Environmental Engineering Reference
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Figure 7.3 Pushing forward the envelope of oil production (
Source:
IFP). Repro-
Energie & Climat: Reussir la transition energetique
duced with permission from
by
Alexandre Rojey, ยด ditions Technip, Paris, 2008
In order to avoid a crisis in the comparatively short term, it is therefore
necessary to push forward the limits of oil production.
For maintaining world production at the required level over several
decades, it will be necessary to discover new fields and to exploit the
existing fields in an optimal way in order to maintain the life of fields as
long as possible. 'Technological' oil is going to play a growing role in the
years to come.
As can be seen from the diagram in Figure 7.3, an increased use of high
performance technologies makes it possible to push forward the limits of
oil production by around twenty years. These technologies contribute by:
- Making possible new discoveries, through the use of more and more
sophisticated exploration technologies, such as elaborate seismic
imaging methods of the subsurface.
- Improving the recovery yield, by applying on a large scale enhanced
oil recovery methods: water and gas injection (secondary recovery),
injection of CO 2 , steam, polymers or surfactants (tertiary recovery).
- Increasing the productivity of oil wells; technologies currently exist
for drilling deviated, horizontal or even 'fish bone' well architectures,
in order to improve drainage of oil deposits.
- Developing offshore oil production, including deep offshore and
areas which have not been widely explored until now, such as the
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