DOE PROGRAM DRAWS RESPONSES FOR EOR PROJECTS

Forty-four U.S. companies and universities are seeking Department of Energy funding for enhanced oil recovery demonstration projects aimed at shallow shelf carbonate reservoirs. In April, DOE will announce which projects have been selected for as much as 50% matching funds. It has earmarked as much as to $40 million for the program.

Feb. 9, 1993

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Forty-four U.S. companies and universities are seeking Department of Energy funding for enhanced oil recovery demonstration projects aimed at shallow shelf carbonate reservoirs.

In April, DOE will announce which projects have been selected for as much as 50% matching funds. It has earmarked as much as to $40 million for the program.

About 400 U.S. shallow shelf carbonate fields originally contained about 68 billion bbl of oil, have produced about 20 billion bbl, and are expected to produce only 4 billion bbl more using current methods. DOE hopes its program will boost remaining recovery to 12 billion bbl (OGJ, Aug. 10, 1992, p. 17).

Of the 44 proposals, 27 are for near term projects, which would encourage producers to keep shallow shelf carbonate fields in operation during the next 5 years, and 17 for midterm projects with methods for use later in the decade. The 44 projects carry a combined price tag of nearly $458 million.

DOE plans to fund five to 10 near term projects and as many as four midterm projects.

The 44 proposals cover 15 states - 18 of them in Texas, mostly in the Permian basin.

DOE said the ultimate measure of projects chosen for funding will be "the willingness of industry to adapt successfully demonstrated technologies. Each selected project requires the commitment of each private sponsor to an aggressive technology transfer effort targeted toward other operators in geologically similar fields."

DOE launched an EOR program targeting reservoirs by types in 1991. In April 1992 DOE chose 14 EOR projects in fluvial dominated deltaic sandstone reservoirs.