A review on EOR methods to improve heavy oil recovery

Abstract

Any well's oil production goes through three stages. Under well pressure, oil is naturally extracted in the first stage; the second stage begins when the well pressure drops. In the second stage, sea or brackish water is pumped into the well, forcing oil upward. Twenty to thirty percent of the well reserve is removed after the well's primary and secondary oil production stages. More than 70 percent of the oil is still present in the well, despite claims to the contrary. The third stage, often known as enhanced oil recovery or tertiary recovery, begins at this point. It is predicted that just one-third of the available oil is produced globally. Therefore, as demand rises and there is a supply shortfall, we should be able to produce more oil by adopting EOR processes. This paper presents a brief review of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes. It is anticipated that EOR technologies will be essential in supplying the world's energy needs in the years to come given the drop in oil finds over the past few decade.