Recovery of Stranded Oil from the ROZ Advanced Resources International, Inc. Arlington, VA December, 2013 Midland, Texas 1
The Residual Oil Zone In a series of reports and presentations, Steve Melzer convincingly articulated the origins and presence of oil in residual oil zones: 1,2! Below existing oil fields in ROZ intervals,! Beyond existing oil fields in numerous ROZ Fairways. My task today is to take the next step in assessing the ROZ resource by addressing two questions:! How much of the ROZ resource below existing oil fields is recoverable?! What do we know about the size of the ROZ Fairway resource? 1 Melzer, S.M., Stranded Oil IN the Residual Oil Zone, U.S. DOE report, 2005. 2 SPE 102964, The Origin and Resource Potential of Residual Oil Zones, L.S. Melzer, G.J. Koperna, and V.A. Kuuskraa, 2006. 2
Identifying Oil Fields with Below Main Pay Zone ROZs We used data from Brown (2001) and other sources to identify oil fields with tilted oil/water contacts indicating potential for below main pay zone (MPZ) ROZs. We used logs and other data sources to verify the presence of the ROZ interval and establishing its thickness. We then used Advanced Resources Big Oil Fields Data Base to populate other key reservoir properties for the ROZ interval below prospective oil fields. Adapted from Brown, A., (2001), Effects of Hydrodynamics on Cenozoic Oil Migration, Wasson Field Area, Northwestern Shelf of the Permian Basin, West Texas Geological Society Fall Symposium, Pub 01-110 (Viveiros, J.J. & Ingram, S.M. eds), Oct 2001, pp 133-142. 3
Examples of Oil Fields with Tilted Oil/Water Contact, North Central Basin Platform, Permian Basin Seminole Oil Fields (San Andres) North Central Platform Major San Andres/Grayburg Oil Fields: Map of Central Basin Platform Contour interval on oilwater contact = 20 ft Datum: sea level Oil-water contact map shows that the contact is structurally lower on the east side of the field than on the west side. Source: Atlas of Major Texas Oil Reservoirs, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin, 1983 4
Tilted Oil/Water Contact, Big Stick Oil Field Figure 3. Elevation of the Oil/Water Contact in the Big Stick Oil Field. Tilted Oil/Water Contact, Elkhorn Ranch Oil Field Figure 4. Elevation of the Oil/Water Contact in the Elkhorn Ranch Oil Field. Oil Fields with Tilted Oil/Water Contact, Williston Basin We used previous mapping by Berg (1994) to identify oil fields with tilted oil/water contacts in the Billings Nose area of the Williston Basin, North Dakota. Shown are two fields with tilted oil/water contacts: Big Stick Elkhorn Ranch Adapted from Berg, R.R., DeMis, W.D. and Mitsdarffer, A.R., (1994), Hydrodynamic Effects on Mission Canyon (Mississippian) Oil Accumulations, Billings Nose Area, North Dakota, AAPG Bulletin, V. 78, No. 4, pp. 501-518. 5
Assembling Key ROZ Reservoir Properties, Permian Basin SSAU MPZ & ROZ Cross-Section and Zonal Attributes Salt Creek Type Log (San Andres) Porosity 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 6150 6200 6250 6300 6350 Main Oil Pay Zone 6400 6450 6500 6550 6600 6650 A B C ROZ Intervals 6700 D Source: Busk, J., The Seminole San Andres Unit Residual Oil Zone (ROZ) CO2 Flood, CO2 Flooding Conference, Midland, TX, 2001 Source: Bishop, D.L., ExxonMobil Production Company; et. al., SPE paper 88720, Vertical Conformance in a Mature Carbonate CO2 Flood: Salt Creek Field Unit, Texas, presented at the SPE 11 th Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference, Abu Dhabi, 10-13 October 2004. 6
Permian Basin Oil Fields with Below Main Pay Zone ROZs Based on the above work, we identified and characterized the ROZ below the main pay zone of 55 Permian Basin oil fields, plus additional fields in other basins. Oil Fields with ROZ, Five Permian Basin Plays Field/Unit ROZ OIP (BB) No. of ROZ Fields Notable Oil Fields with ROZ 1. Northern Shelf Permian Basin (San Andres) 2. North Central Basin Platform (San Andres/Grayburg) 3. South Central Basin Platform (San Andres/Grayburg) 13.2 12 Wasson, Slaughter, Levelland, Adair 2.6 6 Seminole, Means, Shaffer Lake, etc. 7.9 16 McElroy, N. Cowden, Goldsmith, etc. 4. Horseshoe Atoll (Canyon) 2.9 10 Kelly-Snyder, Salt Creek, Cogdell, etc. 5. East New Mexico (San Andres) 4.1 11 Vacuum, Hobbs, Chaveroo, etc. Total 30.7 55 Sources: 1. Technical Oil Recovery Potential From Residual Oil Zones: Permian Basin report prepared by Advanced Resources International for U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, February 2006. 2. Technical Oil Recovery Potential From Residual Oil Zones: Big Horn Basin report prepared by Advanced Resources International for U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, February 2006. 3. Technical Oil Recovery Potential From Residual Oil Zones: Williston Basin report prepared by Advanced Resources International for U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, February 2006. 7
ROZ Development at Wasson Bennett Ranch Unit (Oil Field), Permian Basin MPZ CO 2 Start (1/95) ROZ CO 2 Start (1/04) We worked with Steve Melzer, searched the literature, examined state records and contacted companies to collect information on active ROZ CO 2 flooding projects. Source: Shell Western E&P, Inc. Field Briefing Materials upon the Implementation of the Bennett Ranch CO 2 Flood, June 1995. Updated with data from state records and personal communication. 8
