New details just released on microbial flooding

Bug floods have been around for many years. But can a new approach from China improve recovery in heavy oil?

Without AppIntel, how would you find field trials of bug flooding? When you have AppIntel, it is as simple as typing  microbial flood into the KiP omni box.

One operator proposes injecting microbes into 16 API oil using technology researched in China. He hopes for a different effect than usual microbial floods.

It's all in his AER application documents. Help yourself to his application documents through our secure checkout.

Confidential documents in applications

This application includes four confidential documents. But if you order the application from the AER, they won't tell you about them. If you order the application from AppIntel at the highest quality (Investigate quality), you will see the evidence we have collected about these confidential documents.

Knowing about confidential documents allows you to order them when they become non-confidential. It also helps you know what might be missing from the application.

Evidence of confidential documents is one more way AppIntel adds to information about AER applications.

Growing bugs in situ

Theoretically, the attraction of microbe floods is simplicity. Most proponents say you just need to feed the bugs already in the reservoir and they will spontaneously multiply. The only cost is bug food.

Some maintain that flooding with microbes have microscopic as well as macroscopic advantages.

But this operator has a different idea. It is worth checking out his application.

More than injectant

A specialized injectant like this is not magic. It doesn't guarantee a great economics success

The most profitable floods are only partially due to specialized injectant and much more to do with regular flood maintenance. Even floods with exotic injectants can perform very poorly.

Patient, persistent flood maintenance can yield very big dividends.

If you think a flood expert is expensive, just wait until you hire an amateur

Flooding and especially exotic bug flooding are not for beginners. There are very few flood engineers that really know what they're doing with these floods.

For example, one company I know was operating a complicated flood. They hired a young engineer straight out of school to simulate their pool. He had completed a university project on reservoir simulation. And it was very inexpensive to hire him.

However, there's much more to flood engineering than a school report. The simulation was pretty, but didn't help them make money.

The company ended up selling the flood for pennies on the dollar. We could have saved it.

Beginners are cheap, but...

Beginners spend huge amounts of time trying to figure what to do. In the end they usually come up with poor recommendations.

But experts know what to do because of their extensive experience. The investment of engineering hours invested is far less and the outcome is better.

It's really very costly to hire inexperienced people.

Tags: Polymer, Flood, Cut costs

Granger Low   13 Aug 2018

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