SPE/DOE 27751

Microbial Enhanced Waterflooding Field Tests

R.S. Bryant, * A.K. Steop, * K.M. Bertus, and T.E. Burchfield, * BDM-Oklahoma Inc.lNIPER,
and Mike Dennis, Microbial Systems Corp.
'SPE Members

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE/DOE Ninth Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A., 17-20 April 1994.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper,
as presented, have not been reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not necessarily reflect
any position of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, its officers, or members. Papers presented at SPE meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial Committees of the Society
of Petroleum Engineers. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment
of where and by whom the paper is presented. Write Librarian, SPE, P.O. Box 833836, Richardson, TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., Telex 163245 SPEUT.

ABSTRACT commercial application of the technology. This field

pilot was injected with microorganisms and molasses
To determine the feasibility of improving oil recovery from a centralized injection station in June 1Q90.
and the economics of microbial enhanced Although microorganisms were injected only once,
waterflooding in mature oil wells in the United States, nutrient injection continued throughout the project life.
two field pilots have been conducted. Candidate fields All 19 injection wells were treated, and oil production
were screened to determine whether they have any was monitored from the 47 production wells.
potential for a microbial system developed at the Treatments were similar to procedures for the field
National Institute for Petroleum and Energy Research pilot demonstration. No operational problems were
(NIPER), and microbial compatibility tests were encountered. At the end of May 1993, the oil
conducted in the laboratory to select the target field. A production rate was improved by 19.6%.
specific microbial formulation was selected that was
compatible with the chosen reservoir environment and
had been shown to recover oil after waterflooding in INTRODUCTION
Berea sandstone and field core. The microbial
formulation was designed to improve microscopic oil
displacement efficiency by surfactant, gas and acid Microbial methods for improving oil recovery are
production from fermentation of molasses. A 20-acre potentially cost-effective and particularly well suited
pilot test was initiated in October 1986, and completed for today's economic climate. The technology is
in December 1989. flexible, relatively inexpensive, and can be applied by
independent producers. Microbial formulations can be
used in a variety of methods including well stimulation
Results from this pilot demonstrated that
microorganisms could be injected into an ongoing treatments, permeability modification treatments, and
microbial-enhanced waterflooding. Well stimulation
waterflood and that such injection could increase the treatments are inexpensive and easy to implement and
oil production rate by at least 13%.
can provide rapid recovery of nominal investment
A larger test (380 producing acres) was completed in costs. Microbial-enhanced waterflooding has
significant potential for increasing production from
the same formation to evaluate the feasibility of
aging oil fields that are currently undergoing
waterflood. The incremental cost for injecting
References and illustrations at end of paper microbes and nutrient is relatively small in an existing

