Texaco miscible-flood program begins for Alberta pool soon

Solvent flooding of the Wizard Lake D-3A pool in Alberta, Canada, will get under way near the first of 1970. Solvent, gas, and water-injection systems are due for almost simultaneous start-up as Texaco Exploration Co. tries for an ultimate recovery of 323 million stock-tank barrel (stb) of oil. Recovery factor for the entire project is given as 84% by Alberta's Oil and Gas Conservation Board. Texaco's application to the board claimed an ultimate recovery of 89%. The flood, which is expected to behave miscibly, will operate vertically in the reservoir, much like Imperial Oil Ltd.'s Golden Spike project. A unique feature of the Wizard Lake project is the need to stabilize the oil-water contact. Hence, the water injection along with gas and solvent. The reservoir is a bioherm Devonian reef reaching a height of about 650 ft above the Cooking Lake member. Primary recovery mechanism is a combination expansion drive, water drive, and gravity drainage. Reservoir limits are established by a total of 68 wells, most of them on 40-acre spacing. Water, gas, and solvent will be injected into 2 wells each, starting about the first of 1970, or sooner. Four additional wells have been approved for solvent injection atmore » a later date, after another hearing.« less