CO2 Flooding

for Dummies

A simple overview of aspects related

to CO2 flooding of North Sea oil fields

By:
Bjørn Reinholdtsen, Norske Shell
Sigmund Stokka, IRIS
Erik Skjetne, StatoilHydro

February 2009
 What is CO2 Flooding?
Why does it work?
• CO2 flooding is a process wherby CO2 is injected
into an oil reservoir to increase oil recovery

• At reservoir conditions CO2 takes liquid-like

properties and acts as an oil solvent
– CO2 can dissolve residual oil left behind after
waterflooding
– CO2 can reduce residual oil saturation to almost zero if
applied instead of water injection

• CO2 injection is often combined with water

injection (in the same well)
– Increases reservoir volume contacted by CO2
– Reduces required amount of CO2
CO2 Flooding for Dummies 2
 What are the conditions for
a successful CO2 flood
• CO2 is lighter and less viscous (flows easier) than most oils,
resulting in risk of bypassing parts of the reservoir, thereby
reducing the efficiency of the process

• Favourable conditions for CO2 flooding include:

– Light oils
– Reservoir depth greater than 1000 m Fits many North Sea fields
– Homogeneous reservoir
– High well density (many wells)
– Ability to deal with effects of
CO2 /oil gravity difference
• Exploit gravity difference in high perm. Costly for North Sea fields
(sandstone) reservoirs
• Avoid CO2 /oil segregation in low perm.
(chalk) reservoirs

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 3

Expected Sequence of
Oil Recovery Methods

Source: Carr, Nissen & Qi, 2005

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 4

 CO2 Flood Demonstration
for onshore field with dense well spacing

www.kgs.ku.edu/ERC/CO2Pilot

Source: Carr, Nissen & Qi, 2005

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 5

Brief History of CO2 Flooding
• 1960s - First successful field test (Mead Strawn, Texas)
• 1970s - First full-scale floods
• 1980s - Development of natural CO2 sources in
Colorado and New Mexico
-Number of new projects (some outside
Permian Basin and U.S.)
- Significant effort on laboratory and pilot studies
• 1990s - Implementation of new projects with heavy
dependence on EOS simulation
- Creation of Altura (Shell/Amoco), dominant
force in Permian Basin and CO2 utilization

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 6

Production Growth based on CO2 EOR

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 7

 Denver Unit
Production/Injection History

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 8

 Permian Basin CO2 Floods
Lessons Learned
• CO2 process works - both in oil column & transition zone,
either before or after water flood

• Credible predictions are achievable

– Understand recovery mechanism, geology and petrophysics
upfront
– Calibrate compositional simulations to laboratory and pilot data
– Recognize injection conformance

• Proper surveillance and reservoir management are crucial

• Operation experiences in Permian Basin may benefit new CO2

projects worldwide

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 9

CO2 for enhanced oil recovery in
Norwegian fields
• Studies for the Norwegian continental shelf indicate
– Large potential
– Uncertain economics
• Evaluations for several oil fields (examples)
– Gullfaks
– Brage
– Grane
– Oseberg East
– Ekofisk
– Draugen
– Heidrun
– Volve
• 20 field candidates

• Draugen case most extensively evaluated

– Study cost NOK 100 mln
CO2 Flooding for Dummies 10
CO2 value chain in Halten area
including Draugen CO2 flood

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 11

 Draugen CO2 Flood
Displacement Mechanisms

Oil collects in a bank as the High CO2velocity

oil/water front moves down Oil,
water &
Component transfer CO2
between Co2 and oil prod.
i pping)
(Str
CO2
ng oil to Oil bank and gas cap
a ini
Rem development
water
o
ng oil t
emaini
R
Observations:
1) Extensive CO2 (re-)cycling
CO2 2) Gravity forces dominate –
injection only upper part of reservoir
sequence is flooded by CO2
CO2 Flooding for Dummies 12
 Draugen CO2 EOR
Production Profile

