| Popis: |
Carbon dioxide is both the most-recognized greenhouse gas as well as the second most-used injectant in oil fields, after water. This coincidence creates the possibility of injecting previously-vented CO2 to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase oil recovery. Such a project has been evaluated for the Avile reservoir of the Puesto Hernandez field, located in the Neuquen Basin in west-central Argentina. This oil field produces associated gas containing approximately 60 percent CO2, which has previously been vented. The project described below assessed the feasibility of extracting and injecting the CO2 into the field to recover additional oil using an immiscible displacement process. Following an evaluation including core floods, compositional simulation, and facilities evaluation, the process was found both to have technical and economic promise in terms of improved oil recovery, and to result in reduction of both CO2 and methane emissions, the latter being an especially potent greenhouse gas. The success of this type of project would create a unique common ground for those concerned with reducing global warming and those concerned with supplying society's energy needs. |
