PRIMARY RECOVERY OF CRUDE OIL.

Oil extraction frequently comes before natural gas extraction. In some cases, gas is pumped
back into the well in preparation for potential future extraction. The concrete and metal
casing that is inserted into the well after it has been drilled is topped with a collecting pump.
Depending on the kind of natural gas, various methods can be used to gather this fossil
material (How Is Natural Gas Extracted? The Process Explained, n.d.).
According to the US Department of Energy assessments, conventional oil extraction methods
such as primary recovery and secondary recovery processes use up between 25% to 50% of a
well's oil reserves. The creation of a new approach, more formally called as enhanced oil
recovery(EOR), has addressed such waste (Petro Industry News, n.d.).
Primary recovery of crude oil is the process of extricating oil using either pump jacks and
other man-made lift mechanisms or the natural movement of hydrocarbons to the earth's
surface. The extraction capability of this method is quite constrained because it only focuses
on the oil that is either accessible to the pump Jack or susceptible to its release. In actuality,
the primary method only recovers 5% to 15% of the well's potential (E. Tzimas et al, 2005).
When an oilfield is first being produced, primary recovery techniques are frequently used.
These methods take advantage of reservoir pressure and use pumps to force oil to the surface.
Oil is forced to flow in the direction of the well by the pressure differential that has formed
between the reservoir and the well's bottom where oil is produced. Reservoir drive is the term
for this Reservoir drive is the result of numerous mechanisms interacting to create it.:
1. Natural water drive: Oil is displaced upward into the well by a natural water drive
caused by the rising of the water layer underneath the oil column in the reservoir. The
input of water from nearby aquifers into the reservoir is the main reason of this.
2. Gas-cap drive: The expansion of natural gas at the reservoir's top, above it, causes the
oil column to go downward toward the generating wells, creating a gas-cap drive.
3. Dissolved gas drive: this arises from the gas that was previously dissolved in the
crude oil dissolving and expanding.
4. Gravity drive: Gravitational forces cause oil to travel from the reservoir's top to lower
regions, where the wells are situated, in a process known as gravity drainage.
Pumping is used to keep oil production going after oil and gas extraction reduces reservoir
drive. The primary recovery stage of crude oil is complete when the reservoir’s pressure is
either too low to maintain cost-effective production levels or when there is a large ratio of gas
(or water) to oil extraction. The primary crude oil recovery factor (i.e., the proportion of
primary recovery crude oil to original crude oil in place) is influenced by a number of
variables, including the geographical makeup of the individual reservoirs, the consistency of
the oil, and the pressure in the reservoirs. It often falls within the 5% to 15% range of original
oil in place (OOIP).
Figure 1: a typical oilfield's anticipated order of oil recovery techniques
Source: E. Tzimas, A. Georgakaki, C. Garcia Cortes and S.D. Peteves (2005). Enhanced Oil
Recovery using Carbon Dioxide in the European Energy System. European Commission

References

1. How is natural gas extracted? The process explained. (n.d.).

https://group.met.com/en/media/energy-insight/how-is-natural-gas-extracted
2. Petro Industry News. (n.d.). What is the Difference between Primary, Secondary &
Enhanced Recovery for Oil Extraction? Petro Online.
https://www.petro-online.com/news/fuel-for-thought/13/breaking-news/what-is-the-
difference-between-primary-secondary-enhanced-recovery-for-oil-extraction/31405
3. Tzimas, e, Georgakaki, a, Garcia Cortes, c, & Peteves, s. d. (2005). Enhanced Oil
Recovery using Carbon Dioxide in the European Energy System. European
Communities. https://www.discountpdh.com/wp-content/themes/discountpdh/pdf-
course/enhanced-oil-recovery-carbon-dioxide-european-energy-system.pdf