Forgone Oil in the Los Angeles Basin: U.S. Geological Survey Assessment of Remaining Recoverable Petroleum in Giant Oil Fields of Southern California

Using a probabilistic methodology that considers estimated original oil in place, recovery efficiency, and extent of application of available production technologies, the U.S. Geological Survey recently assessed remaining recoverable oil in major fields of the Los Angeles Basin. The L.A. Basin provides a textbook example of the effects of competing land use and conflicting community priorities on petroleum production. During much of the twentieth century, discovery and development of the L. A. oil fields went hand in hand with rapid and unrestricted urbanization, which impacted field development from the first day of drilling. In spite of one of the world’s greatest concentrations of oil per unit area and famously high local demand for refined petroleum, recovery efficiency in the major fields remains low, and basin-wide production continues to fall. Most small- to medium-size fields have already been abandoned, in many cases covered by residential or commercial development while still on primary production. Recovery of oil from major fields has also been increasingly restricted, as community standards have changed. For example, along the Wilmington Anticline and Newport-Inglewood Fault Zone, where at least six fields have estimated OOIP volumes in excess of 1 billion barrels and have been on production for about 90 years, most fields are widely viewed as nearly depleted. However, with average recovery of less than 28 % of OOIP, in almost any setting other than urban southern California, recovery in such major fields could reasonably be expected to reach at least 40 to 50%. The USGS assessment suggests the most likely case, given an overriding need for oil and disregarding economic factors, is that volumes well in excess of one billion barrels of oil could be recovered from existing fields through widespread application of current best practice industry technology such as improved imaging, advanced directional drilling, and steam and carbon dioxide floods.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90142 © 2012 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, April 22-25, 2012, Long Beach, California