A. Objectives
The principle objective of the project is to design efficient chemical formulations for chemical flooding processes that are necessary for independent oil producers to make an informed assessment for implementation of a pilot or demonstration project.
B. Scope of Work
The Recipient shall (1) develop a database of Kansas oil reservoirs that will be used to screen and rate reservoirs for chemical flooding prospects, (2) conduct laboratory testing to design chemical formulations for specific oils/reservoirs, (3) determine field responses to chemical flooding by reservoir simulations, (4) evaluate economics of pilot/demonstration and field applications, and (5) transfer the laboratory, simulation and economic results to Independent Oil Operators and the greater scientific community through technical papers and presentations.
The database of Kansas reservoirs shall be developed from public available data and inquiries to Independent Oil Operators. The database will include geological information, fluid properties, lease ownership and operator interest in chemical flooding opportunities. The data shall be evaluated and approximately ten prospective oil leases will be selected for laboratory evaluation. Chemical formulations that exhibit high performance shall be determined for the selected oil/reservoirs by phase behavior studies and viscosity and interfacial tension measurements. Oil recovery performance shall be verified by flow tests in porous media. The best performing systems shall be tested using reservoir rocks. Geologic models of selected leases shall be developed and field scale performance will be determined by reservoir simulations. The economics of field scale chemical flooding processes shall be estimated. The database, laboratory work, reservoir simulations and economic analyses shall be presented at meetings of organizations of independent oil producers and made available through technical papers.
C. Tasks to be Performed
Task 1 - Update Project Management Plan
The Project Management Plan (PMP) shall be modified and updated by the Recipient as necessary with direction from the DOE Project Officer. The revised PMP shall be submitted within 30 days of the award. The DOE Project Officer will have 20 calendar days from receipt of the PMP to review and provide comments. After receipt of comments, the final PMP shall be submitted to the DOE Project Manager for review and approval.
Task 2 - Identify and Select Candidate Reservoirs
The Recipient shall expand the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project data base state-wide and shall make it accessible to the public at no charge. Information in the database shall be updated as it becomes available from outside sources and from laboratory measurements made by the Recipient.
Approximately 20 reservoirs shall be selected as favorable candidates for chemical flooding using the following reservoir rating criteria if available: higher gravity, lower viscosity, higher residual oil saturation, larger resource (reservoir volume), higher waterflood recovery factor. A questionnaire shall be prepared and sent to the operators having the larger leases in the selected reservoirs as well as the top 30 oil production companies in the state. The purpose of the questionnaire is to (1) confirm or obtain reservoir data for the database, (2) obtain well and field infrastructure information, (3) obtain lease acreage, and (4) determine the interest and support for pursuing chemical flooding projects.
The Recipient shall analyze the database and questionnaire responses to develop selection criteria and the leases in the selected reservoirs shall be rated accordingly. Approximately 10 leases shall be selected and oil, brine and rock samples from these leases shall be acquired for study in Task 3.
Task 3 - Design Efficient Chemical Formulations for each Oil/Brine/Reservoir
The Recipient shall conduct laboratory tests according to the detailed laboratory testing plan submitted in the PMP. Tests to be conducted include the following:
Two approaches, salinity scans and surfactant scans, shall be used and compared. A minimum of two chemical formulations exhibiting high performance in these flow tests shall be selected for Task 3.2 testing.
Task 3.2 - Conduct laboratory tests using reservoir rock.
The Recipient shall conduct laboratory tests according to the detailed laboratory testing plan submitted in the PMP using rock material obtained from the operator or from KGS. If reservoir rock is unavailable, reservoir rock from similar reservoirs shall be obtained from KGS. Chemical adsorption parameters on reservoir rocks shall be determined. Flow tests using reservoir rock shall be conducted to determine oil recovery and chemical transport. The Recipient shall conduct as many flow tests as needed with the two or more selected chemical formulations to obtain the required data for Task 4. The chemical formulation shall be optimized using information from tests using reservoir rock and simulation results from Task 4.
Task 4 - Simulate Field Applications and Evaluate Economics
The Recipient shall use UTCHEM or other simulators to simulate both the laboratory flow tests conducted in Task 3.2 and field scale processes on a minimum of two selected leases for the two or more chemical formulations selected in Task 3. Parameters required for simulations shall be determined by matching data obtained from the flow tests. These parameters will then be used for the field-scale simulations. Geological models shall be developed from available data obtained from the operators and from well logs and other information obtained from the Kansas Geological Survey for the two leases selected. The geologic model shall be history matched to injection and production data of primary and secondary production phases as available data allows. The Recipient anticipates at a minimum that chemical flooding simulations shall be conducted with a 5-spot well configuration and a layered reservoir for the selected leases.
Injection and production results from the chemical flood simulations shall be used for economic analyses. Capital and operating costs for injection equipment shall be estimated. Economic analyses of pilot and field-wide applications of the chemical flooding processes shall be conducted. Rate-of-return calculations and other methods requested by the independent operators shall be performed using Excel spreadsheets. The spreadsheets will be made available to the general public at no charge and be constructed as generic as possible so that independent operators can study alternate scenarios.
Task 5 - Document Results and Transfer Technology
Results of the project shall be disseminated through technical papers presented at symposia, and a minimum of four presentations will be given at meetings of associations of independent oil operators. Quarterly, Annual and Final technical reports shall be made available to the general public on the internet at TORP’s website [http://www.torp.ku.edu].Technical papers shall be written and presented at the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s (SPE) Improved Oil Recovery and Oilfield Chemistry Symposia and for consideration for publication in SPE and other petroleum-related journals. Results of the project, in combination with introductory/background information, shall be presented to independent oil operators at the biannual TORP conference and meetings of the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association (KIOGA) and the Eastern Kansas Oil and Gas Association (EKOGA).
D. Deliverables
The Recipient shall submit the periodic, topical, and final reports in accordance with the “Federal Assistance Reporting Checklist” and the instructions accompanying the checklist. Other deliverables shall include:
Task 1.0 - Project Management Plan
Input data sets for the simulations, data and results from the experiments, and the generic spreadsheet applications for economic analyses of chemical flooding processes for independent operators shall be included as appendixes in the Final Report.
The Recipient shall produce a minimum of two technical papers as a result of the interpretations of the laboratory work and technical papers describing the general procedures/case studies of designing chemical flooding processes for independent operators.
E. Briefings/Technical Presentations
The Recipient shall participate in a Project Kick Off Meeting to be held at the NETL facility located in Pittsburgh, PA, Tulsa, OK, or Morgantown, WV (or at an alternative location to be agreed upon by the DOE and Recipient) within 120 days of the initiation of the agreement.
The Recipient shall present detailed briefings to the Project Officer at the Project Officer’s facility located in Pittsburgh, PA or Morgantown, WV or Tulsa, OK. The briefings will explain the plans, progress and results of the technical effort on an annual basis.
The Recipient shall present technical papers at the DOE/NETL Annual Contractor’s Review Meeting held at the NETL facility located in Pittsburgh, PA or Morgantown, WV or at an alternate location mutually agreed upon by the NETL Project Officer and the principal investigator.
Technical papers shall be written and presented at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ (SPE) Improved Oil Recovery and Oilfield Chemistry Symposia and for consideration for publication in SPE and other petroleum-related journals. Results of the project in combination with introductory/background information shall be presented to independent oil operators at the biannual TORP conference and meetings of the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association (KIOGA) and the Eastern Kansas Oil and Gas Association (EKOGA).
