The Big Squeeze: Oilflow Solutions prepares for Terraflux heavy oil EOR pilot
By: Elsie Ross
Tucked away in a laboratory in an unprepossessing light industrial area in northeast Calgary, Oilflow Solutions Canada scientists are hard at work on what they believe is a game-changing technology for enhanced heavy oil recovery.
If they are successful, the patented Terraflux formulation could be more effective than a waterflood in increasing reservoir recovery rates, saving operators both time and money.
Using industry standard computer simulators, the scientists have been testing the product and performance in the lab, developing the reservoir physics to make it all work, says Phil Fletcher, the company's technical director.
While the product has yet to be field-tested, results from the initial simulations have been promising. "We have done a head-to-head comparison with a waterflood and we have used one with the Terraflux formulation and what we are seeing is a 20% increase in recovery but in a shorter time," he says.
"This is a case of more oil in less time with essentially less use of chemicals." And if an operator can produce the same amount of oil with less water, there also will be energy savings.
Courtesy of New Technology Magazine, June Warren-Nickles
