Regional assessment of the economic barriers to carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery in the North Sea, Russia and GCC States
- 1 October 2016
- Storage
The objective of this study is to explore the economic conditions that would be necessary for a CO2 EOR project in the North Sea and in the Middle East. Traditional oil production can recover up to 20-40% of the original oil in place (OOIP). The application of an EOR technique, typically performed towards what is normally perceived to be the end of the life of an oilfield, can increase the cumulative recovery by an additional 5-15%. The investment decision for a CO2 EOR project hinges on key factors relating to geological site suitability, capital and operational costs. A number of identified success factors for the well-established CO2 EOR industry in the U.S. are listed below: Depth and oil composition can enable CO2 to form miscibility lowering viscosity There is sufficient unrecovered oil after primary and secondary recovery (usually water flooding) There is sufficient access to a reliable supply of CO2 Operator knowledge and experience can be applied Tax incentives to promote profitable implementation