159
2 Microbial Enhanced Waterflooding Field Tests SPE 27751

waterflood, which may make this recovery method FIELD TEST DESIGN - MINK UNIT
applicable at low oil prices when more expensive
methods are not economically feasible. The Mink Unit site, which includes both the Candy
and Sallie Mink leases, selected for the project is
Microorganisms most commonly used for MEOR located in Delaware-Childers field in Nowata County,
field processes that rely on improving the efficiency Oklahoma (Figs 2 and 3). This particular part of
of microscopic oil displacement are species of Delaware-Childers field was owned by B & N Oil
Bacillus and Clostridium. These species have a Company when the project was initiated in 1986. The
greater potential for survival under petroleum legal description of the Mink Unit is Section 36,
reservoir conditions than other species because they Township 27N, Range 16 E of Nowata County.
produce spores, which are dormant, resistant forms of
the cells that can survive under stressful The 1,200-acre Sinclair Oil and Gas Company Tanner
environmental conditions. Clostridium species Waterflood, initiated in March 1954, included the
produce surfactants, gases, alcohols and solvents, Mink leases, the site of the microbial field
whereas some Bacillus species produce surfactants, experiment. Surface water from the nearby Verdigris
acids, and some gases. River has continued to be the source water for this
flood since its initiation. The flood has been in
In microbial-enhanced waterflood applications, it is continuous operation, although under various owners,
important that the microbes be capable of moving to the present time.
through the reservoir matrix and producing chemical
products that can mobilize oil. The relative rates of In 1988, as a result of the sale of this oilfield, cores
transport of the nutrient and microorganisms will were drilled on the Mink Unit and Brown leases of
affect the injection strategy and design of the this field, and data from core analyses were provided
microbial system. by the new owners to NIPER. The average
permeability was 90 millidarcies, which was higher
A microbial treatment requires careful design and than that of some of the earlier core analyses, and the
sound reservoir engineering practice, as does any average porosity was 19.1 %.
enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method. A microbial-
enhanced waterflood field project sponsored by the The Mink Unit covered a 160-acre area, of which 110
U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), Microbial acres were productive and contained 21 injection
Systems Corp. (MSC), and INJECTECH, Inc., and wells and 15 production wells drilled on 5-acre
conducted in cooperation with the National Institute spacing (Fig. 3). All wells were flowing, except for
for Petroleum and Energy Research (NIPER) was one which was being pumped. Well completions
initiated in October of 1986. The purpose of the were open-hole. Table 1 lists the average reservoir
project was to determine the feasibility of injecting a properties at the time of the project.
microbial formulation in a mature, ongoing
waterflood, and if such an injection could increase oil TABLEt
production. The microbial formulation was designed
to improve microscopic oil displacement efficiency Reservoir Properties for Mink Unit
by surfactant, gas and acid production from
fermentation of molasses. Molasses was the nutrient
of choice because it was readily available and Formation '" ... ............. ... Bartlesville sandstone
inexpensive ($100/ton). Based on the the favorable Depth, ft........................................ 600
results of the initial pilot, an expanded microbial- Average net pay thickness, ft.... ...... 30
Average permeability, rnD ... ..... ..... 90
enhanced waterflood was initiated in June of 1990. Porosity, % ... ... ....... ... .... ... .... ... ... .... 20
Figure 1 shows the location of the two field projects. Avg formation temperature, OF ....... 75
Number of injection wells.............. 21
These particular field experiments were designed to Number of production wells........... 15
use microorganisms that produced chemicals Avg water injection rate, bbl/d....... 40/well
(surfactants, gases, alcohols, and fatty acids) for Avg injection pressure, psi........... 530
improved oil mobilization, and had the ability to Avg oil production, bbl/d/well ...... ... 0.4
transport through porous media. Detailed information Oil gravity, ° API.... ...... .... ..... ......... 34
about the Mink Unit Project through January 1990 has TDS of injection water, %................ 0.03
Avg IDS of produced water, % ....... 0.5
been published previously. 1 Avg oil saturation, %...................... 33

