--> ABSTRACT: Wertz Tensleep CO2 Flood: Review of Engineering Design and Initial Performance, by S. W. Kleinsteiber; #91022 (1989)

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Wertz Tensleep CO2 Flood: Review of Engineering Design and Initial Performance

S. W. Kleinsteiber

The Wertz Tensleep field, located in south-central Wyoming, is one of the first fields in the Rocky Mountain area to undergo field-scale miscible carbon dioxide (CO2) flooding. CO2 injection began in late October 1986. Through March 1988, 38.7 billion scf of CO2 (1.10 × 109 m3) had been injected into a total of 31 wells. Oil production during the same period rose from approximately 3,000 bbl/day (477 m3/day) to over 10,000 bbl/day (1.590 m3/day). Reservoir performance clearly indicates that the miscible process is displacing significant amounts of tertiary oil.

The Wertz Tensleep flood has two characteristics that are unusual compared to other miscible CO2 floods. The first is that prior to CO2 injection, the reservoir pressure had to be increased by some 1,000 psi (7 MPa) to achieve miscibility. The second is that fluid injectivity has been higher than expected, with limited reduction in water injectivity during alternate CO2-water injection.

This paper briefly reviews the field history and miscible flood design studies. Project implementation is discussed, including reservoir pressurization and facilities construction. CO2 flood performance is presented, including factors such as production response, impact of additional drilling, fluid injectivity, and operational problems.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91022©1989 AAPG Annual Convention, April 23-26, 1989, San Antonio, Texas.