DOE Enhanced Oil Recovery Program

John Poullain, P.E.

Course Outline

This three-hour online course provides the basics of various methods of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) including gas, thermal, chemical and microbial. It introduces the processes, problems, fundamental engineering aspects of applications, and the economics basis on which it is implemented. Applicable regulations are discussed. Examples of projects, field demonstrations, potential for future production, ongoing R & D, and what’s next for the various processes are discussed.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

The following topics for EOR technology covered in the course:

• Basics of the EOR processes;
• CO2 gas injection and how it works;
• Chemicals, types, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages;
• History of the DOE’s EOR Program, problems and successes;
• Estimated amount of oil recovery using EOR;
• Description of the EOR methods:
• Gas Injection
• Thermal Recovery
• Chemical Flooding
• Microbial EOR (MEOR)
• Improved water flooding
• Significant developments and economics of EOR technology;
• Screening reservoirs for suitability and availability
• Simulators used to model and characterize reservoir fluid flow;
• Summaries of field demonstration projects;
• Summaries and results of selected EOR projects; and
• Future potential for oil production and ongoing RD & D by DOE and others.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for civil engineers, project engineers, planners, and contractors.  

Benefit to Attendees

The student will better understand various methods of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).

Course Introduction

DOE initiated the EOR Program during the 1970’s energy crisis caused by the Arab embargo to reduce future dependence on foreign oil. Research by DOE improved EOR methods to recover the oil left in place after primary and secondary oil production. About 40% of the in place oil is not recovered.

The main EOR methods described:
      Chemical – injection of surfactants or other chemicals - about 1% of the US EOR production

      Gas Flooding - usually CO2 – almost 60% of US EOR production

      Microbial (MEOR) – injection of microbes, resident microbes and nutrients

      Thermal – usually steam flooding or in situ heat applied by combusting oil in reservoir – 40% of the US EOR production

      Secondary - water flooding, commonly used in heavy oil, high viscosity oil reservoirs 

The US is facing challenges: reducing dependence on foreign energy sources and also reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Coupled with these two problems CO2 enhanced oil recovery in particular has gained much attention. There are two choices for reducing emissions of CO2: using the CO2 for gas flooding or sequestering it. Sales of sequestered CO2 captured from emissions help defray some of the costs for implementing and operating carbon capture. Also, using the CO2 reduces the costs of sequestering and protects the environment from greenhouse gases.

Environmental benefits of EOR projects:

• Reduces emissions of greenhouse gases.
• Offsets use of resources such as coal.
• Improves local air quality.
• Reduces well abandonment resulting in less additional exploration drilling
  

Course Content

This course is based on the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) publication, “DOE’s Enhanced Oil Recovery Program”, (2008 Edition, 38 pages), PDF file. Please note Appendices A and B is not included in the quiz.

DOE Enhanced Oil Recovery Program

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

This course can serve as a primer for the fundamental engineering and economics basis of EOR methods. The basics for the methods and improvement of existing recovery methods – chemical flooding, gas flooding, microbial, thermal, and secondary recovery (water flooding) using gels and other chemicals are described. The steps taken for each process used to push crude oil through rock formations from the injection well toward producing wells are described. Ongoing Research Development and Demonstration (RD & D) for gels, chemicals, and better characterization of oil reservoirs are also discussed.   

References

For additional technical information related to this subject, please refer to:

http://www.netl.doe.gov/home/homepage     
National Energy Technology Laboratory, It covers fundamentals, control, collection, regulations.

http://www.epa.netl.doe.gov/technologies/carbon_seq/index.html
DOE field projects for sequestration etc.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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