CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery
AITF is a world leader in advancing the use of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). We have taken a leadership role in multi-disciplinary pilot projects that demonstrate the applicability of these new technologies.
Our expertise assists industry in:
- developing CO2 EOR injection schemes
- optimizing recovery through CO2 EOR
- monitoring the fate of CO2 after injection
A win-win approach
CO2 EOR involves injecting carbon dioxide into depleting oil reservoirs. This technology not only increases oil recovery from a reservoir, but also has the added bonus of storing some of the injected CO2 underground.
CO2 EOR has attractive advantages, including:
- improving the flow rate of the oil to be recovered
- increasing recoveries of the total existing resource (e.g. 8 to 15 %)
- storing a portion of the injected CO2 underground permanently
Some of AITF's CO2 EOR projects
Penn West Pembina Cardium CO2 EOR Monitoring
AITF has been the project leader of this initiative, which is testing a variety of monitoring technologies at a CO2 EOR site.
IEA GHG Weyburn CO2 EOR Monitoring and Storage Project
We were brought in on this project to lend our expertise in geochemistry and reservoir modelling.
Integrated economic model for CO2 capture and storage
ARC is developing a computer model to simulate the economics of connecting CO2 emission point sources to oil pools and coalbed methane formations where CO2 can be used for enhanced resource recovery. Both ARC and the Government of Canada provide funding for this project.
We are working with:
- Energy Navigator
- SNC Lavalin
- Computer Modelling Group
CO2 EOR optimization
We are investigating CO2 injection factors that contribute to maximizing CO2 geological storage while inducing incremental recovery of oil through enhanced oil recovery. For example, we have examined several oil reservoirs with the goal of developing strategies for optimizing production under different scenarios, such as the price of CO2 or restrictions on water.