Chapter 5: Exploration, Recovery, and Transportation

Steps to Extract Crude Oil

• Exploration

• Drilling

• Recovery

1 Exploration

Gravity Methods

• Gravity methods are based on the measurement of physical quantities related to the grav-
itational field, which in turn are affected by differences in the density and the disposition
of underlying geological bodies.

• The significant density values are:

– Salt: 2.1 to 2.2

– Igneous rocks: 2.5 to 3.0

– Sedimentary rocks: 1.6 to 2.8

• The gravimeter detects differences in gravity and gives an indication of the location and
density of underground rock formations.

• Differences from the normal can be caused by geological and other influences, and such
differences provide an indication of subsurface structural formations.

• There is a variety of gravimeters, but those in common use consist essentially of:

– A weighted boom that pivots about a hinge point.

– The boom is linked to a spring system so that the unit is essentially unstable and
hence very sensitive to slight variations in gravitational attraction.

– Deflections of the boom from a central (zero) position are measured by observing the
change in the tension in the spring system required to bring the boom back to that
position.

1
 – Readings are taken from a graduated dial on the head of the instrument that is
attached to the spring system through a screw.

– There must be an accurate calibration of the screw, reading dial, and spring response
for the readings to have gravitational significance.

Magnetic Methods

• Magnetic methods are based upon measuring the magnetic effects produced by varying
concentrations of ferromagnetic minerals, such as magnetite.

• Instruments used for magnetic prospecting vary from:

– The simple mining compass used in the seventeenth century.

– Sensitive airborne magnetic units permitting intensity variations to be measured with

an accuracy greater than 1/10,000 part of the earth’s field.

• The magnetometer is a specially designed magnetic compass and detects minute differences
in the magnetic properties of rock formations, thus helping to find structures that might
contain oil, such as the layers of sedimentary rock that may lie on top of the much denser
igneous, or basement, rock.

• The data give clues to places that might conceal anticlines or other oil-favorable structures.

• Of even more value is the determination of the approximate total thickness of the sedimen-
tary rock, which can save unwarranted expenditure later or more costly geophysics or even
the drilling of a well when the sediment may not contain sufficient oil to warrant further
investigation.

• Most magnetometer surveys used now are performed by the use of aircraft, which permits
large-scale surveys to be made rapidly and surveys over regions that may be otherwise
inaccessible.

Seismic Methods

• Seismic methods are based on determination of the time interval that elapses between the
initiation of a sound wave from detonation of a dynamite charge or other artificial shock
and the arrival of the vibration impulses at a series of seismic detectors (geophones).

• The arrivals are amplified and recorded along with time marks (0.01 sec intervals) to give
the seismogram.

2
 • The method depends upon whether:

1. The velocity within each of the layers penetrated at depth is greater than that in the
layers above.

2. The layers are bounded by plane surfaces.

3. The material within each layer is essentially homogeneous.

• The seismograph measures the shock waves from explosions initiated by triggering small
controlled charges of explosives at the bottom of shallow holes in the ground.

• The formation depth is determined by the time elapsed between the explosion and detection
of the reflected wave at the surface.

• In general, the deeper, older formations as a result of higher compression have a higher
density and also a higher seismic velocity than the overlying material.

• A plot of travel time as a function of surface distance provides data for determining both
the velocity of the material and the number of layers present.

• From the distances at which changes in velocity are indicated, the depth of each layer can
be computed.

• Seismic geophysical work is also carried out on the water, greatly aiding the search for oil
on the continental shelves and other areas covered by water.

• A marine seismic project moves continually, with detectors towed behind the boat at a
constant speed and a fairly constant depth.

• Explosive charges are detonated at a position and time determined by the speed of the
boat, so that a continuous survey of the reflecting horizons can be obtained.

Electrical Methods

• Electrical prospecting methods depend upon differences in electrical conductivity between

the geological bodies under study and the surrounding rocks.

• A special application of electrical methods is in the study of subsurface stratigraphy by:

– Measuring the potential differences between the surface and an electrode lowered in
a borehole.

3
 – Measuring variations in electrical resistivity with depth (electrical logging).

• This method produces a measure of porosity and permeability, as the data are affected
markedly by the ability of the drilling fluid to penetrate the formation.

• The resistivity measurements define the position of formation boundaries.

Electromagnetic Methods

• Electromagnetic methods are based upon the concept that an alternating magnetic field
causes an electrical current to flow in conducting material.

