Obtaining the largest amount of oil possible from an oil reservoir is a task that oil production companies seek to improve. Currently, the recovery of oil can involve three separate phases. These phases include primary, secondary, and tertiary recovery. Tertiary recovery is also called enhanced oil recovery. Both primary and secondary recovery only recover twenty to forty percent of the oil in the ground; however, enhanced oil recovery can recover up to seventy-five percent of oil originally present in a well. With the increased need for oil, enhanced oil recovery techniques are necessary to keep up with this demand. Enhanced oil recovery has three main techniques; however, other enhanced oil recovery techniques are constantly being explored. Along with the benefits of enhanced oil recovery, some challenges do exist. The three main techniques used in enhanced oil recovery include thermal recovery, chemical flooding, and gas injection, which differ from primary and secondary recovery in the process and the cost. Even though enhanced oil recovery obtains more oil than primary and secondary recovery, its techniques are not used with every oil well because of increased costs. The thermal recovery technique of enhanced oil recovery as its name indicates uses heat to increase the oil recovery. Often steam is injected into the oil …show more content…
Engineers utilize models, simulations, pilot studies, and monitoring tools to ensure successful onshore enhanced oil recovery. Offshore enhanced oil recovery will require engineers to add in the challenges of limited space, weight, and power. Although many challenges exist in the field of enhanced oil recovery, the benefits greatly outweigh the difficulties. The United States could see a substantial increase in oil reserves, a new carbon dioxide market, and much less dependence on foreign