(535j) Screening Criteria and Experimental Investigation for Enhanced Oil Recovery at Umm Niqa Oil Field-Kuwait

Oil and gas resources are the primary income sources for several countries, particularly in the Middle East. Moreover, oil consumption is rapidly growing owing to the increased global demand for energy, which encourages oil-producing countries to optimize their production. In general, most conventional oil resources have been extracted, leaving vast non-conventional crudes trapped in reservoirs, the extraction of which is challenging and requires enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. The development method and expected recovery gain depend on economic, environmental, and technical considerations. Therefore, operating companies conduct comprehensive studies prior to field development to select the optimal production method. This study focused on developing the Umm Niqa oil field located in the north of the state of Kuwait. A reservoir screening study for the target formation evaluated the different EOR techniques followed by experimental core flooding, which was the main methodology utilized to achieve the study objectives. Water flooding tests and steam injection were conducted using real core plugs of unconsolidated sandstone. However, the repeatability of the tests using the field core plugs failed; therefore, the study was completed using synthetic core plugs. The operating company provided the heavy oil samples. Water flooding runs were conducted at 33, 66, and 93 °C, while the steam injection was performed at 160 and 315 °C. The oil recovery results revealed that steam injection at 315 °C was the most suitable and optimal method to achieve production targets.