160
SPE 27751 R.S. Bryant, A.K. Stepp, K. M. Bertus, T.E. Burchfield, M.Dennis 3

of oil from reservoirs in the Cherokee Group is

affected by facies, bedding boundary and other
FIELD OPERATIONS - MINK UNIT permeability barriers, and diagenetic changes.
A chemical tracer study was implemented during the Because of these factors, permeability trends such as
those observed in Delaware-Childers field would be
baseline period (December 1986) t~ de!ermine: .( 1) fairly common.
the flow patterns of the injec~ed flU.Ids m the Mm.k
Unit; (2) if any gross channelmg eXIsted; a~d (3) If
there was communication among all producmg wells Injection of NIPER Bac 1 and Molasses
and the four treated injectors. Each producing well
was sampled daily for the first 5 days a.fter trac~r Twenty-six gallons (0.65 bb.l). of a. microbial
injection, then biweekly samp~ing was contlI~ued untIl formulation, NIPER Bac 1, was mjected mto each of
no fluorescein was detected m the productIOn wells the four targeted injection wells, C-DW-2, S-BW-2,
S-AW-3, and S-BW-3 (Fig. 3). Wells C-DW-2 and
(about 75 d). Samples were protected from light a~d
S-BW-2 were treated on March 19, 1987, and wells
transported to NIPER where. the fluo!escem S-AW-3 and S-BW-3, on March 23, 1987. Twenty
concentration was determIned USIng a
spectrophotometric method. The tracer studi.es gallons of molasses d~l~ted t~ a concentration. of
approximately 4% was mjected mto each well dunng
seemed to indicate a northeasterly flow pattern (FIg.
the microbial injection. The molasses and
2) because wells C-CP-1 and C-CP-3 and S-AP-4
microorganisms were injected by means of a header
received fluorescein in greater amounts and more
quickly than the other wells. The middle w~ll, S-~P- bypass system. The four treated injecti~n .we~ls were
shut-in until April 3, 1987, when water mjectIon was
2, received the highest amount of fluorescem, WhICh
resumed. The other 17 injection wells in the Mink
was expected since this well was affected by all four
Unit were still in operation during the shut-in period.
injection wells.
After water injection was resumed, the injection wells
were backflushed to determine if microbial activity
Using simulation studies, it was anticipat~d that tracer
would begin to break through the formatlon about 1.5 could be observed. Samples of water backflushed
from the treated injection wells foamed when ~hak~n,
years after injection. We began to ~on?uct
indicating surfactant production and that the mIcrobial
intermittent sampling for tracer about thIS time.
populations were ,viable. Su?sequently, the four
Fluorescein was again observed .about 1.8 y~ar~ after injection wells receIved the eqUIvalent of 2 galld/well
injection. The persistence of thIS response mdIcat~d of undiluted molasses until September 21, 1989.
that the tracer had just transported through the matnx
of the formation and that the earlier response of
tracer was due to low-volume, high-permeability PROJECT EVALUATION - MINK UNIT
streaks in the formation. Of the wells sampled, the
fluorescein appearance again indicated a northeasterly The sequence of events in t~is project ~s briefly
outlined in Fig. 4. Field samplmg for baselme values
flow pattern, because C-CP-1 and <:-CP-3 showed
fluorescein in high amounts, as dId S-AP-2, the began in November 1986, and continued to March 17,
1987. The data from these studies showed that the
middle well.
total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, oil viscosities, and
The tracer results obtained were consistent with microbial counts were consistent during this period.
Field data, including injection pressures an~ volu~es,
reports from a micellar-polymer pilot conducted ~n a
oil production, and water/oil ratios all.re~amed f~Irly
nearby lease. 2 Chemical tracers (amm~)lllUm constant during the baseline momtonng penod.
thiocyanate and isopropyl alcohol) were used m that Detailed results from the studies were presented in the
study; however, no breakthrough of the tracers was Mink Unit Final Report. 1
ever detected in the produced water. Later, after
injection of the micellar-polymer solutions, polymer
was detected in off-pattern wells to the northeast of In May 1988, a portion of Delaware-Chil?ers field
was sold which included the Mink Umt leases.
the pilot site, which indicated a directional
Immediately after this sale, the new owners began an
permeability flow from the southwest to the northeast.
extensive drilling program and construct~d. a new
waterflood injection facility. When the dnllmg was
The Bartlesville sandstone is a Cherokee Group,
Desmoinesian Series, Middle Pennsylvanian System started, a large amount of gas was encoun.tered wJ1ich
caused total fluid production in the Mmk Umt to
fluvial-dominated deltaic deposit. 3 Ultimate recovery decrease dramatically. During the remainder of the