Radioactive Methods

• In the disintegration of radioactive minerals, three spontaneous emissions take place:

1. Ejection of an electron (beta-ray).

2. A helium nucleus (alpha-ray).

3. Short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation (gamma-rays).

• The instruments used in radioactive exploration are:

– Geiger counter.

– Scintillometer.

• Applications:

– Prospecting for radioactive minerals.

– Extensively applied in borehole studies of subsurface stratigraphy as might be deemed

necessary when prospecting for oil.

– Different sedimentary rocks are naturally characterized by different concentrations of

radioactive materials:

∗ Shale and volcanic ash: Highest gamma-ray count.

∗ Limestone: Lowest gamma-ray count.

Borehole Logging

• Another valuable exploration method is geophysical borehole logging.

4
 • Involves drilling a well and the use of instruments to log or make measurements at various
levels in the hole by such means as:

– Electrical resistivity.

– Radioactivity.

– Acoustics.

– Density.

• Formation samples (cores) are taken for physical and chemical tests.

2 Drilling
• The first stage in the extraction of crude oil is to drill a well into the underground reservoir.

• The final stage of the exploratory program and the only way to conclusively identify a
reservoir.

• Many wells are drilled in the same reservoirs for economic reasons and used as secondary
wells to inject something in the main well.

• New methods for drilling are continually being thought:

– Directional or horizontal: to reach formations and targets not directly below the
penetration point.

– Using lasers.

– Various types of tools:

∗ Whipstock:

· A gradually tapered wedge with a chisel-shaped base.

· Prevents rotation after it has been forced into the bottom of an open hole.

· As the bit moves down, it is deflected by the taper by about 5◦ from the
alignment of the existing hole.

∗ Knuckle Joint.

∗ Steel Drilling Platform: For drilling under water.

• Drilling does not end when production starts:

– Extension wells are necessary to:

5
 ∗ Define boundaries of the crude oil pool.

∗ Increase recovery rates.

∗ Open service wells.

∗ Test other geological structures for the presence of crude oil at the same location.

3 Recovery
• It is the production of oil from a reservoir.

• Several methods by which this can be achieved:

– Primary recovery.

– Secondary recovery.

– Enhanced recovery.

3.1 Primary Recovery

• Underground pressure in the oil reservoir is sufficient, the oil will be forced to the surface
under this pressure.

• Natural gas is often present, which also supplies needed underground pressure.

• It is sufficient to place an arrangement of valves (the Christmas tree) on the wellhead to

connect the well to a pipeline network for storage and processing.

3.2 Over the Lifetime of the Well

• Over the lifetime of the well, the pressure will fall, and at some point there will be insuffi-
cient underground pressure to force the oil to the surface.

• Secondary oil recovery:

– Uses various techniques to aid in recovering oil from depleted or low-pressure reser-
voirs.

• Tertiary recovery or enhanced oil recovery:

– Is started when secondary oil recovery techniques are no longer enough to sustain
production.

6
3.3 Primary and Secondary Recovery Processes

• These processes produce about one-third of the original oil discovered, although recoveries
from individual reservoirs can range from less than 5% to as high as 80% of the original
oil in place.

• Recovery type and efficiency are a result of:

– Variations in the properties of the reservoir (type of rocks, heterogeneity of reservoir).

– Type of crude oil.

• The effect of the method on the oil and the reservoir must be considered before application.

3.4 After Drilling

To recover oil:

• For limestone reservoir rock:

– Acid is pumped down the well and out the perforations.

– The acid dissolves channels in the limestone that lead oil into the well.

• For sandstone reservoir rock:

– A specially blended fluid containing proppants (sand, walnut shells, aluminum pel-
lets) is pumped down the well and out the perforations.

– The pressure from this fluid makes small fractures in the sandstone that allow oil to
flow into the well, while the proppants hold these fractures open.

3.5 Primary Recovery Mechanisms

1. Dissolved Gas Drive:

• The propulsive force is the gas in solution in the oil, which tends to come out of
solution because of the pressure released at the point of penetration of a well.

• Dissolved gas drive is the least efficient type of natural drive as it is difficult to control
the gas–oil ratio.

• The bottom-hole pressure drops rapidly, and the total eventual recovery of petroleum
from the reservoir may be less than 20%.

7
 2. Gas Cap Drive:

• If gas overlies the oil beneath the top of the trap, it is compressed and can be utilized
(gas cap drive) to drive the oil into wells situated at the bottom of the oil-bearing
zone.

• The usual recovery of petroleum from a reservoir in a gas cap field is 40% to 50%.

3. Water Drive:

• The most efficient propulsive force in driving oil into a well is natural water drive, in
which the pressure of the water forces the lighter recoverable oil out of the reservoir
into the producing wells.