ROZ Development at Salt Creek Oil Field, Permian Basin Salt Creek ROZ Projects Increased Oil Production from ROZ Development 3,000 2,500 2,000 2001 Program B/D 1,500 2000 Program 1,000 500 Base 0 Jan 00 May 00 Sep 00 Jan 01 May 01 Sep 01 Jan 02 May 02 Source: Wilkinson, J.R., Genetti, D.B., and Henning, G.T., Lessons Learned fro Mature Carbonates for Application to Middle East Fields, SPE 88770, presented at the SPE 11th Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, October 10-13, 2004. 9
Reservoir Simulation of ROZ CO 2 Flooding, Permian Basin Oil Fields Estimation of oil recovery from the ROZ interval of 55 Permian Basin oil fields was performed by Advanced Resources (George Koperna) using CO 2 -PROPHET, a finite-difference streamtube reservoir model. The CO 2 -PROPHET model was first calibrated by Advanced Resources with an industry-standard compositional reservoir simulator (CMG s GEM) for four oil fields - - Wasson Denver Unit, Seminole (San Andres Unit), Wasson Bennett Ranch Unit, and Vacuum (San Andres/Grayburg).! After adding a small volume (~3%) of mobile oil to the ROZ interval, as input to CO 2 -PROPHET, an excellent match was obtained between CO 2 -PROPHET and GEM.! The reservoir modeling of the ROZ used partial completion (upper 60%) of the ROZ interval and injection of 1 HCPV CO 2 tapered WAG. 10
Reservoir Simulation of Selected ROZ CO 2 Floods After adding a small volume (~3%) of mobile oil to the ROZ interval, as input to CO 2 -PROPHET, an excellent match was obtained between CO 2 -PROPHET and GEM. Wasson Denver Unit (San Andres) (MPZ and ROZ Oil Recovery) Seminole (San Andres Unit) (MPZ and ROZ Oil Recovery) 1,800 4,000 1,600 Reservoir Simulation Prophet - Mobile So Prophet - Immobile So 3,500 Reservoir Simulation Prophet - Mobile So Prophet - Immobile So 1,400 3,000 Cumulative Oil, MSTB 1,200 1,000 800 Cumulative Oil, MSTB 2,500 2,000 1,500 600 400 1,000 200 500 0 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 Time, days 0 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 Time, days *Results for one 40 acre pattern for Wasson Denver and one 80 acre pattern for Seminole; injection of one HCPV of CO 2 into both MPZ and ROZ using tapered WAG. Source: SPE 102972, Recovery of Oil Resources from the Residual and Transitional Oil Zones of the Permian Basin, G.J. Koperna, L.S. Melzer and V.A. Kuuskraa, 2006. 11
Reservoir Modeling Shows That Simultaneous MPZ-ROZ CO 2 Flooding Out-Performs Separate MPZ/ROZ Flooding ROZ and MPZ Oil Production: Example Permian Basin (San Andres) Oil Reservoir* 30 Years 1,600 1,400 1,200 Simultaneous MPZ & ROZ Gross CO 2 /Oil ratio - - ~13 Mcf/B Cumulative Oil, MSTB 1,000 800 600 Gross CO 2 /Oil ratio - - 16 Mcf/B 400 200 Separate MPZ & ROZ 0 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 Time, days *Results for one 40 acre pattern, with 141 main pay zone and a 200 ROZ interval; injection of one HCPV of CO 2 using tapered WAG. Source: SPE 102972, Recovery of Oil Resources from the Residual and Transitional Oil Zones of the Permian Basin, G.J. Koperna, L.S. Melzer and V.A. Kuuskraa, 2006. 12
Technically Recoverable ROZ Resources Below Existing Oil Fields Advanced Resources estimates that 16 billion barrels of the 42 billion barrel ROZ resource (below 88 large existing oil fields) is technically recoverable. Basin Technically Recoverable ROZ Oil/CO 2 Demand - - Below Existing Oil Fields Assessed Fields ROZ OIP Technically Recoverable* Crude Oil CO 2 Demand (No. of Fields) (Billion Barrels) (Billion Barrels) (Gt) Permian 1 55 30.7 11.9 ~5 Big Horn 2 13 4.4 1.1 0.5 Williston 3 20 6.8 3.3 1.5 *With current CO 2 -EOR technology and simultaneous MPZ-ROZ development. Sources: 1. Technical Oil Recovery Potential From Residual Oil Zones: Permian Basin report prepared by Advanced Resources International for U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, February 2006. 2. Technical Oil Recovery Potential From Residual Oil Zones: Big Horn Basin report prepared by Advanced Resources International for U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, February 2006. 3. Technical Oil Recovery Potential From Residual Oil Zones: Williston Basin report prepared by Advanced Resources International for U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, Office of Oil and Natural Gas, February 2006. 13
Residual Oil Zone Fairways Recovery of Stranded Oil from the ROZ The ROZ Fairway Prize The Permian Basin ROZ Fairway map was prepared by Steve Melzer. Our quick look indicates that ROZ fairways cover an area at least three times larger than the area covered by the 56 Permian Basin oil fields with below main pay zone ROZ resources. However, additional work is required to establish the size, economic feasibility and CO 2 requirements of producing ROZ Fairway resources with EOR. 14
Recovery of Stranded Oil from the ROZ Advanced Resources International www.adv-res.com 15 Office Locations Washington, DC 4501 Fairfax Drive, Suite 910 Arlington, VA 22203 Phone: (703) 528-8420 Fax: (703) 528-0439 Houston, Texas 11931 Wickchester Ln., Suite 200 Houston, TX 77043-4574 Phone: (281) 558-6569 Fax: (281) 558-9202