The 1984 Natl. Petroleum Council Study on EOR: An Overview

Abstract

Summary An overview of what is considered the most extensive EOR study ever accomplished is discussed. In this study, 86 persons from 34 companies worked over a period of 17 months to develop a document that indicates the direction that EOR might take for the next 3 decades. Projected production, based on both implemented and advanced technology, is Projected production, based on both implemented and advanced technology, is presented to show the effect of changes in price of crude and minimum rate presented to show the effect of changes in price of crude and minimum rate of return (ROR) requirements. The study indicates that EOR could increase the current domestic crude reserves by about 40%. It also indicates that the ultimate recovery and the projected producing rates of EOR projects are highly sensitive to changes in crude oil prices. Introduction The Natl. Petroleum Council (NPC) is a board of industry leaders established solely for the purpose of advising, informing, and making recommendations to the Secretary of Energy on any matter relating to the petroleum industry. In 1976, the NPC developed a study on EOR covering state of the art, future amounts to be produced, and policy considerations. On March 10, 1983, the Secretary of Energy requested that the 1976 study be updated and expanded where necessary. Therefore, a committee on EOR and a coordinating subcommittee were established. The coordinating subcommittee formed four task forces specializing in chemical, miscible, and thermal recovery processes and costs and economics. processes and costs and economics. The resulting study is presented in the following format. Chap. 1-Background of Oil Recovery Operations Chap. 2-Developments Affecting EOR Since 1976 Chap. 3-Analysis Considerations and Procedures Chap. 4-Potential for EOR Chap. 5-EOR in Perspective to Other Energy Sources Chap. 6-Policy Considerations. The Appendices present important information too detailed to include in the main part of the report. Appendix A-Request Letter Appendix B-Rosters Appendix C-Additional Economic Considerations Appendix D-Chemical Flooding Appendix E-Miscible Flooding Appendix F-Thermal Recovery Appendix G-Environmental Considerations Appendix H-Research Progress and Future Implications This paper, which presents an overview of the study, was presented in conjunction with three companion papers 1–3 that provide analyses of the specific processes. papers 1–3 that provide analyses of the specific processes. The NPC Study Chap. 1 Background of Oil Recovery Operations. The API and DOE estimate that a total of about 481 × 10(9) bbl [76.5 × 10(9) m3] crude liquids have been discovered in the U.S. Of this, 130 × 10(9) bbl [20.7 × 10(9) m3] (27%) have been produced and 28 × 10(9) bbl [4.5 × 10(9) m3] (6%) are expected to be produced under existing technical and economic conditions. This leaves 323 × 10(9) bbl [51.4 × 10(9) m3] (67 %) of conventionally unrecoverable hydrocarbons as an upper-limit target for EOR techniques. Current EOR projects are providing 0.5 X 10(6) B/D [79.5 × 10(3) m3/d] (6%) of the total production of 8.6 × 10(6) B/D [1.4 × 10(6) m3/d]. Chap. 2 Developments Affecting EOR Since 1976. Since 1976, several factors have affected the EOR programs of many companies. The decontrol of oil allowed programs of many companies. The decontrol of oil allowed the effective price of crude to seek its market value, resulting in an increase of as much as 100% in constant dollars. Additionally, the Tertiary Incentive Program met with great success and contributed to the initiation of 423 projects operated by more than 100 companies. projects operated by more than 100 companies. Because of the provision that reduces the burden on tertiary recovery, the Windfall Profit Tax stimulated some projects, primarily those with low initial investments. projects, primarily those with low initial investments. Chap. 3 Analysis Considerations and Procedures. Developing and Verifying a Data Base. A data base was initially provided for the study by the DOE to expand this information to include as many domestic reservoirs with more than 20 × 10(6) bbl [3.2 × 10(6) m3] original oil in place (OOIP) as possible and to check the accuracy of the place (OOIP) as possible and to check the accuracy of the data, questionnaires on 1,300 reservoirs were completed by 18 different companies. The resulting data base, supplemented by information provided by Lewin and Assocs., included 2,500 reservoirs provided by Lewin and Assocs., included 2,500 reservoirs containing approximately 73 % of all the OOIP in the U.S. estimated by the most recent (1980) API state-by-state analysis. A size distribution study of the data base, shown by Fig. 1, indicated that the largest 35% of the reservoirs (those greater than 50 × 10(6) bbl [7.9 × 10(6) m3] OOIP) contained 92% of the OOIP. Related papers: SPE 13239, SPE 13240, SPE 13241 Related discussions and replies:SPE 18397, SPE 20007, SPE 20009