and economics of a simultaneous water-air, in-situ combustion process, and to demonstrate pilot-tested techniques of increasing vertical sweep efficiency while reducing overall project time to maximize project revenue. Water and air are injected simultaneously into the upper Cretaceous Nacatoch sand at 345 to 400 ft in the Bellevue field, Bossier Parish, near Shreveport. Before the project began, the 19-acre area contained approx. 2 million bbl of 19 gravity crude. The Bodcau in-situ combustion project has demonstrated during the first 2 yr of testing that a 19-acre area yields 13.65% of the oil-in-place at a cost of $9.50/bbl. The increase in production is attributed to drilling new producing wells to minimize loss of production to an offset lease, shutting in low productive wells to force the burn front toward wells having more pay open, acidizing the injection wells, and adding surfactants to injection water which allowed higher rates of injection.

• OSTI ID: 6863718
• Journal Information: Drilling; (United States), Journal Name: Drilling; (United States) Vol. 40:12; ISSN DRILA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020300* -- Petroleum-- Drilling & Production
ACIDIZATION
AIR
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
COST
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENHANCED RECOVERY
FEDERAL REGION VI
FIELD TESTS
FLUID INJECTION
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS INJECTION
GASES
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
IN-SITU PROCESSING
INJECTION WELLS
LOUISIANA
NORTH AMERICA
OIL WELLS
OIL YIELDS
OXIDATION
PETROLEUM
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
STIMULATION
SURFACTANTS
TESTING
THERMAL RECOVERY
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
VISCOSITY
WATERFLOODING
WELL STIMULATION
WELLS
YIELDS