EOR:

Where to start?
 Case for EOR
• Number  of  newly  found  oilfields  declining.  
• EOR  is  o8en  applied  in  exis<ng  oil  fields,  less  uncertainty  on  
reserves  target.  
• From  2009  to  2014  EOR  world  market  tech  is  expected  to  
increase  from  $4.7  billion  to  $16.3  billion.  
• High  oil  prices,  increasing  demand,  maturing  fields  and  
improving  technologies  is  crea<ng  a  new  wave  of  interest  in  
EOR  technologies.  
• Thermal,  miscible  and  chemical  EOR    
is  set  to  see  a  substan<al  increase  in    
produc<on  over  the  next  ten  years,    
crea<ng  opportuni<es  for  a  range  of    
companies  within  the  oil  industry.  
 4 Steps Screening
1. Screening  on  physics  &  proper<es  (high  level)  
2. Screening  on  opera<ons  &  feasibility    
3. Refine  specific  EOR  method:  
• Heavy  oil,  what  kind  
• Miscible,  what  kind  
• Chemical  what  kind  
4. Run  economics  and  op<mize  
 4 Steps Screening
1. Screening  on  physics  &  proper<es  (high  level)  
2. Screening  on  opera<ons  &  feasibility    
3. Refine  specific  EOR  method:  
• Heavy  oil,  what  kind  
• Miscible,  what  kind  
• Chemical  what  kind  
4. Run  economics  and  op<mize  
Screening is integrated
EOR types
 Choices
Dependent  on  proper<es  
• Crude  (e.g.  TAN,  viscosity  etc)  
• Forma<on  water  (e.g.  salinity  &  hardness)  
• Make  up  water  (e.g.  salinity  &  hardness)  
Viscosity  

• Geology  
Steam  

• Pressure  &  Temp  

       Polymer  
Surfactant  
P  &  T  

Miscible  
 Choices Parameters
• Crude,  forma<on  and  
make-­‐up  water  
proper<es  
• Geology  
• Opex  vs  Capex  
(dependent  on  terms  
&  condi<ons)  
• Opera<ons  capability/
competence  
• Exis<ng  infrastructure  
Screening and
modeling
 4 Steps Screening
1. Screening  on  physics  &  proper<es  (high  level)  
2. Screening  on  opera<ons  &  feasibility    
3. Refine  specific  EOR  method:  
• Heavy  oil,  what  kind  
• Miscible,  what  kind  
• Chemical  what  kind  
4. Run  economics  and  op<mize  
 Development and
location
• For  a  miscible  CO2  flood  you  need  a  lot…..  
• A  thermal  development  needs  power  and  an  export  
route  
• Chemical  flooding  might  require  treated  water  

CO2  available   Power   Water  treatment  

CO2   No  
Thermal   Power!  
Chemical   Required  (deck-­‐space?)  
 4 Steps Screening
1. Screening  on  physics  &  proper<es  (high  level)  
2. Screening  on  opera<ons  &  feasibility    
3. Refine  specific  EOR  method:  
• Heavy  oil,  what  kind  
• Miscible,  what  kind  
• Chemical  what  kind  
4. Run  economics  and  op<mize  
Thermal methods
Thermal methods
 4 Steps Screening
1. Screening  on  physics  &  proper<es  (high  level)  
2. Screening  on  opera<ons  &  feasibility    
3. Refine  specific  EOR  method:  
• Heavy  oil,  what  kind  
• Miscible,  what  kind  
• Chemical  what  kind  
4. Run  economics  and  op<mize  
 Miscible development

• CO2,  N2,  Flu  gas,  etc  

• Define  MMP  per  op<on  
• Evaluate  infrastructure  and  transport:  
– Pipeline  
– Tankers  
– Off  shore  genera<on  (pie  in  the  North  Sea  sky?)  
• Source-­‐Sink  match  
 4 Steps Screening
1. Screening  on  physics  &  proper<es  (high  level)  
2. Screening  on  opera<ons  &  feasibility    
3. Refine  specific  EOR  method:  
• Heavy  oil,  what  kind  
• Miscible,  what  kind  
• Chemical  what  kind  
4. Run  economics  and  op<mize  
What Chemical
Mechanism?
 Polymer Flooding
• Increases  ver<cal  sweep  efficiency  in  
heterogeneous  reservoirs    
• Increases  the  areal  sweep  efficiency  of  the  
water  so  that  fingering  is  reduced.  
• Water  hardness  has  a  direct  effect  on  viscosity.  
• Favorable  for  heavier  Oil  and  good  porosity  
  Producer

oil

water

water injector
Increasing Water Viscosity: Mobility Control

Viscosify water by adding polymer.

Polymer concentrations: 0.1-0.5 wt%
Polymer viscosities: 1-200 cp
 Requirements and
testing
• Need  water  treatment:    
– low  Fe2+  Fe3+  
– So8  water  and  low  salinity  
• Reservoir  T  up  to  120o  C  
• Reservoir  Salinity    
• Polymer  tests  
– Poly-­‐acrylamide  usually  used  
– Tests  needed:  temperature  stability  tests,  rheology  and  
viscosity  tests,  filtra<on  tests.  
– Core  flow  tests  (also  with  field  core)  
 Chemical EOR

chemical
injection polymer flood schematic production

waterflood graded oil bank pre- formation

brine polymer flood brine
drive 3-6
2-3 years months
 4 Steps Screening
1. Screening  on  physics  &  proper<es  (high  level)  
2. Screening  on  opera<ons  &  feasibility    
3. Refine  specific  EOR  method:  
• Heavy  oil,  what  kind  
• Miscible,  what  kind  
• Chemical  what  kind  
4. Run  economics  and  op<mize  
 4 Steps Screening:
Project planning
1. Screening  on  physics  &  proper<es  (high  level)  
• 2  weeks  
2. Screening  on  opera<ons  &  feasibility  
• 2  weeks    
3. Refine  specific  EOR  method:  
• Heavy  oil,  what  kind  
• Miscible,  what  kind   4  months  (lab  work  no  core  flooding)  
• Chemical  what  kind  
4. Run  economics  and  op<mize  
 Decision table

Chemical  
Expected   Water   Operators   NPV  
Chemical   cost   Emulsions   Scale   Logis?cs  
recovery   treatment   Capability   mln  
mln  

Low  saline   10  %   Yes   No   No   ++   ++   100  

Polymer   15  %   No   400   +/-­‐   No   +/-­‐   +/-­‐   120  

+/-­‐  
Cheap  P   13  %   Yes   250   +/-­‐   No   +/-­‐   115  
 
Surfactant  
21  %   Yes   1000   -­‐   +/-­‐   -­‐   -­‐-­‐   150  
Polymer  

ASP   23  %   Yes   1020   -­‐   -­‐-­‐   -­‐   -­‐-­‐   170  

 EOR Project Plan
(can be to pilot)

Screening   Concept     FEED   Manufacture  &     Operate  

selec<on   commission  

9  months  
1  –  3  
Chemical   9  months   1-­‐1  ½  
months  
recipe   FEED,   Year  
Business   2  years  
Updated   chemicals   Train  
case  
FDP   capacity   operators  
 
BFD  
 EOR Project Plan
to coffee

Screening   Concept     FEED  

selec<on  

9  months  
1  –  3  
Chemical   9  months  
months  
recipe   FEED,  
Business  
Updated   chemicals  
case  
FDP   capacity  
 
BFD