First tried in 1972 in Scurry County, Texas, what method of EOR has been used successfully throughout the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico?

First tried in 1972 in Scurry County, Texas, what method of EOR has been used successfully throughout the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico?

• A. Gas Injection
• B. Thermal Recovery
• C. Chemical Injection
• D. CO2 Injection

Answer: (D)

CO2 injection works by forcing a gas that can mix with oil into the reservoir, which lowers interfacial tension and oil viscosity, improving the displacement of oil toward the production wells. In the Permian Basin, many reservoirs reach miscibility with CO2 under reservoir conditions, so CO2 floods create a highly efficient, nearly single-phase drive that sweeps more oil out than other methods. The first successful CO2 flood was tried in Scurry County, Texas in 1972, and since then the region has developed abundant CO2 supplies and infrastructure, making CO2 injection the method of choice across West Texas and New Mexico. Other approaches—gas injection without achieving miscibility, thermal recovery, or chemical injection—don’t typically offer the same combination of displacement efficiency and economic practicality in these fields.

CO2 injection works by forcing a gas that can mix with oil into the reservoir, which lowers interfacial tension and oil viscosity, improving the displacement of oil toward the production wells. In the Permian Basin, many reservoirs reach miscibility with CO2 under reservoir conditions, so CO2 floods create a highly efficient, nearly single-phase drive that sweeps more oil out than other methods. The first successful CO2 flood was tried in Scurry County, Texas in 1972, and since then the region has developed abundant CO2 supplies and infrastructure, making CO2 injection the method of choice across West Texas and New Mexico. Other approaches—gas injection without achieving miscibility, thermal recovery, or chemical injection—don’t typically offer the same combination of displacement efficiency and economic practicality in these fields.