Drilling and Reservoir Engineering

Enhanced Oil Recovery Screening and Projects

After primary and secondary recovery, more than half of the original oil commonly remains in place, trapped by capillary forces or bypassed by poor sweep. Enhanced oil recovery targets that oil, but each method works only within a narrow window of reservoir and fluid conditions. Delegates start with the physics of residual oil: capillary number, mobility control and miscibility. Screening criteria are then applied to gas injection, both miscible and immiscible, to chemical methods including polymer, surfactant and alkaline floods, and to low salinity and microbial concepts. Laboratory work, pilot design and monitoring are covered as the path from screening to field scale. Chemical supply, produced water handling and project economics are discussed as practical constraints. Delegates leave able to screen candidate fields, select a method and plan a pilot.