Polymer Flooding Economics, from Pilot to Field Implementation at the Example of the 8 TH Reservoir, Austria

Abstract

As polymer injection has not reached the same maturity as waterflooding, implementing polymer injection projects at field scale requires a workflow comprising screening of the portfolio of an organization for oil fields potentially amenable for polymer injection, laboratory and field testing followed by sector- and field implementation and roll-out in the portfolio. Going through the workflow, not only the subsurface uncertainty is reduced but also the knowledge about the cost structure and operating capabilities of the organization improved. Analyzing the economics of polymer injection projects shows that costs can be split into polymer injector-producer (polymer pattern) dependent and independent costs. Knowing these costs, a Minimum Economic Number of Patterns (MENP) is defined to achieve Net Present Value zero. This number is used to determine a Minimum Economic Field Size (MEFS) for polymer injection which is taken into account in the screening of the portfolio. Defining a robustness criterion for economics, the minimum number of patterns for polymer injection meeting this criterion is calculated. This criterion is applied to generate a diagram allowing for screening of fields for polymer economics using pattern dependent and pattern independent costs and Utility Factor. The cost structure reveals how the NPV of polymer projects changes with number of patterns, incremental oil and injectivity. Injectivity is of particular importance as it determines the Chemical Affected Reservoir Volume (CARV) or speed of production. A sensitivity analysis of the NPV showed that for the cost structure used here, in addition to the polymer costs, the well costs are important for the economics of a full-field polymer injection project.

Mechanical Degradation of Polymers During Injection, Reservoir Propagation and Production - Field Test Results 8 TH Reservoir, Austria

“…Incremental oil production is the result of injection of polymers decreasing the mobility of the injected water. For larger scale projects, one of the main cost drivers is the costs of the polymer (Sieberer et al 2016). The effectivity of the injected polymers to increase oil production can be measured by defining a Utility Factor (UF) ϭ kg of polymers injected / incremental bbl oil produced (e.g.…”

Historical and recent observations in polymer floods: An update review

“…Reviewing recent studies evaluating the economics of polymer flooding it can be concluded that OPEX described above is generally underestimated (Alkhatib, 2015;AlSofi and Blunt, 2011;Behr, Olie, Visser & Leonhardt, 2013;Botechia, Correia & Schiozer, 2016;Mogollón, Tillero, Gutiérrez & Luján, 2016;Raniolo, S., Dovera, L., Cominelli, A., Callegaro, C., and Masserano, F., 2013;Sieberer et al, 2016). Mogollón and Lokhandwala (2013) presented an example of polymer flood economics using a broad range of costs to potentially cover high OPEX based on a probabilistic approach.…”

Assessment of grading polymer injection by simulation at laboratory scale

“…Deployment of a polymer project requires that the incremental oil production revenue overcome the CAPEX and OPEX of the polymer project. Sieberer et al (2016) reported in an in-depth economic analysis that (a) polymer cost, (b) central facility, and (c) drilling & completion of wells have a considerable influence on the net present value. Thus, a reduction of the injected polymer amount improves the project economy.…”