Latest Developments to Examine the Use of CO 2 and Ethane for EOR in the Bakken and Williston Basin Conventional Reservoirs 13th Annual (2015) EOR Carbon Management Workshop Midland, Texas December 8, 2015 John Harju Vice President for Strategic Partnerships 2015 University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center.
Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) More than 254,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory, demonstration, and office space.
Partners in EERC s Bakken Research Efforts
The more we understand about the Bakken petroleum system, the more oil we recognize in it. Currently, only a 3% 5% recovery factor. Small improvements in recovery yield billions of barrels of oil. How Do We Get More Oil Out of the Bakken? Can CO 2, or other gases, be a game changer in the Bakken? As a Commodity to Enhance Oil Recovery
CO 2 Oil Recovery From Upper, Middle, and Lower Bakken Rock Samples Small-scale lab experiments indicated CO 2 can remove oil from Middle Bakken rock and Bakken Shales in the lab. Since 2013 EERC has obtained similar results for samples from several Bakken wells in Dunn, McKenzie, and Mountrail Counties.
Bakken CO 2 Demand & EOR Potential for North Dakota A 30,000-ft View Based on the following: Traditional evaluation techniques NDIC OOIP estimates 4% incremental recovery Net utilization of 5000 and 8000 ft 3 /bbl 2 3.2 Bt of CO 2 needed. Yielding 4 7 Bbbl of oil. North Dakota currently produces ~33 Mtpy of CO 2. Leading us to ask, is there something other than CO 2 that might work for EOR?
% of total HC How Do Other Fluids Compare to CO 2 for Getting Oil Out of the Bakken? HC Removal from Middle Bakken Rock Samples Using Different Gases 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% Ethane CO2 CH4/Ethane, 85/15 CH4 20% 10% 0% 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Exposure time, hours
Ethane is Very Effective at Achieving Lower MMPs, Methane is Not! API 41.5 Crude (Bakken), 110 C
Pressure, psi Ethane is Very Effective at Achieving Lower MMPs, Methane is Not! API 30.7 Crude, 42 C 6000 5000 methane 5077±192 4000 3000 2000 1000 CO2 1468±42 ethane 736±8 0
CO 2 vs. Ethane for a 150 tons/d Pilot Scale EOR (Preliminary Estimates based on Early Lab Observations)
North Dakota Gas Plant Capacity - Total gas processing capacity in ND 1400 MMcfd. - Total ethane entering ND gas plants 240 MMcfd (170,000 bbl/d). - Current ND ethane production (fractionation) 43,000 bbl/d, most going to Alberta via Vantage pipeline. - Remaining ethane is present in pipeline gas or NGL product. - Over 90% of ethane processing capacity comes from 3 plants. Assumptions: 1. Raw gas into plant is 20% ethane. 2. bbl/d based on 2015 3 rd quarter processing as reported by ND DMR.
North Dakota EOR Opportunities Top 10 ranked conventional units combine for between 82 and 186 MMbbl of potential incremental oil. Gray shade is the areal extent of the Bakken Formation Top 10 ranked conventional units would require between 14 and 83 MMtons of CO 2. Total combined Williston Basin conventional EOR potential is between 280 and 630 MMbbl, requiring between 47 and 283 MMtons of CO 2. Conventionals combined with Bakken: 4-7.6 Bbbl of incremental oil 2-3.8 Btons of CO 2 needed
Short-Term Goal of the Overarching Program: Injection Test in the Field EERC activities will include: Conducting minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) and hydrocarbon extraction studies on site-specific samples. Providing site-specific modeling support. Working with the hosting operator to design and implement an effective monitoring scheme to determine the fate of the injected CO 2 and/or ethane and its impact on the reservoir. Site host will obtain the injection fluid, conduct the injection and production activities, and provide relevant data to the project team.
Long Term Goal New Initiative Project Ethane Drivers: To use regionally low value ethane to produce high value oil. Ethane is currently more available than CO 2 in the Williston Basin. Additional benefits Relieve gathering bottleneck/reduce flaring Improve pipeline quality methane Improve quality of NGLs (volatility) Eventually may be other markets for chemical and industrial applications - Production of power, fertilizer, methanol, other chemicals, etc. Challenges Fractionation investment Compression & storage infrastructure
Thank You! Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Contact Information Energy & Environmental Research Center University of North Dakota 15 North 23rd Street, Stop 9018 Grand Forks, ND 58202-9018 World Wide Web: www.undeerc.org Telephone No. (701) 777-5157 Fax No. (701) 777-5181 John Harju, Vice President for Strategic Partnerships jharju@undeerc.org
Acknowledgment This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory under Award No. DE-FC26-08NT43291. Disclaimer This presentation was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government, nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.