The Orange Mane - a Denver Broncos Fan Community - View Single Post - With all the Super Volcanoe talk I forgot to post this

Spider · 01-31-2005, 10:37 AM

By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER
Star-Tribune energy reporter Monday, January 31, 2005
Casper Star-Tribune (307) 266-0500

Pumping units -- those metal dinosaurs incessantly bobbing their heads at the ground -- are disappearing in Wyoming, along with shrinking oil reserves.

They're disappearing by the dozens in the 100-year-old Salt Creek field 45 miles north of Casper, clearing the landscape for the next generation of production technology: carbon dioxide flooding.

The metal rocking horses are replaced with simple well heads and pressure equipment. Imagine the five spot on a domino. CO2 and water is injected into the center dot, pushing more oil out of the four surrounding dots.

And in this manner, enhanced oil recovery will stop the decline of oil production in Wyoming this year for the first time in two decades, according to industry officials.

"We're retrofitting a 100-year-old oil field, so we're not disturbing new lands," said Rick Robitaille, spokesman for Anadarko Petroleum. "By rejuvenating these historic fields, we will help slow -- if not stem -- that (oil production) decline for a while."

The flow of Wyoming crude oil has steadily dwindled an average 5 percent each year since the drilling bust of 1985. During that time, coal and natural gas development grew to fill in the state's mineral-based economic foundation as oil trickled out.

If oil's retreat is delayed, it would maintain an annual flow of 50-plus million barrels of production and nearly $130 million in property and severance taxes into state coffers.

"These new enhanced oil recovery projects, if they are as successful as we hope, could in fact flatten out the depletion curve for as long as they are on line," Wyoming State Geologist Ron Surdam said.

Anadarko Petroleum is leading the enhanced oil recovery effort in Wyoming. For the past two years, the company has been replacing miles of old pipelines and re-tooling hundreds of old wells at the expansive Salt Creek field -- an effort that has created some 200 new jobs in the area.

In 2004, the company began injecting CO2 into the Wall Creek 2 formation, adding about 1,500 barrels of oil per day atop the base flow of 3,500 barrels per day.

And there are 11 more formations to "sweep" with CO2, Robitaille said.

The Monell field in Sweetwater County was an abandoned oil field. Anadarko expects to yield some primary recovery there, then keep production strong with CO2 flooding. The company also plans to extend its CO2 recovery efforts to the Sussex field in southern Johnson County.

Based on those three projects alone, and a scattering of new oil wells, the Wyoming Consensus Revenue Estimating Group estimates that Wyoming oil decline will actually reverse, according to Don Likwartz, director of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, who serves on CREG.

"We show it going up slightly in 2006, and then continue to increase through 2009, and then start back down in 2010," Likwartz said.

That outlook might be surpassed if other oil companies tap into Anadarko's CO2 supply. When Anadarko bought the Salt Creek field from Howell Corp. in 2002, it also purchased the marketing rights of CO2 production at ExxonMobile's LaBarge gas plant in southwest Wyoming. Other companies had tried to complete a CO2 pipeline from LaBarge to Salt Creek in the southern Powder River Basin, and in 2003 Anadarko completed the construction.

Industry officials hope the CO2 connection will be the lifeline that gives Wyoming's oil industry a few more good years. Likwartz said projections that today's high oil prices will remain keeps that prospect alive and well.

"We think demand will continue to go up and we won't be able to match it with production, and the cost will go up," Likwartz said.
[B] There is still alot of oil in Wyoming , Salt Creek was one of the worlds largest oil patches , and one of the best producing oil fields ........
The Red Desert is full of oil . maybe even bigger then ANWAR ......

01-31-2005, 10:37 AM	#1
Spider Mr Diplomacy I survived Tebow Mania at the Mane Join Date: May 2001 Location: Elway was just an arm =MacGruder Posts: 84,438 Adopt-a-Bronco: Von Miller	With all the Super Volcanoe talk I forgot to post this By DUSTIN BLEIZEFFER Star-Tribune energy reporter Monday, January 31, 2005 Casper Star-Tribune (307) 266-0500 Pumping units -- those metal dinosaurs incessantly bobbing their heads at the ground -- are disappearing in Wyoming, along with shrinking oil reserves. They're disappearing by the dozens in the 100-year-old Salt Creek field 45 miles north of Casper, clearing the landscape for the next generation of production technology: carbon dioxide flooding. The metal rocking horses are replaced with simple well heads and pressure equipment. Imagine the five spot on a domino. CO2 and water is injected into the center dot, pushing more oil out of the four surrounding dots. And in this manner, enhanced oil recovery will stop the decline of oil production in Wyoming this year for the first time in two decades, according to industry officials. "We're retrofitting a 100-year-old oil field, so we're not disturbing new lands," said Rick Robitaille, spokesman for Anadarko Petroleum. "By rejuvenating these historic fields, we will help slow -- if not stem -- that (oil production) decline for a while." The flow of Wyoming crude oil has steadily dwindled an average 5 percent each year since the drilling bust of 1985. During that time, coal and natural gas development grew to fill in the state's mineral-based economic foundation as oil trickled out. If oil's retreat is delayed, it would maintain an annual flow of 50-plus million barrels of production and nearly $130 million in property and severance taxes into state coffers. "These new enhanced oil recovery projects, if they are as successful as we hope, could in fact flatten out the depletion curve for as long as they are on line," Wyoming State Geologist Ron Surdam said. Anadarko Petroleum is leading the enhanced oil recovery effort in Wyoming. For the past two years, the company has been replacing miles of old pipelines and re-tooling hundreds of old wells at the expansive Salt Creek field -- an effort that has created some 200 new jobs in the area. In 2004, the company began injecting CO2 into the Wall Creek 2 formation, adding about 1,500 barrels of oil per day atop the base flow of 3,500 barrels per day. And there are 11 more formations to "sweep" with CO2, Robitaille said. The Monell field in Sweetwater County was an abandoned oil field. Anadarko expects to yield some primary recovery there, then keep production strong with CO2 flooding. The company also plans to extend its CO2 recovery efforts to the Sussex field in southern Johnson County. Based on those three projects alone, and a scattering of new oil wells, the Wyoming Consensus Revenue Estimating Group estimates that Wyoming oil decline will actually reverse, according to Don Likwartz, director of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, who serves on CREG. "We show it going up slightly in 2006, and then continue to increase through 2009, and then start back down in 2010," Likwartz said. That outlook might be surpassed if other oil companies tap into Anadarko's CO2 supply. When Anadarko bought the Salt Creek field from Howell Corp. in 2002, it also purchased the marketing rights of CO2 production at ExxonMobile's LaBarge gas plant in southwest Wyoming. Other companies had tried to complete a CO2 pipeline from LaBarge to Salt Creek in the southern Powder River Basin, and in 2003 Anadarko completed the construction. Industry officials hope the CO2 connection will be the lifeline that gives Wyoming's oil industry a few more good years. Likwartz said projections that today's high oil prices will remain keeps that prospect alive and well. "We think demand will continue to go up and we won't be able to match it with production, and the cost will go up," Likwartz said. [B] There is still alot of oil in Wyoming , Salt Creek was one of the worlds largest oil patches , and one of the best producing oil fields ........ The Red Desert is full of oil . maybe even bigger then ANWAR ......