Mobil eyes steaming success at San Ardo

Mobil Oil Corp. engineers are coaxing more than 12,000 bopd out of the company's portion of San Ardo field, Monterey County, California, by continuous steam injection and a few small in situ combustion patterns. Estimated production at this time, if primary methods were still followed, would be about one-third of that, or even less. But thermal methods look good and promise high ultimate recovery for a reservoir of this type, so Mobil is increasing its steam-generating capacity. Production in San Ardo field comes from 2 massive sand reservoirs--the Lombardi and the Aurignac. Production was under primary methods during early years, and in situ combustion was tried later, in an effort to increase ultimate recovery. Some difficulty was experienced because of combustion products, heavy oil, and water. The tight emulsions lifted from the wells were hard to break, and the water injected into the producers, to keep them cool and prevent damage, contributed to the emulsion problem. Later, improved results were obtained by the use cyclic steam injection, which was later changed to continuous steam injection. Production history of these reservoirs is included.