DJ Basin Niobrara SuperEORTM and UltraEORTM
The graph below compares the recovery of oil from five stages of a selected DJ Basin Niobrara horizontal well with unoptimized SuperEORTM cyclic injection, versus primary (pressure depletion) production.
While the SuperEORTM process does require accurate compositional reservoir simulation modeling to design, implement and operate a shale oil EOR project, it is simpler to design, install, operate and adjust than natural gas or CO2 huff and puff EOR, and it recovers far more oil and gas.
SuperEORTM process injection periods are short, providing less chance of the injectant moving away from the well and to an offset well, or out of zone. Adjacent wells in pressure communication may be operated efficiently with this process.
UltraEORTM can recover even more oil than SuperEOR. The UltraEOR process incorporates a proprietary hydraulic fracture stimulation method to create a large number of fractures around the wellbore, thereby creating increasing the amount of rock matrix and residual oil the injected solvent can contact. Accordingly, much of this additional oil recovery occurs within the first 5 years of UltraEOR operation.
Excerpted from SPE 213082