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Geologic assessment and injection design for a pilot CO2-enhanced oil recovery and sequestration demonstration in a heterogeneous oil reservoir: Citronelle Field, Alabama, USA

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Abstract

CO2 pilot injection studies, with site-specific geologic assessment and engineering reservoir design, can be instrumental for demonstrating both incremental enhanced oil recovery and permanent geologic storage of greenhouse gases. The purpose of this paper is to present the geologic and reservoir analyses in support of a field pilot test that will evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of commercial-scale CO2-enhanced oil recovery to increase oil recovery and extend the productive life of the Citronelle Oil Field, the largest conventional oil field in Alabama (SE USA). Screening of reservoir depth, oil gravity, reservoir pressure, reservoir temperature, and oil composition indicates that the Cretaceous-age Donovan sand, which has produced more than 169 × 106 bbl in Citronelle Oil Field, is amenable to miscible CO2 flooding. The project team has selected an 81 ha (200 ac) 5-spot test site with one central gas injector, two producers, and two initially temporarily abandoned production wells that are now in production. Injection is planned in two separate phases, each consisting of 6,804 t (7,500 short tons) of food-grade CO2. The Citronelle Unit B-19-10 #2 well (Permit No. 3232) is the CO2 injector for the first injection test. The 14-1 and 16-2 sands of the upper Donovan are the target zones. These sandstone units consist of fine to medium-grained sandstone that is enveloped by variegated mudstone. Both of these sandstone units were selected based on the distribution of perforated zones in the test pattern, production history, and the ability to correlate individual sandstone units in geophysical well logs. The pilot injections will evaluate the applicability of tertiary oil recovery to Citronelle Field and will provide a large volume of information on the pressure response of the reservoirs, the mobility of fluids, time to breakthrough, and CO2 sweep efficiency. The results of the pilot injections will aid in the formulation of commercial-scale reservoir management strategies that can be applied to Citronelle Field and other geologically heterogeneous oil fields and the design of similar pilot injection projects.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the US Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory under Cooperative Agreement No. DE-FC26-06NT43029 with the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The work is also supported by Denbury Resources, Southern Company, the Geological Survey of Alabama, the University of Alabama, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Participation in the research program by Jack C. Pashin of the Geological Survey of Alabama is supported, in part, by the US Minerals Management Service (MMS) under Agreement No. 1435-01-04-CA-37582.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Company Generation, P.O. Box 2641, Birmingham, AL, 35291, USA

    Richard A. Esposito

  2. Geological Survey of Alabama, P.O. Box 869999, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35486, USA

    Jack C. Pashin & Denise J. Hills

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Peter M. Walsh

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  1. Richard A. Esposito
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  2. Jack C. Pashin
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  3. Denise J. Hills
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  4. Peter M. Walsh
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Correspondence to Richard A. Esposito.

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Esposito, R.A., Pashin, J.C., Hills, D.J. et al. Geologic assessment and injection design for a pilot CO2-enhanced oil recovery and sequestration demonstration in a heterogeneous oil reservoir: Citronelle Field, Alabama, USA. Environ Earth Sci 60, 431–444 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0495-5

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