"Nope, *nothing* is as effective as that."
Posted on 09/09/2008 11:35:41 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Researchers in Norway report that injecting a special type of seawater called "smart water" into certain low-yield oil wells may help boost oil extraction by as much as 60 percent. The study could help meet rising energy demands and provide consumers with some financial relief at the gas pump in the future, the scientists suggest.
In the new study, Tor Austad and colleagues note that more than 50 percent of the world's oil reserves -- billions of gallons of oil -- are trapped in oil reservoirs composed of calcium carbonate, rocks that include chalk and limestone.
Scientists now inject seawater into chalk-based oil wells to boost oil extraction, but researchers do not know if the method will work for oil wells composed of limestone, a tough material known for its low oil-recovery rates -- usually less than 30 percent, but in some cases less than 5 percent.
To find out, the scientists collected core samples from Middle East oil reservoirs composed of limestone and soaked them in crude oil for several weeks. They then prepared batches of so-called "smart water," seawater formulated with sulfate and other substances to improve seawater's ability to penetrate limestone. In laboratory studies, they showed that irrigating the limestone samples with "smart water" led to the same fundamental chemical reactions that occur in chalk. Upcoming experiments will verify if the efficiency in oil recovery is comparable to the observations in chalk, the scientists note.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Wow. That’s almost as effective as tire gages?
"Nope, *nothing* is as effective as that."
Obama needs to drink some of that water.
I think it would just make the water dumb.
Obama should put some ice on his lips. Adding a perceived insult to Sarah to his condescension isn’t too smart with white women.
Thanks for the ping.
Joe, any application for this in the Bakken?
Now we have water smarter than most politicians. I think every politician should be mandated to go on the show “Do you think you are smarter than a fifth grader”
A acid frac does wonders on limestone.
Likely not, but I’d have to defer to the frac gurus on this one. The reason is that, depending on where you are in the basin, the lithology is generally wrong. Yes, there is some limestone, but there is a lot of silica in the system, varying amounts of dolomite with the most in Elm Coulee, and the lithology tends to be fairly complex. Added to that is the distance from sources of seawater (we’re in the center, roughly, of the continent).
Sometimes, but if you overdo it, you change the pore throat geometry and bring in the ocean or tap into vertical fractures.
Understand about the geology (little or no limestone) but I bet if this stuff would improve recovery by even 25% they would tanker it in. After all, they haul sand to Saudi Arabia to make concrete!
Oh, there is plenty of limestone in the Basin, just not likely enough in the Bakken. It may have applications in other formations, though. With the continuing experimentation with improved recovery, (frac techniques, especially) I’d bet someone will try it.
Oh, there is plenty of limestone in the Basin, just not likely enough in the Bakken. It may have applications in other formations, though. With the continuing experimentation with improved recovery, (frac techniques, especially) I’d bet someone will try it.
I think we already know the answer though. ;’)
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