Micellar-Polymer Oil Recovery Demonstration in the Bell Creek Field

ABSTRACT Gary Energy Corporation is conducting a DOE Pilot Demonstration to determine whether micellar-polymer waterflooding is an economically feasible technique for enhanced oil recovery at the Bell Creek Field, Powder River County, Montana. The pilot is a contained 40-acre 5-spot embedded in a representative watered-out portion of the field. The reservoir is sandstone with an average net pay of 6.4 feet, air permeability of 1050 md, porosity of 29%, and water TDS of 4000 ppm. The pilot has four injectors (Wells MPP-1, MPP-2, MPP-3 and MPP-4) and one producer (Well 12-1). The overall micellar-polymer oil recovery is estimated at 47% of the remaining oil at the initiation of the micellar-polymer flood. Since the last review of this project* the micellar slug and approximately one-half of the polymer slug have been injected. Problems encountered during chemical injection and their treatment are discussed. A review of the produced fluid data is presented; and the numerical simulator prediction of oil recovery, completed prior to initiation of chemical injection, is compared to field data. Pilot costs and derived economic ratios are set forth. Finally, the evolution and structure of a post-pilot analysis are presented.