'Steam flood' to raise Mideast's reserves
'Steam flood' technology, used for the first time in the Gulf, may increase the region's recoverable reserve of oil by "several billion barrels", according to oil economists and industry insiders.
Next month, US oil major Chevron Corporation will launch its first steam flood project aimed at boosting crude oil output in the area where the borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait meet, Kurtz Glaubitz, Upstream team leader (media relations) with Chevron told Emirates Business.
"The technology is in its pilot stage there. If it proves successful, we can emulate it in other reservoirs. If that goes well, then we could move on to other fields. The project is to be launched in July this year," Glaubitz said.
Steam flood, which involves injecting an oil reservoir with steam or thermal stimulation of oil reservoirs, is being used in the Wafra fields in Saudi Arabia.
Chevron, which has had a presence in Saudi Arabia for decades, currently produces about 250,000 barrels of oil per day in the country. The new oil that Chevron now wants to pump is found in special carbonate reservoirs, said Glaubitz.
Similar technology can help tap heavy oil reserves in Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, he said. Dubai-based oil economists say besides Chevron, companies such as Occidental are working on a similar project in Oman. "Heavy oil constitutes much of the reserves in the region, particularly Oman and Kuwait. And recoverable reserves can increase substantially if the pilot projects work out well," said Robin Mills, a Dubai-based oil economist who authored The myth of oil crisis.
According to a report published by British Petroleum (BP) at the end of 2006, Saudi Arabia's oil reserves stood at 264.3 billion barrels. The figure was 101.5 billion barrels for Kuwait. "These are the two countries that have high reserves of heavy oil," said Glaubitz.
Both Glaubitz and Mills declined to comment on what levels they expect the reserves to increase. "It will be billions of barrels of new reserves. There are proven oil reserves of 20-30 billion barrels in Kuwait alone. The figure could be higher in Saudi Arabia," said Mills.
The pilot project, located in the Wafra field, currently produces an estimated 550,000 barrels a day between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Techniques such as injecting gas into an oil reservoir are used to extend a field's life as it depletes. Technologies such as steam flood have existed for the past few decades but are being used in the oil-rich Gulf for the first time.
The Gulf has been trying to enhance recoverable reserves and ensuring that technology exists to extract oil, which was considered unrecoverable until a few years ago.
Research on new technologies, which could enhance world's recoverable oil reserves, is being carried out by companies such as Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum and Chevron at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) in Doha. Serious attempts to recover heavy oil is being made by Oman where reserves are fast depleting. The attempts may not go in vain, considering new technologies have helped the world enhance its recoverable oil reserve over the year and it stands at about 1300 billion barrels at present.
Steam flood
Steam flood technology involves injecting an oil reservoir with steam or thermal stimulation of oil reservoirs. This is being used in the Wafra fields in Saudi Arabia.
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