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ABSTRACT: Air Injection Enhanced Oil Recovery and 3-D Seismic: Revitalizing an Aging South Louisiana Oil Field

SPENCER, J. A., CHIP STORY, T. H. GILLHAM, T. H. WALKER, and D. J. MASSE

Amoco and partners are attempting to extend the life of a 70 year-old south Louisiana oil field with two innovative enhanced oil recovery projects and a 3-D seismic survey. West Hackberry Field, in northern Cameron Parish, produces oil and gas from Miocene and Oligocene sands on the flanks of the largest salt dome in southwestern Louisiana.

A joint Amoco-U.S. Department of Energy project involves field testing of the applicability of air injection in two recovery processes: 1) displacing a water-invaded oil column in a watered-out oil reservoir to recover additional oil through gravity drainage and 2) repressuring a low-pressure reservoir by injecting air into the gas cap, pushing the thin oil rim to downstructure wells. The first reservoir of this type in the field to undergo air injection has doubled its producing rate.

A 60-square mile 3-D seismic survey is currently being interpreted to exploit the existing field pays and to evaluate deeper Oligocene and Eocene potential. Preliminary interpretations have identified a large Eocene paleochannel on the northwest flank of the field and a deep salt overhang on the field's west flank.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90941©1997 GCAGS 47th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana