INVESTIGATION OF OIL BY PASSED MECHANISMS FOR IMPROVED OIL RECOVERY IN DEEPWATER GULF OF MEXICO

Deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil fields (DW GoM) typically get modest Ultimate Recovery Factors in the 10% ‑ 35% range, because reservoirs tend to be small, deep, and complex. The Remaining Oil target for Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) is tempting large, with about 40 Billion Bbl estimated to be left in discovered fields at abandonment. Procedures on by‑passed oil mechanisms analysis are based on analysis of field data compiled by Minerals Management Service, on data extracted from focused literature reviews, and on original work to analysis by‑passed oil mechanisms and describe the remaining oil distribution in turbidite reservoirs of DW GoM. This paper describes a study on oil trapped mechanism, by‑passed oil categories and their distributions. It is key part of study directed at recommending a select group of IOR processes for multi‑million dollar Research & Development funding by Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). The DW GoM oil fields have been catalogued and characterized by geological setting and reservoir engineering. (1) By‑passed oil depends on structure settings and depositional system. The trapped oil mechanism was reviewed in the context of eight defined geologic classification types for structural setting and depositional environment. (2) Detailed examination of reservoir performance and simulation studies has been conducted for a number of GoM fields and reservoirs. In this study, case study with actual field data for Neogene age Tertiary reservoirs is included, and followed by conclusions. Authors established static and dynamic model referring MMS database to quantify by‑passed oil. This work defines the significance of bypassing mechanisms so that appropriate IOR methods can be selected in DW GoM.