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Midale CO2 Kickoff
Reports
3/6/2006
Jarrad Skuce in Instrumentation and Production operators Gerald Hippe and Eric Roettger adjust the flowrates at the butane bullet in the Midale field.
IN A MOVE designed to keep Midale’s oil fields churning for another quarter-century, Apache Canada kicked off its $95-million Midale Unit CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Project during a reception in the Saskatchewan town last fall.
Now, several months into the program, CO2 (or carbon dioxide) injection is in full swing and Apache is anticipating the first sign of breakthrough in coming months. (Breakthrough indicates injected CO2 has made its way through the underground formation and is on the cusp of producing oil; this EOR process generally takes six to eight months.)
Several Apaches, including President, CEO and COO Steve Farris and Apache Canada President Brian Schmidt, participated in the Oct. 20 event, as did representatives from the Saskatchewan government and Dakota Gasification Company (the CO2 provider), and Apache partners, employees and contractors. Farris, Schmidt, provincial representatives and partners spoke during the event, which was wrapped up with a ceremonial twist of a “valve” set up near the ceremony stage.
Upon discovery by Shell in 1953, the Midale field was estimated to contain 500 million barrels of oil. Though the field has been in production for more than 50 years, only an estimated 26 percent of its oil has been recovered using conventional methods.
When Apache acquired Shell Canada’s Plains Unit in 1999, the Midale operation was part of the package. And using CO2 to increase oilfield production was part of the plan.
“When Apache purchased the Plains Unit in ’99, the possibility of using CO2 injection for EOR was the main incentive – that and the field’s reserves,” said Bill Jackson, Joint Venture manager for Apache Canada.
Although Apache’s EOR project was only recently kicked off, it was more than two decades in the making. Under Shell’s guidance, a pilot project on CO2 injection was conducted at the field in the mid-1980s, followed by a demonstration project in the mid-1990s.
In starting up the project, Apache decided to take CO2 injection a giant leap further – the Midale project is now the second largest of its kind in Canada. The $95 million will be spent on the project during the next five to seven years.
Since the field had been under-drilled under Shell’s ownership, Apache chose to first add horizontal wells in the waterflood to maximize production, Jackson said. (EOR is generally used after conventional recovery methods have been exhausted.)
“That’s where you’re going to get your biggest bang for the buck,” he said. “Water flooding is the lowest-cost flooding. By sweeping the field with water flooding, you get up to 30 percent of the oil in place with the water. Then, you can get an additional 12 to 15 percent more with CO2 injection.”
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VIEW: CO2 injection process (9.2K) PPS animation |
The Midale project injects CO2 purchased and piped in from Dakota Gasification in Beulah, N.D., into underground formations, increasing recovery by pushing oil through rock formations on to producing wells. A pipeline was already in place between Dakota Gasification and the larger, nearby Encana Weyburn project, therefore the pipeline only needed to be extended to expand CO2 delivery to the Midale site.
Apache Canada is currently injecting CO2 in nearly 10 patterns. The project plan predicts injection to reach 41 patterns by 2010.
Jackson says that approximately 25 million cubic feet (MMcf) of CO2 will be injected into underground formations daily for 20 years to assist in the recovery of an additional 45- to 60-million barrels of oil. In 20 years, the level of CO2 within the field will reach approximately 180 billion cubic feet, at which point the CO2 will be recycled for an additional 20 years. It is possible that the Midale field could still be producing oil 100 years after its discovery.
In addition to increased oil recovery, the project ensures that CO2 recovered during production is routed back underground rather than emitted into the atmosphere.
“The CO2 previously was just vented [released into the atmosphere],” Jackson said. “Now it’s going underground, where it can be put to use. “This is an exciting project. We are moving ahead.”
Key Calgary staff members involved in the Midale CO2 Project are: Bruce Beveridge, senior production engineering adviser – Production Engineering & Facilities; Lynn Lin, production technologist – Production Engineering; Kejia Xi, senior staff reservoir engineer – Reservoir Engineering & Management; Scot Pfalzgraff, manager, reservoir engineering – Reservoir Engineering & Management; Paul Griffith, manager, reservoir management, Houston – Reservoir Engineering & Management; Bob Nesbitt, senior Surface landman; Bill Jackson, manager, Joint Venture – CO2 supply and project spokesperson; and Brian Lavigne, senior Joint Venture representative – partner relations.
Key Midale field staff involved in the CO2 Project are: Dennis Krainyk, Production foreman; Doug Giroux, Production foreman; Darwin Penny, Production operator; Greg Brunwald, Production technician; Amanda Bachorcik, Production operator; Lorin Bowerin, Production operator; Kelly Eiteneier, Production operator; Jeff Kilback, Production operator; Dean Hooper, Production operator; Brendon Thompson, Production operator; Trent Zackrisson, Production operator; Rick Hallberg, Production operator; Hamish Ganson, Production operator; Bill Cugnet, Production operator; Shawn Fellner, Production operator; Gerald Hippe, Production operator; Russell Marcotte, Production operator; Ward Paulhus, Production operator; Kevin Ripplinger, Production operator; Eric Roettger, Production operator; Wayne Ruckaber, Production operator; Boyd Tytlandsvik, Production operator; Ron Hoium, electrician; Jarrad Skuce, Instrumentation; Karen Jackson, Field Production administrator; and Ronalee Larson, Field Production administrator.
Key Southern District Office staff (Medicine Hat) involved in the CO2 Project are: Brian Evert, (Southern District manager); Brent Carlson, (District Environment/Compliance coodinator); Sandy Gagley, (Field Production administrator); Dave Johnstone, (District Safety/Training coordinator); Lorna Pattyson, (Field Production administrator); and Trent Pittman, (Field Purchasing supervisor).