KUPARUK LARGE-SCALE ENHANCED OIL-RECOVERY PROJECT

The Kuparuk River oil field has had a ''miscible'' water-alternating-g as (MWAG) enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) pilot in place since 1988. This original pilot was implemented on two drillsites previously on waterfl ood. The pilot was expanded to a third drillsite in 1993 to test the M WAG process in an area previously flooded by an ''immiscible'' water-a lternating-gas (IWAG) recovery technique. Large-scale application of M WAG at Kuparuk is in progress, with a project that will more than trip le current MWAG injection. Full implementation is slated for mid-1996. When completed, the Kuparuk large-scale EOR (LSEOR) project will be a mong the largest of its kind in the world. This paper covers the basic aspects of moving the EOR process at Kuparuk from pilot to large-scal e application. A number of hurdles had to be overcome, including scale up of field and simulation results in a consistent manner and the need to use existing infrastructure to ensure economic viability.