U.S. oil firms use shale know-how to revitalize old limestone and clay oilfields

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Using fracking as an Enhanced Oil Recovery method for wells that are not considered as "tight oil" or shale plays could turn out to be fairly significant in the near to mid future.

Adding shale oil & gas hydraulic fracturing technologies to old, existing wells, as an EOR method, could increase the amount of economically recoverable reserves from old wells.

U.S. oil firms use shale know-how to revitalize old oilfields

"After shale producers pushed U.S. oil and gas output to all-time highs, some are now taking what they have learned to fields that until recently were considered played out. 

If they are successful, the U.S. energy boom could find another gear as producers find profitable ways to extract the billions of barrels of oil remaining in older fields.

Production from the Austin Chalk jumped to 57,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year from 3,000 bpd five years ago and up 50 percent from the previous year, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie, which expects rapid production gains to continue. ..."

[GeoSciGuy + 74]

I am very excited to here this!  

I knew we were using fracking techniques in the Mississippi Lime and I'm happy to see these techniques be used in as many rock formations as possible.

[DanilKa + 443]

horizontal wells and multiple fracs - that's tight alright...

Not exactly EOR - it would be limited to fields with primarily depletion and no active aquifer. Although there are cases with favorable mobility ratios when enough oil can be produced to compensate for high water rates at the end of well life.

Devil is in details (which article is light on) - how much it cost to increase prod'n by 54K bopd?

[GeoSciGuy + 74]

More info on the subject: 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-14/next-big-thing-for-u-s-drillers-is-a-play-jilted-20-years-ago

[ronwagn + 6,290]

Have we tried large scale coal seam gas projects in the USA? My understanding is that it is the main onshore source in Australia.

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

21 minutes ago, GeoSciGuy said:

More info on the subject: 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-14/next-big-thing-for-u-s-drillers-is-a-play-jilted-20-years-ago

Thanks, the Bloomberg article provides much more details, such as this:

"The average Austin Chalk well in Karnes County, Texas, breaks even at about $37 a barrel, Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst Tai Liu estimated in an April report."

[DanilKa + 443]

33 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

Have we tried large scale coal seam gas projects in the USA? My understanding is that it is the main onshore source in Australia.

US is where CBM development started. It is out of favor because gas is dry (and cheap).

[DanilKa + 443]

20 minutes ago, Tom Kirkman said:

Thanks, the Bloomberg article provides much more details, such as this:

"The average Austin Chalk well in Karnes County, Texas, breaks even at about $37 a barrel, Bloomberg New Energy Finance analyst Tai Liu estimated in an April report."

lies, big lies, statistics, and breakeven price:)