Secondary and Enhanced Oil Recovery in Ohio - A Look Back, and Forward

Lawrence H. Wickstrom¹ and Ronald A. Riley²
¹Geoscience Consultant, Johnstown, OH
²Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Division of Geological Survey, Columbus, OH, [email protected]

Ohio has a long history of secondary and enhanced oil recovery projects dating back to 1903, when natural gas re-pressurization was used in the Macksburg field in southeastern Ohio. Air and natural gas re-pressuring for enhancing production was the dominant secondary technique in the early 1900’s. The Ohio legislature authorized waterflooding in 1939 and it was first used in the Devonian Berea Sandstone in the Chatham field of Medina County. Secondary recovery operations peaked in 1942 and accounted for approximately 16 percent of Ohio’s oil production. In 1952 hydraulic fracturing was first used in the state. This “new” primary production-enhancement technique opened vast areas of production from the “Clinton” sandstone, Devonian shales and siltstones and other horizons. Since that time, secondary recovery efforts have been used sparingly in Ohio. In the last several decades, secondary recovery typically accounted for about 1 percent or less of annual oil production in Ohio. This pales in comparison to surrounding states where secondary recovery has accounted for approximately 25 to 50 percent of oil production.

Data from several successful secondary recovery projects and tests will be reviewed. These successful projects illustrate that secondary and tertiary recovery projects will work in Ohio, given proper reservoir characterization and project design. Ohio’s primary recovery factor averages well below 10%. Thus, hundreds of millions of barrels of producible oil remain in the state’s reservoirs.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90154©2012 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Cleveland, Ohio, 22-26 September 2012