Glencoe injecting CO2 in central Alberta

Jan. 17, 2006
Carbon dioxide injection for enhanced oil recovery has started in central Alberta.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 17 -- Carbon dioxide injection for enhanced oil recovery has started in central Alberta.

Glencoe Resources Ltd., private Calgary independent, is using the gas to improve recovery of primarily light oil from multiple formations in several depleted oil fields about 100 miles north-northeast of Calgary.

The company hopes to boost the recovery factor to as high as 40% from 10-20%. All of the formations are deeper than 1,300 m.

Glencoe has long-term agreements to purchase CO2 from two industrial plants. It operates about 50 miles of CO2 pipelines and has begun injecting gas from the MEGlobal Canada Inc. plant at Prentiss. A second CO2 separation facility being built near the NOVA Chemicals Corp. petrochemical plant is to go into service in early 2006.

Injection is expected to total 600 tonnes/day of formerly vented CO2 once both plants are operating, said Doug Geeraert, senior vice-president, production for Glencoe.

Penn West Energy Trust, Calgary, began injecting CO2 in the first quarter of 2005 at the Pembina Cardium Unit, Canada's largest conventional light oil pool producing since the 1950s with 7.8 billion bbl of original oil in place (OGJ, Apr. 12, 2004, p. 45).

Alberta has several pilot projects to which CO2 is trucked, and EnCana Corp. operates the Weyburn Midale CO2 project in southeastern Saskatchewan.