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TERTIARY RECOVERY
- ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY (EOR)

By

Arul J othi M.M ( R.No : 20)
C.T Purnima ( R No : 11)
A.Arun Shourie ( R.No : 03)


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INTRODUCTION
Definition:-

The third stage of hydrocarbon production during which
techniques that alter the original properties of oil are
used.

Application of an EOR process in a particular
reservoir involves four important steps-
(i) identification of suitable EOR process,
(ii) laboratory studies,
(iii) pilot testing,
(iv) commercialization.



Tertiary Recovery/EOR Phase
When production from secondary recovery reaches a
point when production is no longer costeffective, a
decision must be made whether to transition the field to a
tertiary recovery phase.

The tertiary recovery is also a supplementation of natural
reservoir energy; however it is defined as that additional
recovery over and above what could be recovered from
primary and secondary recovery methods.
Factors Effecting Oil Recovery

Viscous Fingering

Displaced fluid --- oil
Displacing fluid--- water
Fluid-fluid interface --- stable/unstable ..???

Tongues of displacing fluid propagate at the
interface is called viscous fingering.
Factors Effecting Oil Recovery
Viscous Fingering
Factors Effecting Oil Recovery

Mobility Ratio

Mobility ratio, which is the ratio of the displacing phase
and the displaced phase.
< 1 ------ water moves slower than oil----piston type
displacement------------------------better sweep efficiency.
>1 ------- vice versa

Mobility ratio = Mobility of water in the water contacted
portion / mobility of oil in the oil bank.

M = [( K
rw
/
w
) / ( K
ro
/
o
)]

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Capability of Different EOR Methods
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World Production With The Use of EOR Methods
(2012)
Countries
/EOR %
USA Africa Asia
Pacifi
c
Europe Middle
East
Russia
Thermal 26 34 16 20 22 22
Chemical 10 17 22 21 11 30
Gas 41 25 29 14 15 8
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Water Flooding
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Water flooding
Description
Treatment of water to meet the reservoir
specifications
Injecting water along the patterns or periphery of
reservoir

Sources of injected water
produced water
Sea water
Aquifer water
River water






Essential components in water injection
system

Filters
Deoxygenating tower
Injection pump/system


Mechanisms That Improve Recovery
Efficiency

Water drive
Increased pressure

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Limitations
High oil viscosities result in high mobility ratios.
Some heterogeneity is acceptable, but avoid
extensive fractures.

Challenges
Poor compatibility between the injected water
and the reservoir may cause formation damage.
Subsurface fluid control to divert injected water
and to shut off undesirable produced fluids
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Surfactant/Polymer Flooding
Injection
Well
Water
Injection
Pump
Separation and
Storage Facilities
Production Well
1 2 Oil Zone Sur factant
4 1 3 2
3 Polymer Solution 4 Dr ive Water
Sur factant
Solution from
Mixing Plant
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Surfactant/Polymer Flooding
Description

Surfactant/polymer flooding consists of injecting a slug that
contains water, surfactant, electrolyte (salt), usually a co-
solvent (alcohol), followed by polymer-thickened water.

Mechanisms That Improve Recovery Efficiency

Interfacial tension reduction (improves displacement
sweep efficiency) or change the wettability of the rock.
Mobility control (improves volumetric sweep efficiency).
Surfactants to generate foams or emulsions

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Surfactant/Polymer Flooding
What are surfactants?????

Surfactants are micellar or surface-active agents
including soaps and soap like substances. They have an
amphiphilic molecule that is attracted at one end to water
(the hydrophilic or water loving end) and at other to the
oil (the hydrophobic or oil loving end).

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Description

The process is carried out in two steps:-
Injection of a surfactant slug.
Injection of a polymer mobility buffer.


The surfactant slug has also been referred to as micellar
solution, micro-emulsion, and soluble oil and swollen
micelle. The purpose of the polymer is to provide mobility
control for more effective piston like displacement.
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Limitations

An areal sweep of more than 50% for water flood is
desired.
Relatively homogeneous formation.
High amounts of anhydrite, gypsum, or clays are
undesirable.
Available systems provide optimum behavior within a
narrow set of conditions.
With commercially available surfactants, formation water
chlorides should be <20,000 ppm and divalent ions (Ca
++

and Mg
++
) <500 ppm.

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Miscible Gas Flooding (CO
2
Injection)
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Miscible Gas Flooding (CO
2
Injection)
Description
CO
2
flooding consists of injecting large quantities of CO
2

(15% or more hydrocarbon pore volumes) in the reservoir
to form a miscible flood.

Mechanisms That Improve Recovery Efficiency

CO
2
extracts the light-to-intermediate components from
the oil, and, if the pressure is high enough, develops
miscibility to displace oil from the reservoir.
Viscosity reduction / oil swelling.

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Limitations
Very low Viscosity of CO
2
results in poor mobility control.
Availability of CO
2

Surface Facilities

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Challenges

Early breakthrough of CO
2
causes problems.
Corrosion in producing wells.
The necessity of separating CO
2
from saleable hydrocarbons.
Depressurizing of CO
2
for recycling.
A large requirement of CO
2
per incremental barrel produced.

