Enhanced Oil Recovery Using CO2 in Alaska

Geosciences

Mohabbat Ahmadi¹  Vahid Atashbari¹  Brent Sheets¹  Banabas Dogah¹ 

[1] Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1764 Tanana Loop, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA;

关键词: CO2;    carbon dioxide;    enhanced oil recovery;    Alaska;    heavy oil;    viscous oil;   

DOI  :  10.3390/geosciences11020098

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Alaska holds more than 68 billion barrels of proved oil reserves and more than 36.7 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves with some special conditions such as proximity to permafrost, making Alaskan petroleum reserves unique. The low temperature in shallow reservoirs prohibited hydrocarbons' ideal maturation, thereby generating several heavy and viscous oil accumulations in this state. This also limits the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) options, leaving the thermal methods off the table to avoid permafrost thawing, which can cause wellbore collapse. Several solutions have been attempted for improving oil production from heavy and viscous oil in Alaska; however, they have not yielded the desired recovery, and ultimate recovery factors are still less than the global average. One solution identified as a better alternative is using CO₂ as an injecting fluid, alternated by water or mixed with other injectants. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of all studies on using CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery purposes in Alaska and highlights common and unique challenges this approach may face. The suitability of CO₂-EOR methods in the Alaskan oil pools is examined, and a ranking of the oil pools with publicly available data is provided.

【 授权许可】

Unknown