161
4 Microbial Enhanced Waterflooding Field Tests SPE 27751

monitoring period through December 1989, the oil assigned for the research and development of the
production never achieved the levels ~ri?r to ~he microbial formulation; (2) The cost for equipment for
drilling activity. Since 1989, all of the ongmal Mmk
Unit wells have been plugged, and a total of 350 new TABLE 2
wells have been drilled.
Predicted and Actual Oil Production Rates
for the Mink Unit
Injection pressures at the microbially treate~ injection
wells did not increase throughout the duratIOn of the Year Production, Production,
microbial treatment. Injection pressure monitoring Pred. avg bbllwk Actual avg bbllwk
was critical to this microbial-enhanced waterflood 1981 50.0 50.5
experiment. In NIPER laboratory core flooding 1982 48.8 46.5
experiments, no facial plugging was ever observed by 1983 47.7 46.8
NIPER Bac 1. Later coreflood experiments with 1984 46.6 46.4
similar microorganisms indicated that 1985 45.6 44.8
microorganisms and their products transport at 1986 44.5 45.1
1987 43.5 48.8
reasonable rates through porous media. 4 Based upon
1988Al 42.6 48.2
laboratory and field results, it was concluded that no
1988B2 42.6 46.5
adverse plugging effects occurred because of the
1989 41.7 36.3
microbial injection. 1990 40.7 26.3
11988A - Jan. 1 - May 31.
The average water-oil ratios (WOR) at all monitored 21988B - Jun. 1 - Dec. 31.
production wells in the Mink Unit decreased when
compared to the averages during the baseline period this particular microbial injection was less than $500;
(Fig. 5). These WORs have high standard. dev.iation and (3) Because the microbial population was not
values, primarily because of gas productIOn m the overfed, the total effect of the microbial injection may
wells, which causes large fluctuations, but the overall not have been attained. Since the chemical tracer
averages have definitely decreased, and in wells S- began to appear only after 1.8 years (22 months) of
P47R and C-CP-3, the decrease is significant. Note injection, based on preliminary data from early
that in the two off-pattern wells, S-AP-4 and breakthrough of tracer, microorganisms should have
C-BP-2, the WOR has not decreased; thus, the begun to appear in the production wells about 0.6 -
microbial treatment has probably affected those wells 0.8 year (7-10 months) after the tracer appearance.
closest to the injectors. Unfortunately, this would have been about the time
that infill drilling near the Mink Unit began, and the
Oil production increased after the microbial injection sampling period for microorganisms ended.
through May 1988 (Fig. 6). After the infill drilling
and hydraulic fracturing occurred, the wellhead During the 14 months of microbial/nutrient injection
pressures at some of the nearest Mink Unit producers before infill drilling and hydraulic fracturing activity,
were much lower, as was the total produced fluid. 577 bbl of incremental oil was obtained when
The MEOR injection had a positive effect on oil compared to the predicted oil recovery by
production until the drilling and hydraulic fracturing waterflooding alone. A total of 18.7 tons of molasses
activity occurred. Since that time, actual oil was injected during this period. Using a nutrient cost
production has dropped significantly below the of $100/ton, this is equivalent to $3.24/bbl of
predicted decline curve. incremental oil. This does not take into account any
other injection costs, although for this particular
Economic Analysis - Mink Unit project, the costs were fairly minimal. Field
personnel were used for the daily injection of the
molasses. However, this analysis also does not
Limited economic analyses of the Mink Unit field include any projected recoveries beyond the time of
pilot showed that the major cost of a microbial- infill drilling. Detection of fluorescein in the Mink
enhanced waterflood would be the nutrient support Unit producing wells after the infill drilling in the
for the microorganisms. When determining the cost Tanner lease, indicates that the microbial treatment
per incremental barrel of oil for the Mink Unit, the had not yet transported through the formation matrix;
following assumptions were made: (1) No cost was thus, the complete effect on incremental oil

162
SPE 27751 R.S. Bryant, A.K. Stepp, K. M. Bertus, T.E. Burchfield, M.Dennis 5

production that may have occurred would have been fluorescein response seemed to follow the same trend
masked. as that observed during the monitoring of the Mink
Unit. There was an initial quick response of tracer
from some of the nearest production wells; the
FIELD TEST DESIGN - PHOENIX SITE response then leveled out to very low values.
Fluorescein values seemed to peak at 145 days and
In May 1988, Comdisco Resources, Inc. purchased were monitored for 599 days post-injection.
property in the Delaware-Childers oilfield from B &
N Oil company. The Mink Unit leases were a part of Selected producers were monitored for tracer
this purchase. After much negotiation, an agreement concentrations. The tracer concentrations observed in
was executed on April 18, 1989, by Microbial the selected producing wells indicated a very quick
Systems Corporation (MSC) and Comdisco show in some wells, probably from very low-volume,
Resources, Inc. (Comdisco) that financially high-permeability stringers in the formation. This
compensated the project for relocating the planned very quickly decreased to baseline levels. These data
expansion of the project in three nearby leases in the were corroborated by our observations of tracer
B & N property of Delaware-Childers field to an response in the Mink Unit. 1 Both the Mink Unit and
alternate site. With DOE's approval, MSC and the Phoenix reservoirs are very mature fields that
NIPER beg'an to search for the new site; which ideally have been waterflooded for many years. The
would have the same or similar properties to that of operators of the fields had indicated that channeling
Delaware-Childers field. of fluids was never a major problem. The
measurements of fluorescein tracer in both fields
Compatibility tests were conducted with reservoir indicates that fluid flow patterns were similar.
fluids from three nearby waterfloods and selected
microorganisms from the NIPER microbial culture TABLE 3
bank. Based upon these studies, a new field site was
selected. The site selected for the ME OR project site Reservoir Properties for Phoenix Site
is in Section 8, Township 24 North, Range 17E of
Rogers County, Oklahoma. This site is part of
Chelsea-Alluwe field in the Bartlesville formation and Formation ......... ... ... .... ... Bartlesville sandstone
was initially developed soon after Delaware-Childers Depth, ft........................................ 400
field. The site, owned by Phoenix Oil and Gas, Ltd, Average net pay thickness, ft... .... 18-23
was being waterflooded. This field is in an isolated Average permeability, roD ..... ... ..... 16
Porosity, % .. .......... ....... ....... ....... .... 20
area, with virtually no other oil-producing leases A vg formation temperature, 0F....... 66
nearby. Number of injection weBs.............. 19
Number of production weBs ........... 47
Estimates of original oil saturation from core analyses A vg water inj rate/well, bbl/d.. 111
and from Delaware-Childers field were used to Avg injection pressure, psi........... 350
estimate the oil currently in place for each individual A vg oil production, bbIldlweII .... ..... 1
lease. Figure 7 shows a map of the Phoenix site, and Oil gravity, 0 API.... .......... ...... ........ 34
Table 3 lists the reservoir properties. TDS of inj. and prod. water, %........ 3.0
Avg oil saturation, %...................... 30

