CO2 Injection Begins in Hall-Gurney Field Pilot Test
After four years of geological and engineering analysis, overcoming numerous technical and financial obstacles and setbacks, carbon dioxide injection began December 4, 2003 in the Hall-Gurney field in Russell County. This is the first attempt in Kansas to recover additional oil through CO2 miscible flooding. The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored pilot demonstration is to assess the viability of CO2 flooding in the Lansing-Kansas City formation on the central Kansas uplift. If the test is successful, this technique could be applied to similar fields in the state to recover millions of barrels of additional oil that would otherwise be left behind.
The 10-acre pilot test is located about 7 miles southeast of the town of Russell. The Hall-Gurney field in this area has produced over 150 million barrels of oil since its discovery in 1931. Production from this field has declined by 50% during the last decade, with 500,000 barrels of oil produced in 2001. The plan is to inject approximately 20 tons of CO2 per day for the first six months, then conduct a WAG (water alternating with gas) process for the next four years. If successful, about 20,000 barrels of additional oil will be produced from the 10-acre pilot area during this time. Carbon dioxide for the project is being trucked from U.S. Energy Partners ethanol plant in Russell.
In
addition to funding from the U.S.DOE, other partners in the project are the
Kansas Department of Commerce, Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp., Murfin
Drilling Co. Inc., John O. Farmer Inc., White Eagle Resources Corp., Kinder-Morgan
CO2 Co., U.S. Energy Partners LP, EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products Inc., and the
Tertiary Oil Recovery Project and the Kansas Geological Survey from the University
of Kansas.
A luncheon and ceremony was conducted on December 4th in Russell and at the field site to recognize the partners in the test project. Supporters and government officials attended the ceremony including Lt. Governor John Moore and KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. It was attended by approximately 70 people. More information on this project is available online at http://www.kgs.ku.edu/CO2/index.html.
Next Page Case Study Highlights to Be Reviewed in ½-Day Workshops
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Petroleum Technology Transfer Council Rodney Reynolds, Director Dwayne McCune, Engineer Lisa Love, Office Manager Partially funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy through the National Petroleum Technology Office & Federal Energy Technology Center |
Kansas Geological Survey Dr. Tim Carr, Chief of Petroleum Research Dr. W Lynn Watney, Executive Director ERC |
Dr. Don Green, Co-Director Dr. G. Paul Willhite, Co-Director |
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| e-mail : webadmin@kgs.ku.edu Last updated January 2004 http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PTTC/News/2003/news2003-02-1.html |