The oil production from any well passes through three stages. The first stage is the natural extraction of oil under the well pressure, the second stage starts when the well pressure decreases. This second stage includes flooding the well with water via pumping sea or brackish water to increase the well pressure and push the oil up enhancing the oil recovery. After the first and secondary stages of oil production from the well, 20–30% of the well reserve is extracted. The well is said to be depleted while more than 70% of the oil are left over. At this stage, the third stage starts and it is called the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or tertiary recovery. Enhanced oil recovery is a technology deployed to recover most of our finite crude oil deposit. With constant increase in energy demands, EOR will go a long way in extracting crude oil reserve while achieving huge economic benefits. EOR involves thermal and/or nonthermal means of changing the properties of crude oil in reservoirs, such as density and viscosity that ensures improved oil displacement in the reservoir and consequently better recovery. Thermal EOR, which is the focus of this paper, is considered the dominant technique among all different methods of EOR. In this paper, we present a brief overview of EOR classification in terms of thermal and nonthermal methods. Furthermore, a comprehensive review of different thermal EOR methods is presented and discussed.
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March 2019
Review Articles
A Comprehensive Review of Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery: Techniques Evaluation
Esmail M. A. Mokheimer,
Esmail M. A. Mokheimer
Mem. ASME
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
Center of Research Excellence
in Energy Efficiency (CEEE),
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
in Energy Efficiency (CEEE),
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
Center of Research Excellence in
Renewable Energy (CoRe-RE),
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: esmailm@kfupm.edu.sa
Renewable Energy (CoRe-RE),
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: esmailm@kfupm.edu.sa
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M. Hamdy,
M. Hamdy
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mhamdy@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279
,Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mhamdy@kfupm.edu.sa
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Zubairu Abubakar,
Zubairu Abubakar
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 677,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: Zubairu@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 677,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: Zubairu@kfupm.edu.sa
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Mohammad Raghib Shakeel,
Mohammad Raghib Shakeel
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 567,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: raghib@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 567,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: raghib@kfupm.edu.sa
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Mohamed A. Habib,
Mohamed A. Habib
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 1866,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mahabib@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 1866,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mahabib@kfupm.edu.sa
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Mohamed Mahmoud
Mohamed Mahmoud
Petroleum Engineering Department,
College of Petroleum
Engineering & Geosciences,
King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
College of Petroleum
Engineering & Geosciences,
King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 5049
,Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
Center for Integrative Petroleum Research,
College of Petroleum
Engineering & Geosciences,
King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mamahmoud@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Petroleum
Engineering & Geosciences,
King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 5049
,Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mamahmoud@kfupm.edu.sa
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Esmail M. A. Mokheimer
Mem. ASME
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
Center of Research Excellence
in Energy Efficiency (CEEE),
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
in Energy Efficiency (CEEE),
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
Center of Research Excellence in
Renewable Energy (CoRe-RE),
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: esmailm@kfupm.edu.sa
Renewable Energy (CoRe-RE),
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: esmailm@kfupm.edu.sa
M. Hamdy
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mhamdy@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 279
,Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mhamdy@kfupm.edu.sa
Zubairu Abubakar
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 677,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: Zubairu@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 677,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: Zubairu@kfupm.edu.sa
Mohammad Raghib Shakeel
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 567,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: raghib@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 567,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: raghib@kfupm.edu.sa
Mohamed A. Habib
Mechanical Engineering Department,
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 1866,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mahabib@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Engineering,
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 1866,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mahabib@kfupm.edu.sa
Mohamed Mahmoud
Petroleum Engineering Department,
College of Petroleum
Engineering & Geosciences,
King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
College of Petroleum
Engineering & Geosciences,
King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 5049
,Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;
Center for Integrative Petroleum Research,
College of Petroleum
Engineering & Geosciences,
King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mamahmoud@kfupm.edu.sa
College of Petroleum
Engineering & Geosciences,
King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
P. O. Box: 5049
,Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
e-mail: mamahmoud@kfupm.edu.sa
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Petroleum Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESOURCES TECHNOLOGY. Manuscript received July 12, 2018; final manuscript received July 21, 2018; published online September 14, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Reza Sheikhi.
J. Energy Resour. Technol. Mar 2019, 141(3): 030801 (18 pages)
Published Online: September 14, 2018
Article history
Received:
July 12, 2018
Revised:
July 21, 2018
Citation
Mokheimer, E. M. A., Hamdy, M., Abubakar, Z., Shakeel, M. R., Habib, M. A., and Mahmoud, M. (September 14, 2018). "A Comprehensive Review of Thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery: Techniques Evaluation." ASME. J. Energy Resour. Technol. March 2019; 141(3): 030801. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4041096
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