30 Years of Successful High-Pressure Air Injection: Performance Evaluation of Buffalo Field, South Dakota

摘要

The Buffalo field enhanced-oil-recbvery (EOR) project is the oldest still-active air-injection project in the USA. Laboratory studies (combustion-tube, miscibility-pressure, and swelling tests for various CO2/N2 mixtures) and feasibility studies including air-injectivity testing were completed in mid-1977. The result of the pilot test was promising, and the 2,240-acre Buffalo Red River Unit (BRRU) was formed in November 1978. Technical aspects of the Buffalo EOR project are presented, reviewing laboratory studies, production performance (1978-2009), and the effect of short-radius horizontal drilling.