Article
Article
Petroleum enhanced recovery
Article By:
Christiansen, Richard L. Department of Petroleum Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.502800
Technology to increase oil recovery from a porous formation beyond that obtained by conventional means. Conventional oil recovery technologies produce an average of about one-third of the original oil in place in a formation. Conventional technologies are primary or secondary. Primary technologies rely on native energy, in the form of fluid and rock compressibility and natural aquifers, to produce oil from the formation to wells. Secondary technologies supplement the native energy to drive oil to producing wells by injecting water or low-pressure gas at injection wells. The target of enhanced recovery technologies is that large portion of oil that is not recovered by primary and secondary means. See also: Petroleum engineering
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