Paper: Enhanced Oil Recovery Potential, Processes, and Economics

This paper presents the potential for enhanced oil recovery, the processes by which this potential might be realized and the pertinent economic considerations, with special emphasis on the Permian Basin. Of the more than 440 billion barrels of oil that have been discovered in the continental U.S., approximately 300 billion barrels will be left in the ground after primary and secondary recovery methods are terminated. Although not all of the remaining oil can be recovered by enhanced oil recovery methods, as much as 39 billion additional barrels can be extracted using currently available technology. This paper will discuss the potential for enhanced oil recovery in the Permian Basin and the most technically and economically feasible methods for its recovery.