Offshore staff

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, on an assignment from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, has conducted a feasibility study of projects entailing CO2 injection for increased oil recovery on the Norwegian continental shelf. The NPD has concluded that CO₂ injection does not appear to be a commercial alternative for improved oil recovery for the licensees on the Norwegian shelf.

The study provides a detailed technical description of the CO₂ chain: from source, capture, and transport to injection and long-term storage. It also included field examples and profitability calculations.

There are several challenges that the industry must acknowledge before CO₂ injection for improved oil recovery can be implemented.

CO₂ injection is technically feasible, and the potential for increased recovery is substantial.

However, the threshold costs for establishing a delivery chain for injection of CO₂ are so high that other methods of improving recovery emerge as being more attractive for the licensees at this time.

CO₂ for improved oil recovery is capital-intensive, as production will take place over a long period of time. The recovery costs with CO₂ injection are $30/bbl, with a quota price for CO₂, and approximately $33/bbl without a quota price. This is considerably higher than the oil prices the companies use for long-term projects with high risk.

To increase recovery and maintain high production, operators implemented water and gas injection at an early stage on the Norwegian shelf. This has led to significant additional revenues for both the Norwegian society and the companies, beyond what was expected. The development of advanced wells, including wells with multiple long horizontal branches, advanced seismic, and more effective visualization programs are examples of technology that the companies have used to increase oil recovery. This means that Norwegian fields contain less oil than can be produced with the aid of CO₂.

04-27-05