• In a water drive field, it is essential that the removal rate be adjusted so that the water
moves up evenly as space is made available for it by the removal of the hydrocarbons.

• An appreciable decline in bottom-hole pressure is necessary to provide the pressure

gradient required to cause water influx.

• The recovery of petroleum from the reservoir in properly operated water drive pools
may run as high as 80%.

3.6 Primary Recovery Summary

• Underground pressure in the oil is sufficient.

• No pumping is required.

• Nothing is added to the reservoir to increase or maintain the reservoir energy.

3.7 Secondary Recovery

• Secondary oil recovery methods use various techniques to aid in recovering oil from depleted
or low-pressure reservoirs.

• Sometimes pumps on the surface or submerged (electrical submersible pumps (ESPs)) are
used to bring the oil to the surface.

• Other secondary recovery techniques increase the reservoir’s pressure by water injection
(waterflood) and gas injection (gasflood), which injects air or some other gas into the
reservoir.

8
3.8 Objectives of Secondary Recovery

1. Supplement the depleted reservoir energy pressure.

2. Sweep the crude oil from the injection well toward and into the production well.

3.9 Factors for Secondary Recovery Success

1. The mechanism by which the injected fluid displaces the oil (displacement efficiency).

2. The volume of the reservoir that the injected fluid enters (conformance or sweep effi-
ciency).

In most proposed secondary projects:

• Water does both these things more effectively than gas.

• It must be decided whether the use of gas offers any economic advantages because of
availability and relative ease of injection.

3.10 Pumps in Secondary Recovery (Horsehead Pump)

• A pump barrel is lowered into the well on a string of 6-inch (inner diameter) steel rods
known as sucker rods.

• The up-and-down movement of the sucker rods forces the oil up the tubing to the surface.

3.11 Gasflood

• Vaporization is a recovery mechanism used to inject gas into oil reservoirs.

• A portion of the oil affected by the dry injection gas is vaporized into the gas and trans-
ported to the production wells in the vapor phase.

• Examples of gas used:

– Wet casinghead gas.

– Enriched gas.

– Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), such as butane and propane.

– High-pressure gas.

– Nitrogen.

9
3.12 Waterflood

• Water injection is still predominantly a secondary recovery process.

• Some passages in the formation are larger than others, and the water tends to flow freely
through these, bypassing smaller passages where the oil remains.

• Solution:

– Miscible fluid flooding: Liquid butane and propane are pumped into the ground under
considerable pressure, dissolving the oil and carrying it out of the smaller passages.

4 Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

• Reservoirs with very viscous crude oils and some low-permeability carbonate (limestone,
dolomite, or chert) reservoirs respond poorly to conventional secondary recovery tech-
niques.

• In these reservoirs, it is desirable to initiate enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations as

early as possible.

• Enhanced oil recovery methods are designed to:

– Reduce the viscosity of the crude oil.

– Improve the sweeping action of the invading fluid, thereby increasing oil production.

4.1 Thermal Methods (Thermal Flood)

• Thermal methods are used to reduce the viscosity of the crude oil by heat so that it flows
more easily into the production well.

• Steam Injection:

– The most common form of this process.

– Extensively used to increase oil production.

• In-situ Combustion:

– Another form of thermally enhanced oil recovery.

– Instead of using steam to reduce crude oil viscosity, some of the oil is burned to heat
the surrounding oil.

10
4.2 Chemical Methods

1. Polymer Flooding (Polymer-Augmented Water-Flooding):

• Organic polymers are injected with the water to improve horizontal and vertical sweep
efficiency.

• This process is conceptually simple and inexpensive, and its commercial use is in-
creasing.

2. Surfactant Flooding:

• A complex process requiring detailed laboratory testing.

• Has excellent potential for improving the recovery of low-viscosity to moderate-

viscosity oil.

• Terms used:

– Microemulsions and Micellar Solutions: Concentrated, surfactant-stabilized

dispersions of water and hydrocarbons used to enhance oil recovery.

• Limitations:

– Expensive.

– Used in only a few large-scale projects.

3. Alkaline Flooding:

• Used only in reservoirs containing specific types of high acid-number crude oils.

• Involves adding inorganic alkaline chemicals, such as sodium hydroxide, sodium car-
bonate, or sodium orthosilicates to the water.

• Enhances oil recovery through:

– Interfacial tension reduction.

– Spontaneous emulsification.

– Wettability alteration.

• Relies on the in-situ formation of surfactants during the neutralization of petroleum

acids in the crude oil by the alkaline chemicals in the displacing fluids.