FIELD OPERATIONS - PHOENIX SITE The objective of the expanded Phoenix project was to
determine how the process could be expanded for a
Figure 8 shows the sequence of events for the whole field, and to determine whether microbial-
Phoenix field project. Fluorescein was injected as a enhanced waterflooding is economically feasible.
tracer on June 6, 1990. Eighty-five barrels of a The monitoring for this field site was designed to be
solution containing 126 ppm fluorescein was injected. minimal; including only those field parameters that
Samples were collected from all 19 injection wells at would affect oil production. In addition to oil
2-hr intervals the first day. Twenty-one producers production from the field, individual injection
were sampled 24 hr after injection of tracer, sampled pressures and volumes were monitored. Since this
daily, then weekly, once a month, and finally, was a recycled flood, produced volumes could not be
intermittently. Since the second day of sampling, the monitored; thus no water-oil ratios were available.
tracer response has only been higher than 0.30 ppm
for one (WM-13-1O) of the wells. The pattern of the

163
6 Microbial Enhanced Waterflooding Field Tests SPE 27751

To determine the commercial feasibility of microbial- decline curve, which corresponds to approximately
enhanced waterflooding, a method of microbial and 19.6% improvement in oil production.
molasses injection had to be designed for the entire
field. Figure 9 shows a schematic of the centralized Economic Analysis - Phoenix Site
injection station used for the Phoenix field site. After
the initial injection of the microbial formulation, The total amount of molasses injected was 104 tons.
molasses was injected continuously from the station. From the oil production data above, an incremental
4,440 bbl of oil was obtained through May 1993.
The microbial formulation consisting of NIPER 1A Using $151bbl as the cost of oil, this amounts to
and NIPER 6 was selected for this field injection. $66,600 gross income. At a cost of $l00/ton, $10,332
NIPER 1A is a variation of the same strain that was was spent for injected nutrient, indicating a cost of
used in the Mink Unit project, and produces $2.33/incremental bbl of oil compared to that of the
surfactant and acid from molasses. 1 However, its Mink Unit which was $3.24/incremental bbl. The
growth in the reservoir brine from the Phoenix field cost of the centralized injection station facilities was
site was never as optimal as that from the Mink Unit. $2,500. Thus, a total of $12,832 was spent for the
There are two potential reasons for this: (1) the Mink microbial-enhanced flooding.
Unit injection water was fresh; thus, the fluids for
cultivation of NIPER 1A had always been relatively CONCLUSIONS
low (0.5%) in salinity. The Phoenix brine is recycled
produced water and has a salinity of about 2.9%. (2) These microbial-enhanced waterflood field projects
There is a higher concentration of iron in the Phoenix demonstrated the feasibility of microbial EOR
brine that may be inhibiting the growth of NIPER 1A. technology in a manner that an independent operator
Another Clostridium, NIPER 6, was selected to be could implement. It is noteworthy that no operating
injected with NIPER 1A. NIPER 6 was smaller in problems were encountered before or during either
size than NIPER 3 Clostridium that was used in the project. No corrosion problems were experienced; in
Mink Unit. Since the Phoenix had a lower average fact, the sulfate-reducing bacterial populations
permeability, it was determined that this would be a remained. relatively low compared to the baseline
better microbial species for injection. After counts. There were no problems with injectivity. The
conducting several corefloods, observations showed Phoenix project demonstrated the commercial
that the other two microorganisms used in the Mink applicability of microbial-enhanced waterflooding,
Unit had relatively little effect in terms of improved and showed an improvement in oil production of
oil production, so they were not injected into this site. 19.6%. Although these two pilots have shown the
potential for microbial waterflooding technology,
On June 20, 1990, approximately 100 bbl of NIPER there are many other MEOR processes and types of
1A and NIPER 6 was injected in a solution of 4% applications that merit further field testing.
molasses. This injection was followed by continuous Development of microbial waterflooding and single
injection of 40 gal/d of molasses, which was well stimulation techniques for a wide variety of
increased after 1 year, to 80 gal/d until December 31, reservoirs is critical, both for the United States and
1991. other oil-producing nations.

