Chevron reached a historic milestone during 2009 with the startup of a large-scale pilot steamflood project at the Wafra Field, located in the onshore Partitioned Zone (PZ) between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The project will help determine the technical and economic viability of using thermal-recovery projects to produce extra-heavy oil from carbonate reservoirs, such as those found at Wafra and many other fields in the Middle East. If successful, the pilot project could significantly increase the recovery of crude oil reserves in the PZ. Under a concession from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chevron is the only international oil company producing in the onshore PZ.
Steamflooding involves injecting steam into a reservoir to heat the crude oil underground, reduce its viscosity and allow it to be extracted through wells. Carbonate reservoirs pose unique technological challenges, including the buildup of salt scales on the wells and water treatment systems, as well as the need to apply specialized corrosion mitigation technologies for flow assurance.
Chevron is recognized as the world’s leader in thermal recovery and has successfully used steamflooding technology to produce heavy oil from sandstone reservoirs in California's San Joaquin Valley and the Duri Field in Indonesia.
Posted: April 2010