Applications of EOR (enhanced oil recovery) technology in field projects--1990 update
Trends in the type and number of US enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects are analyzed for the period from 1980 through 1989. The analysis is based on current literature and news media and the Department of Energy (DOE) EOR Project Data Base, which contains information on over 1,348 projects. The characteristics of the EOR projects are grouped by starting date and process type to identify trends in reservoir statistics and applications of process technologies. Twenty-two EOR projects starts were identified for 1989 and ten project starts for 1988. An obvious trend over recent years has been the decline in the number of project starts since 1981 until 1988 which corresponds to the oil price decline during that period. There was a modest recovery in 1989 of project starts, which lags the modest recovery of oil prices in 1987 that was reconfirmed in 1989. During the time frame of 1980 to 1989, there has been a gradual improvement in costs of operation for EOR technology. The perceived average cost of EOR has gone down from a $30/bbl range to low $20/bbl. These costs of operation seems to stay just at the price of oil or slightly above to result in marginal profitability. The use of polymer flooding has drastically decreased both in actual and relative numbers of project starts since the oil price drop in 1986. Production from polymer flooding is down more than 50%. Long-term plans for large, high-cost projects such as CO{sub 2} flooding in West Texas, steamflooding in California, and hydrocarbon flooding on the North Slope have continued to be implemented. EOR process technologies have been refined to be more cost effective as shown by the continued application and rising production attributable to EOR. 8 refs., 6 figs., 13 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Bartlesville, OK (United States). National Inst. for Petroleum and Energy Research (NIPER)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/FE
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC22-83FE60149
- OSTI ID:
- 6306941
- Report Number(s):
- NIPER-513; ON: DE91002219
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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