PROJECT EVALUATION - PHOENIX SITE REFERENCES

Injection well volumes and pressures did not
significantly change after microbial injection. These 1. Bryant, R.S., T.E. Burchfield, D.M. Dennis, and D.O.
are important parameters when monitoring a Ritzman, 1990. Microbial-Enhanced Waterflooding: Mink
microbial injection project. Obviously significant Unit Project. DOE Report NIPER-508, January.
2. Thomas, R.D., K.L. Spence, F.W. Burtch, and P.B. Lorenz,
plugging problems have not occurred. 1982. Performance of DOE's Micellar-Polymer Project in
Northwest Oklahoma. SPEIDOE paper 10724. Pres. at the
Figure 10 shows the oil production from the Phoenix 1982 SPEIDOE 3rd Joint Symposium on Enhanced Oil
leases. The hyperbolic decline curve analysis Recovery of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Tulsa,
indicates that oil production has increased after OK, April 4-7.
microbial treatment. An incremental 4,440 bbl of oil 3. Johnson, W.I. and D.K. Olsen, 1991. Midcontinent
had been produced over the projected hyperbolic Fluvial-Dominated Deltaic Depositional Environments and
Their Influence on Enhanced Oil Recovery. Poster Pres. at

164
SPE 27751 R.S. Bryant, A.K. Stepp, K. M. Bertus, T.E. Burchfield, M.Dennis 7

a Workshop on Petroleum-Reservoir Geology in the

Southern Midcontinent, sponsored by Oklahoma Geologic
Survey and Bartlesville Project Office, U.S. DOE. Mar. 26-
27, Norman, OK
4. Bryant, R.S., T.E. Burchfield, KL. Chase, KM. Bertus,
and A.K. Stepp, 1989. Optimization of Microbial
Formulations for Oil Recovery: Mechanisms of Oil
Mobilization, Transport of Microbes and Metabolites, and
Effects of Additives. SPE paper 19686. Proc. of the 64th
Ann. Technical Conference and Exhibition of the Society
for Petroleum Engineers, San Antonio, TX, Oct. 8-11.

165
 STATE OF OKLAHOMA

PHOENIX PILOT

FIGURE 1 - Sites ofNIPER's microbial enhanced waterflood field pilots.

•
CoBp·, •
C·Bp·2 LEGEND:

pJ'
1.1!H.I EcnON
WEll.
Jli'
C-CW·2 C-CW-3 • PRODUcnON
WEll.

•
c.cp.,
c?
CANDY MINK
• -
c.cP-3
100ft

g CoOW-2
J21' J21'
5-AW-' 5-AW-3 5-AW-4 5-AW-S
SAWEMINK

• • • 1~41
,
S-AP·' 5-AP·2 5-P47R

J21'
S-SW-2 4-s J21'
S-BW-4 s-sw-s

•
s-sp., •
S-SP-2 •
S-BP-3 •
S-SP-4

~ ;-J'
S-CW·' S-CW-2 s?w: s4s

•
s-cp·,
•
S-CP-2
PUMPING
•
s-cp-s

p s1! .R1' Jl1' .R1' 5-0W-3 s-Ow·s

S·OW·' S-OW-4

8
------------------------
SITE OF NEW WATERFLOOD PROJECT TANNER

FIGURE 2 - Map of Mink Unit - Delaware-Childersfield (S36-T27N-R16E).

166
 BP·2
•
InjeGdon Wei.

• Produc:tIon Wei.

cp., CP·3

~~ AW~

;; ,,/,
~ ~/.~p,.
~ /' ~7.:
BW·2 ~.. ~ • ..,

~~fo
...
BP , BP·2
~~--~~~---.~.~~~~--~.~.
BIP 3

FIGURE 3 - Pilot area of Mink Unit showing well spacing in feet.

