Field Operations of a

CO2 Flood

Presented by Joe Lundeen

TRIMERIC CORPORATION

4-Jan-06

TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

Ken McIntush, 830 643 4553, ken.mcintush@trimeric.com

Kevin Fisher, 512 431 6323, kevin.fisher@trimeric.com
Joe Lundeen, 512 658 6313, joe.lundeen@trimeric.com

Outline
EOR Operations Overview
Unique CO2 Characteristics
Production Facility Discussion
Process Equipment Highlights
Operational Considerations

4-Jan-06

TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

Gas Processing Steps at

Production Facility
$ Residue (Sales Gas) $

Gas/Oil
Separation

$ Oil $

SRU

Dehydration

NGL
Recovery

Purchased
CO2
CO2

Gas processing steps

depend on OIL qualities

SRU

$ NGL $

Production

4-Jan-06

Injection

TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

EOR Upstream Operations Overview

CO2 Source

Naturally Occurring Reservoir

Industrial Source

Gas Processing

Dehydration

Contaminant Removal

Liquid Desiccant Process

Solid Desiccant Process
EOR CO2 (limited)
Food-grade CO2 (complete)

Transportation

4-Jan-06

Pipeline / Truck / Rail

Meter Facility
TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

Primary EOR Operations Overview

EOR Production Facility (Oil/Gas)

Injection wells

CO2 Recycle
Gas / Liquid / Liquid Separation
Oil Recovery
CO2 Recycle / Compression
NGL Recovery
Residue gas cleanup
Compress / pump CO2 into formation

Production wells

4-Jan-06

Flow into test facility

Use of corrosion inhibitors common
TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

CO2 Characteristics

Exists as gas, liquid, and dense phase at

EOR conditions

Critical pressure: 1,070 psia

Water solubility in CO2 has a V-shape,

minimum occurs at ~850 psi
Some compounds (glycol, glycerol, etc.)
have higher solubility in CO2 at lower
temps
Acts similar to a solvent in the reservoir,
good affinity for hydrocarbon

4-Jan-06

TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

Production Facility Complexity

Permian Basin CO2 Flood

Light crude oil

Recycle CO2 has significant HCs

Lighter HCs are soluble in CO2

More gas processing required
NGL recovery (Ryan-Holmes, Refrigeration, etc.)
Residue gas clean-up (CO2, H2S, N2, etc.)

Mississippi CO2 Flood

4-Jan-06

Heavy crude oil

Recycle CO2 has only about 5% methane
Main facility operations consist of separation and
compression
TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

EOR Production Flow Diagram

Production /
CO2 Response

Process Equipment Highlights

All process equipment is common to NG industry

There is often a choice of compression or pumping CO2 to

pressure when super-critical

Recycle gas is typically compression

Pumps are preferred if CO2 is a dense gas submersible or PD type
(i.e., triplex)

Vents from low pressure separators may require vapor recovery

Dehydration process choice will depend on requirement to remove

NGLs

Common CO2 metering methods are orifice plate and coriolis

meters; if orifice plate, very important to know fluid properties
accurately

4-Jan-06

TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

10

Operational Considerations
Industry and Field Observations

Effect of supercritical CO2 on operations

Material selection

Liquid and solid desiccants

Compression from intermediate pressure (i.e., 850 psig)

Emulsions in the produced oil

Corrosion inhibitors
SS vs. CS vs. coatings

Dehydration methods

Phase change on level instrumentation

Water solubility
Solubility of compounds (i.e., glycol)

Possibly due to presence of corrosion inhibitors

Heat added to break emulsions

Health & Safety Hazards

4-Jan-06

Heavier than air

Suffocates or asphyxiates at lower concentrations than other
asphyxiants (more dangerous than other asphyxiants)
TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

11

Questions
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4-Jan-06

TRIMERIC CORPORATION
www.trimeric.com

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