Tertiary oil recovery: potential application and constraints

Technical Report · Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6943500· OSTI ID:6943500

Geffen, C. A.

The technology of tertiary oil recovery methods is described and potential economic and environmental constraints to future commercial application are identified. Oil recoverable by tertiary techniques represents a domestic resource of between 11- and 42-billion barrels. Estimates of additional oil supplies from tertiary methods by the year 2000 range from 1 to 8 million barrels per day, depending on the price of oil and the rate of technological development. The principal constraints to large-scale application of tertiary methods at the present time include environmental, economic and technological concerns. Regulatory action associated with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 currently delay the expansion of thermal recovery operations in California and may discourage future projects. The high production costs of tertiary projects also hamper process implementation. Further testing and research is necessary to develop the technology of tertiary recovery methods and prove these techniques successful on a field-wide scale. To enable tertiary oil recovery to play a significant role in augmenting domestic energy supplies, further research and development is necessary. More accurate methods of determining reservoir structure and residual oil saturations are required, as well as means for assuring the technical feasibility and success of a tertiary method in different reservoir types. Technical process limitations must also be resolved. The severity of potential environmental impacts and constraints identified in this report should be determined. These concerns include the air pollutant emissions from steam generation in thermal processes; acceptable methods of brine disposal; damage due to runoff or accidental discharge of oil-rich chemicals into surface waters; the impacts of fluid injection on deep aquifers and the prevailing geological structure; and an adequate supply of high quality fresh water.

• Research Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs., Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-06-1830
• OSTI ID: 6943500
• Report Number(s): PNL-RAP-25
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
ENHANCED RECOVERY
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
PETROLEUM
CALIFORNIA
FLUID INJECTION
GAS INJECTION
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
KANSAS
LOUISIANA
MISCIBLE-PHASE DISPLACEMENT
NEW MEXICO
OKLAHOMA
TEXAS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
MIDWEST REGION
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDATION
PROCESSING
SOUTHWEST REGION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
WESTERN REGION
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production