Abstract: For a long period of time, the oil in place in reservoirs beneath the oil/water contacts was professed to be due to capillary “smearing” and surface tension in rock/water and oil phases. The widely accepted terminology was transition zones.

Project Name:       Commercial Exploitation and the Origin of Residual Oil Zones: Developing a Case History in the Permian Basin of New Mexico and West Texas

Program Name:     2008 Research Program of the Research Program to Secure Energy for America’s (RPSEA) Small Producer Program

Project Number:    08123-19

Start Date:            July 8, 2009

End Date:            March 30, 2012

Prime Contractor: The University of Texas of the Permian Basin

Participants:         Melzer Consulting (co-principal investigator), The Applied Petroleum Technology Academy; Chevron Corporation, ARCADIS-US, University of Houston, and Legado Resources

Contacts:              UT Permian Basin – Dr. R. C.Trentham, Ofc: 432- 552-2432; email: trentham_r@utpb.edu   Melzer Consulting – L. Stephen Melzer, Ofc 432-682-7664,

RPSEA contact:    Charlotte Schroeder (cschroeder@rpsea.org or 281-690-5506)

 

Objectives:

The goal of this project was to develop a more thorough understanding of Residual Oil Zones (ROZs) in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico and to demonstrate the ability to model a lateral natural waterflooding sweep process. It is hoped… more

Approach:

The approach to this project entailed collection and synthesis of massive amounts of data, including log, core, and well data as well as reports and observations… more 

Accomplishments:

This project is complete, and notable accomplishments include: 

Identification of data sources, Collection of fluid and rock property data, Quality control of data, 

• Development of a hydrodynamic model and evaluation of utility of model for ROZ characterization… more

Publications and Reports:

Final Research Report:  Identifying and Developing Technology for Enabling Small Producers to Pursue the Residual Oil Zone (ROZ) Fairways of the Permian Basin, San Andres, RPSEA Small Producers Grant Final Report, http://www.rpsea.org/0812319/ more

 

Significant Findings:

Certain data available from the variety of oil and gas well records provide evidence of the presence of residual oil zones.  An important but only partial list includes: the presence of sour oil/gas, sulfur water, sulfur deposits, and bow shape porosity profiles from wireline logs, depressed water salinities and resistivity log character. more

 

Acknowledgements:

Past studies by On-going industry EOR projects are critical to demonstrate the commercial nature of the study addressing a better understanding the ROZ science. more

 

Final Report: 

Identifying and Developing Technology for EnablingSmall Producers to Pursue the Residual Oil Zone (ROZ) Fairways of the Permian Basin, San Andres. more