Status of enhanced oil recovery technology

The various enhanced oil recovery processes are discussed and classified into the following categories: (1) polymer waterflooding; (2) steam processes; (3) miscible gas (CO/sub 2/) processes; (4) surfactant flooding; and (5) in-situ combustion. Polymer flooding alone is of limited applicability and production from polymer projects is unlikely to become highly significant. Steam processes are now economic for favorable prospects, and recovery levels range from 5 to 35%. Miscible gas processes are particularly applicable to those reservoirs with favorable geology located near sources of CO/sub 2/, and production could become significant in the next five years, but not sooner due to the time necessary to develop CO/sub 2/ sources and construct distribution systems. Recovery levels for the miscible gas processes are in the 5 to 15% range. Most surfactant processes are still in the research stage, and will not yield significant production for at least ten years. Ten to fifteen % of the original oil-in-place can be recovered through these processes. In Situ combustion processes are currently economic in some cases, but the ultimate potential is presently very limited unless significant technical breakthroughs are made in the future. It is estimated that the ultimate potential for present enhanced oil recovery processesmore » in the conterminous United States is up to 20 billion barrels of petroleum.« less