RIPI, Dutch University in Talks Over South Oil Recovery Project

The Research Institute of Petroleum Industry is planning to cooperate with Delft University of the Netherlands to boost oil recovery rate in Ahvaz Oilfield in the oil-rich Khuzestan Province, said a senior official at RIPI.

“Signing a cooperation agreement with the European university to implement the project in Iran's second biggest onshore oilfield with the help of cutting-edge enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods in two years, is high on RIPI's agenda," Mohammadreza Kamali was quoted as saying by IRNA.

EOR is the application of various techniques for increasing the amount of crude that can be extracted from an oilfield. According to Kamali, the giant Ahvaz Oilfield's in-place reserve is estimated at 70 billion barrels, of which 18 billion barrels are recoverable.

"The current extraction rate of below 25% is a long way from the target rate of 35%, because extraction procedures are lacking pertinent technologies," Kamali said, noting that whatever measures adopted to increase recovery rate will translate into a big rise in revenues.

Kamali stressed that failing to boost recovery rate would lead to a production decline through the second half of an oilfield's lifecycle and, eventually, its demise.

"Oilfields similar to those in Iran have an optimum output rate of 70%," he said, adding that the institute has the potential to develop current rates, given its specialized team of staff and equipment.

"Data shows that 1% increase in recovery rate will translate into 7 billion barrels of crude oil. This will bring in more than $280 billion in revenues with oil priced at $40 per barrel," he noted. Recovery factor at Iranian oilfields ranges between a low of 5% and 60%.

  EOR International Conference

Asked about the first international conference on Improved/Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery in RIPI's international conference center in Tehran in April, he said lecturers from international organizations and various academic institutions namely the International Society for Porous Media (InterPore) will discuss heavy oil recoveries, EOR techniques, water injection methods, and reservoir modeling/simulation as well as reservoir management.

The technical panel discussions will also be held to expand on EOR technologies in refining the underdeveloped layers of Ahvaz field, EOR laboratory studies, geological and studies in old reservoirs and screening strategies to evaluate EOR methods.

Demonstrating RIPI's capabilities in developing EOR technologies and introducing the technological requirements of Iran's oil and gas industry from joint fields is among the main goals of the conference.

With regard to the ongoing negotiations with other oil giants, the official added that plans are in place to undertake EOR projects in the joint Yadavaran Oilfield in Khuzestan with the help of OMV, Austria's largest oil and gas company.

Pointing to RIPI's research projects in upstream petroleum industry, he noted that RIPI has already completed an exploratory study to identify Iran’s untapped oil and gas potential in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.