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Making the most of resources
The world needs to draw all it can from energy resources to help meet customers’ growing needs. One approach is to flush more oil out of existing reservoirs using steam, gas or chemicals. This has the potential to release millions more barrels of oil every year using existing infrastructure.
Natural pressure in a reservoir will usually push oil out of from a newly drilled well. When the pressure drops, engineers inject water or gas produced with the oil back into the reservoir. This in turn helps to push out more oil – a technique known as improved oil recovery. Engineers may also encourage the flow using pumps, for example.
But oil producers typically only manage to recover around a third of a reservoir’s oil: the rest is left in the ground. Injecting steam, chemicals or gas into a reservoir – a process called enhanced oil recovery (EOR) – eases the flow of oil and boosts recovery by an average of 10%. In total it could help to unlock 300 billion more barrels of oil, equal to 10 years’ production at today’s levels.
“EOR has a decisive role to play in the future of energy supplies,” says Gerald Schotman, Shell Chief Technology Officer. “Studies have shown that making recovery just 1% more efficient would release 88 billion more barrels of oil – equivalent to three years’ annual production at today’s levels.”
Enhanced oil recovery currently accounts for 4% of global oil production. This could rise to 20% by 2030.
Shell and EOR
Gas injection is boosting oil recovery at Harweel, Oman
Shell first used steam injection in the 1930s, in California, USA. Since then we have installed numerous steam injection projects, and have trialled and set up commercial projects for the injection of CO2, and using chemicals.
“Each reservoir requires a tailor-made approach to enhanced oil recovery,” says Gerald. “Our extensive experience helps us to apply the best techniques to improve oil production and recovery at an acceptable cost.”
Shell is using EOR to boost production at 11 projects across the world, at locations including Oman – through our joint venture with Petroleum Development Oman – the USA, Russia and the Netherlands. We are planning 26 more similar projects.
One benefit of this approach is that much of the infrastructure needed to produce and transport the oil, such as pipelines and roads, is already in place. And there are no exploration costs involved because the oil’s location is known.
Advanced technology
Champion West off the coast of Brunei was the first field to use Smart Fields® technology from the start
Shell continues to invest in and develop new ways to flush out more oil. This includes improving existing EOR techniques and developing new ones, as well as enhancing technologies which support the process.
For example, we have developed Smart Fields® technology, an advanced system that allows us to manage real-time information from sensors in the fields. These feed, for example, continuous temperature and pressure readings into a central database to create an up-to-the-minute model of the field. Engineers can make rapid adjustments to extract oil more effectively according to conditions, or react immediately to any sign of problems.
With partners we are developing advanced Smart Fields® technologies, which will include improved sensors such as fibre-optic technology for more detailed readings.
Some EOR techniques are energy-intensive, but we are finding ways to reduce the amount of energy we use. At Qarn Alam and Amal in Oman, for example, 80% of the steam needed for our projects comes from waste heat from local power stations. As another energy-saving approach, in Amal we are testing solar power to produce the steam.