11
4.3 Miscible Fluid Displacement

• An oil displacement process in which an alcohol, a refined hydrocarbon, a condensed

petroleum gas, carbon dioxide, liquefied natural gas, or even exhaust gas is injected into
an oil reservoir at pressure levels such that the injected gas or alcohol and reservoir oil are
miscible.

• Process may include:

– Concurrent, alternating, or subsequent injection of water.

4.4 CO2 Miscible Displacement

• The carbon dioxide is not initially miscible with the oil.

• As the carbon dioxide contacts the in-situ crude oil:

– It extracts some hydrocarbon constituents into the carbon dioxide phase.

– Carbon dioxide also dissolves in the oil.

• Impurities in the carbon dioxide stream (e.g., nitrogen or methane) increase the pressure
required for miscibility.

• The volume of carbon dioxide injected is specifically chosen for each application, usually
ranging from 20% to 40% of the reservoir pore volume.

• To achieve higher sweep efficiency:

– Water and carbon dioxide are injected in alternate cycles.

• Even when miscibility between the carbon dioxide and the oil cannot be achieved:

– Carbon dioxide swells crude oil, increasing the volume of pore space occupied by the
oil.

– It also reduces the oil viscosity.

– Both effects improve the mobility of the oil.

12
5 Transportation

5.1 General Information

• Most oil fields are at a considerable distance from the refineries that convert crude oil into
usable products.

• Therefore, the oil must be transported via:

– Pipelines.

– Seagoing tankers.

– Railroad cars.

– Motor vehicles.

• Crude oil often contains gas, saltwater, or sand and needs some form of treatment near
the reservoir before transportation.

5.2 Gas Separation

• Gas can be separated conveniently at the wellhead.

• When the pressure of the gas in the crude oil as it comes out at the surface is not too
great:

– A simple flow tank fitted with baffles can be used to separate the gas from the oil at
atmospheric pressure.

• If a considerable amount of gas is present:

– A series of flow tanks is necessary.

• Natural gas may contain impurities:

– Most abundant impurity is hydrogen sulfide, which imparts a noticeable odor to the
gas.

5.3 Water Removal

• Crude oil at the wellhead usually contains emulsified water in proportions that may reach
amounts approaching 80% to 90%.

13
 • Requirements:

– Crude oil to be transported by pipeline must contain substantially less water (0.5%
to 2.0%).

• In case of an oil-water emulsion:

– The film may be broken mechanically, electrically, or by the use of demulsifying agents.

– This reduces the proportion of water in the oil to the specified amounts, making the
crude oil suitable for transportation.

5.4 Blending

• Crude oils from several wells may be blended to homogenize feedstock to the refinery.

• Benefits:

– May eliminate frequent changes in processing conditions required to process each

crude oil individually.

• Limitations:

– Fluctuations in individual crude oil properties can cause significant variations in the
blend properties over time.

5.5 Pipelines

• At present, the pipeline used for petroleum transportation may be up to 48 inches in

diameter and may cover many thousands of miles.

• Maintenance:

– Cylindrical steel cleaners (pigs) are passed through the pipelines between pumping
stations to keep the pipeline clear of deposits.

5.6 Seagoing Tankers

• Can be sent to any destination where a port can accommodate them.

• Routes can be adjusted based on need.

14
5.7 Bitumen Emulsions

• Bitumen may be emulsified and shipped by pipeline as an emulsion.

• The idea:

– Produce bitumen as an oil-in-water emulsion at the remote site.

– Ship the emulsion to an oil recovery and upgrading site.

5.8 Natural Gas Transportation

• Transported by seagoing vessels:

– Under Pressure: At ambient temperatures (e.g., propane and butane).

– Under Refrigeration: At atmospheric pressure (e.g., liquefied petroleum gas).

• Factors affecting transportation method:

– Physical characteristics of the gas (gaseous or liquid phase).

– Distance over which the gas will be moved.

– Geological and geographic terrain features, including land and sea operations.

– Complexity of the distribution systems.

– Relevant environmental regulations.

5.9 Crude Oil Storage

• Crude oil is usually stored in large cylindrical steel tanks (tank farms) at refineries and
shipping terminals.

• Some tanks can hold up to 950,000 barrels of oil.

• Alternative storage options:

– Salt domes leached or hollowed into underground caves.

– Disused coal mines.

– Artificial caverns.

15
5.10 Natural Gas Storage

• Occasionally stored in old reservoirs from which the gas has been recovered.

• Gas is pumped under pressure into the reservoir during low demand and retrieved later to
meet peak demand.

16