Green Oil: CO 2 Enhanced Oil Recovery for America s Small Oil Producers

Transcription

1 Green Oil: CO 2 Enhanced Oil Recovery for America s Small Oil Producers Project Number Mark Berggren Pioneer Astronautics 1 RPSEA Onshore Production Conference April 10, 2012 Midland, Texas rpsea.org

2 Green Oil Project Participants Pioneer Astronautics (Lakewood, Colorado) Robert Zubrin, Thomas Henshaw, Boris Nizamov, James Siebarth, Colin Apke, Mark Berggren New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Petroleum Recovery Research Center (Socorro, New Mexico) Reid Grigg, Chongwei Xiao, Ephraim Schofield RPSEA/PRRC Martha Cather (RPSEA Project Manager) 2

3 Green Oil Project Overview Goal: Provide access to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) for domestic, small oil producers in a timely, scalable, field deployable, and cost effective manner. Approach: Employ steam reformation of biomass to co-produce CO 2 for EOR and H 2 for clean electric power generation. Install Green Oil technology at fields not serviced by CO 2 pipelines. Schedule and Funding: Two-year program with cost-sharing by RPSEA and Pioneer Astronautics. 3

4 Green Oil Project - Key Tasks Field Data Collection and Analysis: Assemble small producer data to identify five to ten candidate fields suitable for Green Oil Technology demonstration. Focus initial evaluation on Denver Basin, Permean Basin, and Appalachian Basin Reformer Hardware Design and Development: Phase I - 5,000 CF/D CO 2 steam reforming operations, completed by Pioneer Astronautics Phase II - 50,000 CF/D reformer system operation, completed by Pioneer Astronautics Phase IIIA - 200,000 CF/D steam reforming operation, 90% complete Phase IIIB - 1,000,000 CF/D steam reforming unit design and operation Phase IV - Design full-scale reforming hardware for field demonstrations Technology Status, Technology Transfer, and Reporting 4

5 Green Oil Technology Motivation Ref: Total Oil Future Challenge 390 Billion Barrels Proved Reserves 21 Billion Barrels Cumulative Production 175 Billion Barrels (World Oil Production) o With decline in oil production and increased demand, there is a need for economical recovery of domestic oil o Small producers and operators of marginal wells (< 10 bpd) generate > 1/4 th of the domestic crude oil o Forty-two percent of marginal wells are plugged or abandoned o 143,000 marginal wells were plugged and abandoned in the US between 1994 and 2003 (DOE) Original Oil In-Place (U.S.): 596 B Barrels* Stranded Oil In-Place (U.S.): 400 B Barrels* 5 *All U.S. domestic basins except Deep Water GOM. Source: Advanced Resources Int l. (2007)

6 CO 2 - EOR Challenges for the Small Producer CO 2 -EOR technology is presently unavailable to small producers due to high capital costs that arise from remote locations, limited pipeline access, and long construction lead-times. CO 2 Pipelines In the U.S. Source: European Energy Forum 6 Need a low cost system to deliver CO 2 directly to small producers!

7 Site Selection (New Mexico Tech) Well Screening Criteria for Green Oil CO2-EOR: Location: Small producer: Well depth: Small scale: Independency: Water flooding: Major basins Production < 1,000 bbl/d oil equivalent by the Energy Policy Act of ft (sufficient depth to obtain pressure for CO2 miscible displacement, but not too deep for economics) 3-10 wells in the same field and in proximity to each other Separated from other major reservoirs and wells Preferred, shows connectivity 7

8 Site Selection (New Mexico Tech) Oil wells in four states were investigated: Colorado, Ohio, New Mexico and Kansas. Candidate wells were identified in Colorado, Ohio, and New Mexico. Colorado is the first choice because of proximity to the home offices of Pioneer Astronautics. Three small fields in Colorado have been selected for further studies 8

9 Pioneer s Solution o Portable Renewable Energy System for Enhanced Oil Recovery Modular, truck portable biomass steam reformer C O 2 = CO C + H 2 O = CO 2 + H 2 CO + H 2 O = CO 2 + H 2 Simultaneous generation of CO 2 for on-site well flooding H 2 for carbon-free electrical power for local use/grid o Design for 1 MM CF/Day CO 2 (to recover ~100 bbl oil/day) o Based on the legacy of downdraft biomass gasifiers Steam + O2 C + H 2 O = CO + H 2 H 2 O + CO = CO 2 + H 2 C+ CO2 2CO C + H2O CO + H2 Grate Drying Pyrolysis Oxidation Reduction Ash Biomass Fuel Magazine Biomass CO 2 + H 2 O + CO + H 2 + Tars C + C O2 O 2 = CO CO 2 Ash Steam + O2 ProductGas Product Gas H2 + CO + CO2 + CH4 H 2 + CO + CO 2 + Trace CH 4 9

10 Green Oil Technical Inspiration o Lift Gas Cracker program carried out by Pioneer Astronautics under NASA funding Produces lighter-than-air gas by reforming methanol in a portable rig CH 3 OH + H 2 O = CO H 2 Eliminates heavy gas cylinders normally required for balloon inflation Can also be used to extend stratospheric balloon flight duration by replacing current vent/ballast systems HEX 1 (Combustion Exhaust to Reformer Feed) Reforming Reactor Combustor HEX 2 (Reformer Exhaust to Reformer Feed) Fuel Injector 10 Portable Lift Gas Cracker