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Nitrogen / Flue Gas Flooding
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Nitrogen / Flue Gas Flooding
Description

Nitrogen or flue gas injection consists of injecting large
quantities of gas that may be miscible or immiscible
depending on the pressure and oil composition.

Large volumes may be injected, because of the low cost.

Nitrogen or flue gas are also considered for use as
chase gases in hydrocarbon- miscible and CO
2
floods
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Mechanisms that Improve Recovery
Efficiency

Vaporizes the lighter components of the crude oil and
generates miscibility if the pressure is high enough.

Provides a gas drive where a significant portion of the
reservoir volume is filled with low-cost gases
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Limitations

Miscibility can only be achieved with light oils at high
pressures; therefore, deep reservoirs are needed.

A steeply dipping reservoir is desired to permit gravity
stabilization of the displacement, which has a very
unfavorable mobility ratio.

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Challenges

Viscous fingering results in poor vertical and horizontal
sweep efficiency.
Flue gas injection can cause corrosion.
Non hydrocarbon gases must be separated from
saleable gas.

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Steam Injection
Description

Steam injection consists of injecting about 80%
quality steam to displace oil.
There are several diferent forms of technology with
two main ones being
1. Cyclic Steam Stimulation
2. Steam Flooding

Cyclic Steam Stimulation (Huff and Puff method)

It consists of 3 stages

Injection
Soaking
Production

Limitations:

Able to recover approximately 20% of Original Oil In Place (OOIP)




Steam Flooding

Two mechanisms in place:

First, to heat the oil to higher temperatures and
to thereby to decrease its viscosity .
Second, physical displacement in which oil is
meant to be pushed to the production wells.


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Thermal (Steam Flooding)
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Mechanisms That Improve Recovery Efficiency

Viscosity reduction / steam distillation.
Thermal expansion.
Supplies pressure to drive oil to the producing well.

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Limitations

Applicable to viscous oils in massive, high
permeability sandstones or unconsolidated sands.
Oil saturations must be high, and pay zones should
be > 20 feet thick to minimize heat losses to adjacent
formations.
Steam flooded reservoirs should be as shallow as
possible, because of excessive well bore heat losses.

Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery
(MEOR)
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How it works?
A large volume of bacterial culture with nutrient in
aqueous media is pumped into well (wells must
have significant water cut in order to facilitate
bacterial growth)
Well is kept shut-in for a significant period to allow
bacterial growth.
In nutrient broth bacteria rapidly multiply
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Nutrients and suitable bacteria are injected into
the reservoir.
Microbial metabolic products that include
biosurfactants, biopolymers, enzymes, acids,
solvents, gases.
Micro organisms used in MOER methods are
mostly anaerobic extremophiles, including
halophiles, barophiles, and thermophiles.

Environmental constraints creating selective
pressures on cellular systems that may also effect
microbial communities in oil reservoirs.

Beneficial effects:

Biodegradation of big molecules reduces viscosity and improve
mobility ratio.
production of surfactants reduces interfacial tension b/w oil and
water and facilitate mobilization of trapped oil.
microbial metabolites or the microbes themselves may reduce
permeability by activation of secondary flow paths.
Bio-film developed on solid surface physically displace oil.
Detrimental effects:

Biologically produced hydrogen sulphide i.e. souring,
causes corrosion of piping and machinery.
Consumption of hydrocarbons by bacteria reduces the
production of desired chemicals.




Advantages
Injected microbes and nutrients are cheap; easy to
handle in the field and independent of oil prices.
Economically attractive for mature oil fields before
abandonment.
Increases oil production.
Existing facilities require slight modifications.
Easy application.
Less expensive set up.
Low energy input requirement for microbes to produce
MEOR agents.
Cellular products are biodegradable and therefore can be
considered environmentally friendly.



Disadvantages
The oxygen deployed in aerobic MEOR can act as
corrosive agent on non-resistant topside equipment and
down-hole piping
Anaerobic MEOR requires large amounts of sugar
limiting its applicability in offshore platforms due to
logistical problems
Exogenous microbes require facilities for their cultivation.
Indigenous microbes need a standardized framework for
evaluating microbial activity, e.g. specialized coring and
sampling techniques.
Microbial growth is favoured when layer permeability is
greater than 50 md; reservoir temperature is inferior to
80
0
C, salinity is below 150 g/L and reservoir depth is
less than 2400m.

MEOR Current Status
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The oil crisis of 1970 triggered a great interest in
active MEOR research in many countries

In 1954, the first field test was carried out in the
Lisbon field in Arkansas, USA.

Successful MEOR field trials are reported to
have been conducted in the U.S., Russia,
China, Australia, Argentina, Bulgaria, former
Czechoslovakia, Germany (former East
Germany), India, Malaysia, Peru, Poland, and
Romania


MEOR Current Status
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China is reported to be leading in the area of application
of MEOR

The majority of the field trials were done in sandstone
reservoirs and very few in fractured reservoirs and
carbonates. The only known offshore field trials were in
Norne (Norway) and Bokor (Malaysia)