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Wyoming oil field latest reborn with CO2 flooding

1 August 2012

By ADAM VOGE Star-Tribune energy reporter

Two companies will begin pumping carbon dioxide into an oil field near Casper this fall in an attempt to revive production.

The Bureau of Land Management last week provided an environmental clearance for Elk Petroleum, an Australian company that co-owns the Grieve Oil Field 50 miles west of Casper with Denbury Resources. It’s the last permit hurdle for the project.

Elk and Denbury plan to use carbon dioxide flooding to extract the field’s oil, a practice also known as enhanced oil recovery, a technique in which the gas is pumped into the ground to free up remaining oil. The companies hope to extract up to 24 million additional barrels from the old field.

The companies’ plans are part of the industry’s broadening adoption of enhanced recovery techniques.

John Robitaille, vice president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said Monday that enhanced techniques like carbon dioxide flooding are popping up around Wyoming.

“This seems to be a trend that we’re seeing,” he said. “It is a very effective practice in terms of removing oil from the rock and recovering the oil.”

Robitaille said techniques like carbon dioxide flooding can add years to the life of an oil field, making them a perfect fit for many aging fields in the Cowboy State.

The process also has a track record in the state: It revived the Salt Creek oil field near Casper, which is more than a century old.

Bob Cook, president of Elk Petroleum, said his company was anxious for final approval.

“We’re extremely grateful that it’s now come through,” he said. “It’s very important that we get to work getting the pipeline and system going.”

Elk announced Monday that Denbury crews will begin the construction of a three-mile supply pipeline connecting the Grieve site to an already-existing Anadarko carbon dioxide pipeline.

Construction is expected to be complete by October, with the first carbon dioxide hitting the field in November. Denbury will take over operations of the field Wednesday.

Robitaille said he expects more enhanced recovery techniques to be used in the state.

“It’s certainly a good thing for Wyoming,” he said. “We can continue to find new sources of oil, but let’s not forget the fields we already have.”

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