Carbon Dioxide Flooding Evaluation of High-Pour-Point, Paraffinic Red Wash Reservoir Oil

Abstract Engineering methods are being developed to evaluate reservoir fluid systems for suitability to CO2 flooding. This paper presents our evaluation procedure as applied to laboratory data for a high-pour-point [95°F (35°C)] oil from the Red Wash field in Utah. The data were obtained from phase behavior and slim tube experiments. The results of this work indicate that high pressures are required for a miscible displacement of the highly paraf-finic, high-pour-point Red Wash oil. The minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) was found to be 4,650 psia (32 060 kPa), increasing only 5% to 4,900 psia (33 784 kPa) when the injected CO2 contains a 10 mol% nitrogen contaminant. These pressures are not currently economically obtainable in the Red Wash field.