Dr. Dauben is currently working with Grand Resources, Inc., Tulsa, in the development and application of horizontal well technology for the improvement of oil recovery from old oil fields in Oklahoma. DI evaluates prospects from a reservoir standpoint and Grand uses its own equipment and personnel to drill and complete wells. Grand utilizes a low cost rotary steerable system to drill short radius horizontal laterals out to 1000 ft. Outstanding success has been achieved in oil fields that have been essentially abandoned after conventional primary and secondary recovery operations.

DI is also working with an independent company in the simulation and design of a waterflood for a carbonate reservoir in West Texas. The patterns are being designed to maximize both the short-term and long-term recovery of oil. CO2 flooding appears to be technically viable but supply is now extremely limited for new projects.

DI is currently working with an independent operator in the design of an aluminum citrate polymer flood for a field in Oklahoma. This process involves the sequential injection of polymer, aluminum citrate and additional polymer to reduce the circulation of water through a thief zone. Laboratory tests are conducted to help select the most suitable polymer and to design the amounts of each slug that is needed. Simulation studies will be conducted to forecast the amount and timing of incremental oil.

Assistance has been provided to an international client in the evaluation of CO2 flooding for a major field in the Middle East. Long-term training has also been provided in the areas of reservoir engineering, reservoir simulation, and improved oil recovery technology. DI has recently completed for an international client a comprehensive study on the state-of-the-art of the various improved oil recovery technologies. This study included the traditional enhanced oil recovery technologies such as steam injection, in-situ combustion, miscible and immiscible gas injection, and chemical processes. The study also evaluated some of the newer technologies, including cold production methods, seismic stimulation processes, pressure pulse enhancement, in-situ upgrading of heavy oil, and downhole oil-water separation. This study has further enhanced DI's knowledge and experience in improved oil recovery technology.

Dr. Dauben led an international group on a tour of cold production facilities in Canada. The figure shows a large sand pile in the Lloydminster area where a 11 API gravity oil is being produced using cold production methods. Production of such a heavy crude oil is made possible by the co-production of sand. The produced sand is accumulated in a large pile, and the residual oil slowly accumulates at the base. The sand is eventually used in the summer months for the building of roads. Cold production has been highly successful in Canada and Venezuela as a means of increasing heavy oil production. In Venezuela, horizontal wells are used to produce the heavy oil using completions designed to minimize sand production.

Dr. Dauben also led a group on a tour of some of the major CO2 facilities in the United States and Canada. CO2 flooding is an especially attractive process for improving oil recovery because of improvements in technology, the higher level of oil prices, and technology enhancements which make it economically possible to extract CO2 from various impure flue gases. CO2 sequestration is also expected to become increasingly important with time. This process involves the injection of a previously vented CO2 stream into oil reservoirs to recover additional oil and at the same time reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that had been vented into the atmosphere. The major natural sources of CO2 in New Mexico are now being rapidly depleted. The figure shows a large pumping jack in a major CO2 flood project.