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

10/1/86 - SELECTED SITE

10/1/86 - 3117/87 - MONITORED FOR BASELINE VALUES

10/1/86 - 3117/87 - MICROBIAL LABORATORY TESTING

1/87 AND 3/5/87 - INJECTED FLUORESCEIN TRACER

2/5/87 - SINGLE WELL INJECTION TESTS

3117/87 AND 3124/87 - INJECTED MICROORGANISMS/MOLASSES

4/5/87 - INJ. WELLS ON LINE - BEGAN INJECTING MOLASSES

5/88 - COMDISCO PURCHASED MINK UNIT

4/5/87 - 12189 - MONITORED MINK UNIT

FIGURE 4 - Sequence of events in the Mink Unit Project.

167
 MINK UNIT WATER/OIL RATIOS
160

140
0 OFF PATTERN WELLS
t=
j ~
120
e(
I:C
.... 100
•
lSI
PRE-MEOR
POST-MEOR
5
I:C 80
w
t-
e(
;: 60

"
>
e(
40

20

0
-
a..
ta
CIJ
CII
a..
ta
CIJ
CO)
a..
ta
co
-
a..
e(
CIJ
CII
a..
<
co co
,...
I:C
....
a..
-
a..
0
0
C')
a..
0
0
CII
a..
ta
0
....
a..
<
co
WELL

FIGURE 5. -Average water-oil ratios o/monitored Mink Unit producers.

55

50
~

lII=:
\
45
~
III
\
III
-e-MODEL
40 \
___ -AcnJAL
\

35
~
0 CII .... U) II)
8aI
... ... ...
II) II) II) II) II)
aI aI aI aI aI
.- .- .-
FIGURE 6. - Predicted and actual average oil production/or Mink Unit during 1981 -1990.

168
 PAYN E FEE

0
1A 2~
3AW14 ~
o ." 0
o 16 0 0 14
15
WS W6 ~1
• •
12 11 11'0 9

\'£4 ElL WARD

0
8
07 Os 07

W6 WS W3 W~ WARD
• • 1.. 8A • 07A
06 05 • 06
05 ~

•
SA
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W4 4A
• . W3
06A W.2
• 0
19 18
° 0
BRIGHl HEIRS
04 03 04 3X03 ·VI 3-1 0
Ell WARD 12 11
lZ W2 WI WI o W60
°oZ • 01 • oZ • 01 °8 f 60 0
7
WALTER WARD .W3
4 .W3
0 30 04 ..3
o ProcU:tion _I • Injeclion well fi!l'njecllon Station • Tank Battery

FIGURE 7- Map of the PhoeniJc field site.

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

6/1/89 - SELECTED SITE

6/1/89 - 5/31/90 - MONITORED FOR BASELINE VALUES

6/1/90 - SINGLE WELL INJECTION TESTS

6/6/90 - INJECTED FLUORESCEIN TRACER

6/20/90 - INJECTED MICROORGANISMS/MOLASSES

6/24/90 - INJ. WELLS ON LINE - INJECTING MOLASSES

6/24/90 - 2128/93 - MONITORING PHOENIX SITE

FIGURE 8 - Sequence of events for the Phoenix project.

169
 TO WELLS
MICROBIAL
INJECTION
PUMP (TEMP.)

WATER
METER

FROM WATER
PLANT

FIGURE 9- Map o/the Phoenix injection/aci1ities.

1400 ...t-
~
c:0 1200
t-
I-
•
[]
PRE·MEOR
POSTMEOR
~
.Q
"'" t--.
.Q
ui 1000
~
I-
<
cr
Z
0 800 •••• .... ~
i=
CJ
:J ~~
C 600
0
cr
a..
...J
0 400

200

0
12)
12)
12)
12)
CD
12)
CD
12) i
~
aI
12)
aI
12)
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12)
U
8
~
0
aI
CD
c: is.
0
aI
IV
0
aI
u
- - - - Sf
aI
~
aI
CD
aI
is.
aI
u
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CD
N
aI
CD
c:
N
aI
is.
N
aI
U
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aI
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::E
CD

..,c:
~
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U
III
C ::E
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c:
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rn c
CD
CD
::E
IV
..,
~ CD
rn
CD
C ::E
c:
..,
~
rn c ::E
CD
..,
~
rn c
CD ::E

DATE

FIGURE 10- Oil production from the Phoenix field site.

170