• CO2 base case allows

for losses due to:
– Platform shut-down
(2012)

Oil Rate
– Reduced uptime
– Loss of gas and NGL
sales
– Stripping of oil by CO2

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 13

 Draugen CO2 Value Chain
Project Costs - billion NOK (2007)
• Power Plant 5
• CO2 Capture Facilities 4
• CO2 Pipeline 2
• Platform Modifications & Wells 10
• TOTAL 21

Conclusion:
• High costs rendered the project uneconomic
• Draugen CO2 flooding has been shelved
• CO2 sequestration projects in the Halten area are still under
investigation (no Draugen involvement)

Note: Costs are approximate and highly uncertain

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 14

 Gravity-Stable CO2 Flooding
Updip CO2 Injection – Downdip Oil Production

• Scaling based on Gulf Coast Oil Sat.

reservoirs established (SPE
Oil bank – formed
100021) from residual oil

• May be applicable in North Sea

sandstone reservoirs, but likely
to require many new wells
• Concept demonstrated to work
in pilot at Shell’s Weeks Island
field
CO2
• Not suitable for Draugen due Residual oil after
waterflood
to crestal location of Source: SPE 100021

production wells

Note: Chalk reservoirs in the southern North Sea generally have lower
permeabilities and gravity forces play a lesser role. Conventional CO2
flooding (as practised in the US - see slide 5) may have a potential in
these reservoirs CO2 Flooding for Dummies 15
CO2 sources (power stations) and sinks
(oil/gas fields) in Western Europe
Apparent opportunity:
• Collect CO2 in central
Europe for CO2 flooding
or sequestration in NW
Europe/North Sea oil and
gas fields
• Many point sources and
long transport to fields

Source: Chalmers University 2003 database

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 16
 CO2 value chain (1)
• Challenges
– Access to large volumes of cheap CO2
• CO2 capture from large power plant(s)
• Pipeline transport to field(s)
– High cost of upgrading processing facilities and wells
– Incremental oil recovery (% of oil volume initially in place)
• 2-18 % in US field examples
• 3-7 % in water flooded reservoirs on the NCS
(indicated by studies)
– Excess CO2 may be stored in stable geological
formation(s)
– Uncertainty in oil price affects viability

CO2 Flooding for Dummies 17

 CO2 value chain (2)
• Pan-European plan needed?
– CO2 capture at European power plants and industrial plants
– CO2 infrastructure (pipelines) to the relevant oil fields
– Long term geological storage in gas/oil fields and aquifers

• EOR potential in Norway

– Optimistic estimate: 300 mill. Sm3
– Revenue (60$/bbl): 300*6*6,5*60 mill. NOK= 700 bill. NOK

• EOR value can only cover a fraction of the total cost

associated with CO2 capture, transport and storage

• Large scale CO2 storage (from Europe) is possible

using depleted oil/gas fields and aquifers
CO2 Flooding for Dummies 18
CO2 Storage (Sequestration)
CO2 storage (sequestration) projects aim to reduce CO2 emission to air
• Depleted oil and gas fields are likely to be safe for long term containment of
injected CO2
• Aquifers sealed by continuous thick shale(s) may be an alternative
• CO2 is injected at Sleipner (Utsira formation) and Snøhvit:
•Injection capacity Sleipner: 1.0 million ton CO2 per year
•Injection capacity Snøhvit: 0.7 million ton CO2 per year

US President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology stated:

• "A much larger science-based CO2 sequestration program should be
developed. The aim should be to provide a science-based assessment of the
prospects and costs of CO2 sequestration. This is very high-risk, long-term
R&D that will not be undertaken by industry alone without strong incentives
or regulations, although industry experience and capabilities will be very
useful.“

European Union aims at 12 Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) demonstration

projects in Europe by 2015
• A large number of studies and project plans are in progress
CO2 Flooding for Dummies 19