Industry has advanced application of its improved oil recovery (IOR) techniques to unconventional reservoirs using horizontal drilling, but at least one petroleum engineer questions whether conventional reservoir management might be neglected in the process.
Michael L. Wiggins, general chairman of the 2016 IOR conference in Tulsa, recently told OGJ that enhanced oil recovery (EOR) research, historically supported primarily by the majors, appears to have fallen somewhat by the wayside during the recent focus on unconventional resource development. EOR is a subset of IOR.
A senior vice-president of William M. Cobb & Associates Inc., Wiggins expects both unconventional EOR concepts and conventional EOR techniques will be discussed during the biennial IOR conference in Tulsa Apr. 9-13, hosted by the Midcontinent section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
"We've seen a move away from long-term EOR outside of carbon dioxide projects," during the last 5 years, Wiggins said, attributing this to a shift in industry's focus toward developing horizontal wells completed with multistage fracturing.
While acknowledging the importance of unconventional development, Wiggins suggested industry currently is more concerned about immediate well performance than long-term reservoir management.
"I firmly believe we must not become overly focused on short-term economic payout of high-rate unconventional wells that might recover only 10-15% OOIP," he said, advocating that industry executives need to consider the technical aspects of oil recovery as well as short-term profits.
Young engineers
Wiggins believes industry needs to recruit and train employees to ensure technical expertise in long-term reservoir management and solid experience in EOR.
"We are losing another generation of engineers and geologists that were heavily involved in waterflood projects and were instrumental in early applications of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, air, and thermal projects," Wiggins said. "Many young engineers today only have experience with unconventional gas or oil reservoirs."
The IOR Conference, started in 1978, has focused on secondary and tertiary oil recovery-topics now considered by many as traditional reservoir processes. Beginning with the 2012 IOR conference, organizers added a session on unconventional reservoirs.
Philip Schenewerk, a senior reservoir engineer at Apache Corp. in Tulsa and 2012 general chair of the IOR conference, said EOR can extend the promise of unconventional oil and natural gas (OGJ, Apr. 2, 2012, p. 48).
"The marriage of EOR to these vast unconventional resources creates a new frontier for research and development that, if successful, could economically sustain the world's hydrocarbon supplies for decades," Schenewerk said.
"Where the real technology frontier lies is in the adaption of EOR processes to unconventional resources," Schenewerk said. "To a certain degree, this marriage also has already occurred, with the application of thermal EOR to high-viscosity crudes that may also be thought of as unconventional resources."
Oil prices
Wiggins noted the crude oil price downturn since 2014 has discouraged investment in many EOR-IOR projects, which can have long payout periods.
"In face of the uncertainty, oil and gas companies hesitate to make an investment that might yield a future economic return in favor of projects with short-term returns," Wiggins said during a March phone interview with OGJ.
"The price environment also affects the overall investment strategy within our industry that is currently so focused on obtaining results in 3-6 months that we tend to ignore the long-term benefits of many technically sound opportunities," Wiggins said.
"As an industry, we need to fight this impulse and maintain our focus on the core technical aspects of our business." Reemphasizing fundamental research on reservoir processes that will boost recovery rates for oil and gas resources into the future is good preparation for an oil-price rebound, he said.
About the Author
Paula Dittrick
Senior Staff Writer
Paula Dittrick has covered oil and gas from Houston for more than 20 years. Starting in May 2007, she developed a health, safety, and environment beat for Oil & Gas Journal. Dittrick is familiar with the industry’s financial aspects. She also monitors issues associated with carbon sequestration and renewable energy.
Dittrick joined OGJ in February 2001. Previously, she worked for Dow Jones and United Press International. She began writing about oil and gas as UPI’s West Texas bureau chief during the 1980s. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska in 1974.