The US Energy Information Administration estimates that most of the growth in US crude oil production is expected to come from tight rock formations within the Permian region in Texas, which is expected to contribute nearly 30% of total US crude oil production in the future. The primary recovery from unconventional oil reservoirs is predicted to be less than 10% and ranges anywhere from 2 to 8% for the various shale plays throughout the United States. Exploiting the vast potential of unconventional reservoirs and increasing the recovery factors beyond primary depletion by implementing improved- and enhanced-oil-recovery (IOR/EOR) methods is imperative. This paper reviews the IOR/EOR technologies currently being applied to unconventional oil reservoirs.
Introduction
Individual well production has a steep decline before leveling off at a low rate.
