As one of the first fields in the world to use carbon dioxide (CO2) in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), the Scurry Area Canyon Reef Operators Committee (SACROC) unit of the Kelly-Snyder field in the Midland Basin of Texas provides a unique opportunity to study, learn from, and improve upon the development of CO2 flood technology. The complete paper reviews the history of EOR at SACROC, discusses changes in theory over time, and provides a look at the field’s future.
Field Overview and Development History
The first six pages of the paper discuss the field’s location, geology, and development before June 2000, when Kinder Morgan acquired the SACROC unit and took over as operator. Between initial gas injection in 1972 and 2000, approximately 1 TCF of CO2 had been injected into the Canyon Reef reservoir. Since 2000, cumulative CO2 injection has surpassed 7 TCF and yielded cumulative EOR of over 180 million bbl.
The reservoir is a primarily limestone reef complex containing an estimated original oil in place (OOIP) of just under 3 billion bbl.
