Tertiary Oil Recovery:Potential Application and Constraints.

摘要

The technology of tertiary oil recovery methods is described and potential economic and environmental constraints to future commercial application are identified. Oil recoverable by tertiary techniques represents a domestic resource of between 11-and 42-billion barrels. Estimates of additional oil supplies from tertiary methods by the year 2000range from 1to 8million barrels per day,depending on the price of oil and the rate of technological development. The principal constraints to large-scale application of tertiary methods at the present time include environmental,economic and technological concerns. Regulatory action associated with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977currently delay the expansion of thermal recovery operations in California and may discourage future projects. The high production costs of tertiary projects also hamper process implementation. Further testing and research is necessary to develop the technology of tertiary recovery methods and prove these techniques successful on a field-wide scale. To enable tertiary oil recovery to play a significant role in augmenting domestic energy supplies,further research and development is necessary. More accurate methods of determining reservoir structure and residual oil saturations are required,as well as means for assuring the technical feasibility and success of a tertiary method in different reservoir types. Technical process limitations must also be resolved. The severity of potential environmental impacts and constraints identified in this report should be determined. These concerns include the air pollutant emissions from steam generation in thermal processes;acceptable methods of brine disposal;damage due to runoff or accidental discharge of oil-rich chemicals into surface waters;the impacts of fluid injection on deep aquifers and the prevailing geological structure;and an adequate supply of high quality fresh water. (ERA citation 03:056506)