11 Green Oil Process Three main system components (1) Steam Reformer Biomass reforming to generate CO 2 /H 2 product gas (2) Gas Separator Separate CO 2 / H 2 o CO 2 for EOR o H 2 for power generation (3) Gas Turbine for Electrical Generation 11

12 Green Oil Process Flow Diagram Electrical Power to Grid, Local Use or System Operation (3) Electrical Generator H 2 to Electrical Generator To Small Producer Well Head CO 2 (2) CO 2 /H 2 Gas Separator Steam Steam + O 2 Aux Steam Biomass Feed Steam Gen.-2 (Boiler-2) Product Gas O 2 H 2 Cyclone Condenser Steam Generator-1 (Boiler-1) Super Heater Ash Biomass Reformer Ash Tar Destroyer Tar Water Gas Shift Reactor Product Gas Analysis (1) Product Steam Gas Reformer Generator Boiler Feed Water Propane Oxygen Hydrogen 12

13 Green Oil Technology Process Features o Boiler 1 generates super-heated steam at ~ 250 C o Oxygen added to steam o Steam-Oxygen mix is super-heated H 2 O-O 2 reactants heated to ~650 o C with H 2 Results in rapid ignition of biomass H 2 used only until biomass ignition, then turned off o Waste heat is recovered Product gas exits reformer at o C Waste heat used for auxiliary steam generation in Boiler 2 o Water Gas Shift reactor produces high CO 2 and H 2 Concentrations CO + H 2 O + shift cat. CO 2 + H 2 o 10 bar operation Smaller equipment size of gasifier and other downstream components Savings in compression cost of produced gas 13

14 Phase IIIA Reformer Design Parameter Value Unit Overall Gasifier Height, H g 0.73 m Gasifier Diameter, D g 0.25 m Single Nozzle Diameter, D n 12.7 mm Diameter of Feed Gas Input, 25.4 mm D F Inner/Outer Wall Channel Separation, C S 32 mm Height From Nozzle (1) to Grate, H 1 Height From Nozzle (2) to Grate,H m 0.41 m Grate Diameter, D grate 51.0 mm Hole Diameter for Grate, D s 3.2 mm 14

15 Phase IIIA Reformer System o o o Modular assembly Two skids, can be put on a mobile platform for transporting System fully instrumented with temperature, pressure, fluid level and flow control sensors, and automated valve control Slipstreams for gas analysis 15

16 Data Acquisition and Control System o Automated, remote, real-time control and monitoring of system states and sensor outputs o Used for automatic process startup, operation and shut down, and to minimize the occurrence of design excursions o PID loop control to manage reformer temperature, oxygen and steam flow, and tail gas flow rate during system startup, operation and shutdown. o Can be operated in automatic and manual modes 16

17 17 Reformer DAQ Screen Shot

18 Green Oil Reformer Testing Large data set under wide range of operating conditions Gas Flows Feed Steam: SLPM Feed Oxygen: SLPM Product Gas Flow: SLPM (4000 SLPM 200,000 CF/day) Reformer Operation Batch operation (110 liter magazine) Fuels: Charcoal (lump) and wood chips (pine wood pellet fuel) Steam/Oxygen: 5:1 to 2.5 to 1 18

19 Reformer Test Profile Temperature (deg. C) Reaction Time (min) Peak Reformer (Noz.) Temp ( C) Reformer Exhaust Temp ( C) 19

20 Product Gas Composition Water Gas Shift Exhaust (Dry Basis Feed to Separator) 50% H 2 2% CO 44% CO 2 3% CH 4 20

21 CO 2 H 2 Separator CO 2 Separation Section Supply and Tail Gas Handling Section Methanol Based Temperature- Swing Separation System (Developed Independently by Pioneer Energy) 20% Scale Design (~ 200,000 CF/day) Successfully Operated to Recover >92% of CO 2 at 18% Scale (with 25% CO 2 feed) 21 Refrigeration Section

22 22 Separator DAQ Screen Shot - Refrigeration

23 23 Separator DAQ Screen Shot - Separation

24 Path Forward o Near Term Optimize the Water Gas Shift conversion reaction Determine extent of tar formation and removal with catalyst Perform longer duration tests with continuous feed and ash/slag removal operation (biomass fuel) o Phase IIIB Reformer Design and Operation 5X system scale up based on Phase IIIA test results Fabricate, Integrate, Test Phase IIIB reformer o Phase IV Reformer Design Field testing scale 24

25 Summary Reformer Designed and fabricated Phase IIIA reformer Performed system checkout and performance tests Achieved 4000 SLPM performance milestone Achieved high yields of CO 2 and H 2 Field Data Collection and Analysis Collected field data relevant to Green Oil technology implementation Identified small producer fields in prime locations for Green Oil technology demonstration 25

26 26 Green Oil: CO 2 Enhanced Oil Recovery for America s Small Oil Producers