Design and Operation of a Supercritical CO2 Pipeline-Compression System Sacroc Unit, Scurry County, Texas

Abstract

The SACROC Unit is in the second year of a carbon dioxide miscible flood that is the largest secondary recovery project of this type ever undertaken. To accomplish this flood, over 35 million tons of carbon dioxide will be used for injection into the reservoir. The total cost of the project when finalized will be in excess of $175,000,000. This cost includes purchase of CO2, conversion of over 200 producing wells to CO2 injectors, expansion of surface facilities and the construction and operation of the CO2 Pipeline-compression system. The magnitude and innovative nature of the project has demanded a major engineering, planning and design effort involving the coordination of many fields of engineering and various technical specialties. This paper will give a brief account of the overall CO2 delivery facilities to include the basic design considerations and some of the studies that were conducted for each aspect of the project. The focal point of the CO2 transport project is the SACROC Unit in Scurry County, Texas. (Referring to Figure No. 1). It might be noted that the name SACROC was derived from the initials of the "Scurry Area Canyon Reef Operators Committee", a task group that was activated for essential work required prior to the formation of the SACROC Unit. The Canyon Reef field was discovered in 1948 with major development beginning in 1949 and extending through 1951. During this period, over 1,000 wells were drilled to develop more than 50,000 acres. The surface extent of the field is about 6 miles wide by 12 miles long. Waterflood operations were started in 1954. By 1972, over 280 million barrels of oil had been produced by waterflood.