Waterflood Make-Up Water Alternative: Municipal Reclaimed Water "Flush or Sweep", Long Beach Unit, Wilmington Field

VAN CAMP, JAMES, THUMS Long Beach Company, Long Beach, CA

This project involves the innovative use of municipal reclaimed water (treated municipal waste water) by the partnership of THUMS Long Beach Company (THUMS) and the City of Long Beach Water Department (LBWD) to control ground subsidence and enhance oil production in the Wilmington oil field in Southern California. After reclaimed water was processed at the Long Beach Water Renovation Plant, it was being dumped into the San Gabriel River. Now THUMS is using the reclaimed water for oil field waterflood injection and subsidence control in place of fresh water, which has traditionally been used for many years. This is the first known application of municipal reclaimed water for this purpose and serves as a model of cooperation between private and public entities.

To date, THUMS' Reclaimed Water Injection Pilot Project has used 41 million barrels of reclaimed water with positive results, proving it to be a viable source for oil field make-up water in the Long Beach Unit. Reservoir response measured by injectivity provides data verifying that wells injected with reclaimed water respond in a similar fashion to those injected with produced water.

The Long Beach Unit produces oil and gas from four man-made islands in the Long Beach Harbor. Operations take place in the midst of a bustling, beautiful harbor, within close proximity to residential and resort communities and beaches. From the inception of the Unit, the challenge has been to develop this vast oil field without adversely affecting the scenic beauty, natural resources, or quality of life in and around the Long Beach Harbor. Meeting this challenge requires close working relationships and open communications among public agencies and private organizations. It demands a flexible approach to meeting sometimes-inflexible environmental standards. It has resulted in the Long Beach Unit becoming a benchmark of proven methods for oil field production within an environmentally sensitive community.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90911©2000 AAPG Pacific Section and Western Region Society of Petroleum Engineers, Long Beach, California