CO2 ENHANCED

OIL RECOVERY
AND STORAGE IN
RESERVOIRS
CHE384-ENERGY TECHNOLOGY AND POLICY

XI CHEN

NOV. 19TH, 2007

EOR-BACKGROUND

Primary recovery
Natural pressure, 10% OOIP

Secondary recovery
Injection of water or gas, 20-40% OOIP

Tertiary or enhanced oil recovery

Aiming at recovery of 30%-60% OOIP
 CATEGORIES OF EOR

Thermal recovery
Steam flooding, ~50% of EOR production

Chemical injection
Polymer/water flooding, <1%

Gas injection ~50%

immiscible flooding: CH4, N2
miscible flooding : CO2

Ult. Recovery
Process Utilization Lecture notes
% OOIP
Miscible 10-15 10 MCF/bbl
from
Immiscible 5-10 10 MCF/bbl Dr. Larry W. Lake
EOR BY CO2 FLOODING
ADVANTAGES OF CO2 FLOODING

Dense fluid over much of the range of

pressure and temperature in reservoirs
Low MMP (minimum miscibility pressure) and
high miscibility with oil
Low mutual solubility with water
Low cost and abundance
Naturally occuring source
Environmental benefit if industrial CO2 is
used and stored in reservoirs
Capture and sequestration of CO2 from
combustion of fossil fuel
 Source: Oil & Gas Journal

206,000 barrels per day in 2004 = 4% of the Nations total.

SCREENING CRITERIA FOR
APPLICATION OF CO2
MISCIBLE FLOOD

Gozalpour, CO2 EOR and Storage in Oil Reservoirs, 2005,

Oil & Gas Science and Technology Rev. IFP,
Vol. 60 (2005), No. 3, pp. 537-546
 OPTIMUM RESERVOIR PARAMETERS AND
WEIGHTING FACTORS
FOR RANKING OIL RESERVOIRS SUITABLE FOR
CO2 EOR

Rivas, O. et al. (1992) Ranking Reservoirs for Carbon Dioxide

Flooding Processes.
TECHNICAL CHALLENGE

Poor sweep efficiency

Gravity override
Mobility contrast
Reservoir heterogeneity
CO2 related problem
Corrosion on facilities
Solid deposition in reservoir formation
Well spacing
Greater spacing causes sweep efficiency reduction
CO2 MOBILITY CONTROL

Foam
mixed surfactants as foaming agent

Thickening agent
Fluorinated compound or polymer (good solubility in CO2)

Chemical gels
In-situ gelation of polymer to lower permeability
CO2 STORAGE IN RESERVOIRS

Most favorable site for storage

Dense webs of seismic and well for long-term trap
Surface and subsurface infrastructure readily converted for CO2
distribution and injection
Less costly
CO2 STORAGE IN RESERVOIRS

CO2 capacity of a reservoir:

Theoretically, equal to the volume previously occupied by the
produced oil and water
Other factor: Water invasion, gravity segregation, reservoir
heterogeneity and CO2 dissolution
Reservoir type, depth, size and safety of CO2 storage
ECONOMICS

Cost of CO2 from different sources:

Naturally occuring CO2: $14/t
Pure anthropogenic CO2 from chemical plant: $18/t
Capture and processing of CO2 from coal fired plant: $18-54/t

CO2 utilization efficiency: 4~8 Mscf/bbl (0.2~0.5t/bbl)

Lako, P. (2002) Options for CO2 Sequestration and Enhanced
Transportation cost: $0.5~1.2/Mscf
Fuel Supply.

Operation cost: $2-3/bbl

Economical even at a oil price of $40/bbl.
CO2 storage credit ($2.5/Mscf) makes it more economical
for producers.
SUMMARY

Combination of CO2 EOR and storage in

reservoirs provides a bridge between
reducing greenhouse gases from industrial
waste streams and the beneficial use of
CO2 injection for increasing oil and gas
recovery.