Can IOR in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Secure Energy for America?
Authors: Lach Joseph R. , Longmuir Gavin 
Published: July 2010

Deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil fields typically get modest ultimate recovery factors in the 10% - 35% range because of challenging reservoir characteristics and high development costs. Yet the total target for Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) in deepwater (DW) Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is temptingly large, with about 44 Billion Bbl remaining oil expected to be left behind in discovered fields at abandonment. " Technical Gaps?? make most IOR processes impractical in an environment of high well costs, complex reservoirs, and substantial logistical challenges.

This paper describes original work done through a project funded under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and directed by the non-profit Corporation RPSEA (Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America). The study includes a review and analysis of the performance of 83 developed DW oil fields consisting of 415 individual reservoirs. Also, data has been collected and evaluated for 15 discovered and undeveloped Lower Tertiary, Paleogene fields. The work has assessed reservoir properties, original oil in-place, expected recovery factor, volume of projected remaining oil, and the mechanisms by which oil is trapped and not produced. The analysis of performance was then used to select a group of IOR processes which could target specific trapped oil mechanisms.

The results presented here are lessons learned to date on field performance, the remaining oil target for IOR, the IOR processes being considered, and the future evaluation plan. An objective of the work is to determine the " Technical Gaps?? which currently prevent the economic implementation of selected IOR processes in the challenging conditions of deepwater GoM. Recommendations will be made for future Research & Development funding to address the technical gaps and to accelerate implementation of potentially high impact IOR processes.

Introduction

RPSEA is a non-profit Corporation used to oversee funding under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Its mission is to facilitate cooperative effort to identify and develop new technology for exploring, producing and transporting energy. The current focus areas of RPSEA include ultra-deepwater, unconventional natural gas, and enabling small producers.

The objectives of RPSEA project #07121-1701 are to identify IOR processes for deepwater GoM which could add substantial reserves and to identify the " technical gaps?? preventing their application. The recommendation of future R&D programs to bridge those technical gaps will be a deliverable from the work. The study will be conducted over 18 months at a projected total budget cost of $2MM.

The first step of this investigation was to prepare a high-level estimate of the " Size of the Prize?? - the projected Remaining Oil In-Place (ROIP) in deepwater Gulf of Mexico which is the target for IOR. A database was compiled for 83 producing fields and 415 reservoirs including original oil in-place (OOIP), projected recoverable oil, and key reservoir properties. The sources of information are from ReservoirKB (copyright Knowledge Reservoir, LLC) and the Minerals Management Services (MMS).