Water Injection into Oil Formations (Flooding)

Water injection into oil formations at the initial stage of their development, to maintain formation pressure and provide for the recovery of oil by water displacement, has a very wide application in the U.S.S.R. In the years during which flooding of this type has been carried out, approximately 2/3 of all oil in the U.S.S.R. has been so produced. Flooding essentially increases the rate of oil field development and in many cases permits increased oil recovery. The application of different types of flooding has also allowed significant increases in the spacing between development wells. The number of wells has also decreased. Due to the application of flooding, oil field development in the U.S.S.R. has increased by a factor of 2 to 2.5.