ITF’s GCC segment agree to advance hybrid EOR proposals

Following significant interest from technology developers, the Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) will present proposals to its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members for a potential collaborative joint industry project (JIP) on hybrid enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

The three ITF member companies – ADNOC/ADMA, Kuwait Oil Company and Petroleum Development Oman - had the opportunity to explore 16 developer abstracts to hybrid EOR, which they had raised as a key technology challenge for the region.

It is recognised globally that significant volumes of oil are left bypassed after primary and secondary recovery methods. ITF GCC members have identified a drive towards gas injection, chemical injection and thermal injection technologies, which could prove to be a stepping stone to improving recovery in fields that have considerable residual hydrocarbons.

Following discussions at a recent summit in Abu Dhabi, ITF will put forward full proposals prior to the GCC annual meeting in March, where members will have the opportunity to invest in JIPs. ITF is also set to engage its GCC members in two other focus areas dealing with mature fields and water management, in early 2016.

The ITF GCC members’ summit activity provides a platform for companies to engage in discussion to find common topics of interest, identify collaborative opportunities to their technology challenges and gain market intelligence. At the Abu Dhabi meeting, members also heard from a developer on borehole gravity technology for deep reading reservoir surveillance, which provoked considerable interest.

CEO of ITF, Dr Patrick O’Brien, said, “ITF has worked closely with our GCC members to narrow down the list of over one hundred priority areas down to three focused challenges and this has only been possible because there has been a real progress in terms of trust and cooperation. We are now at a stage where the companies are collaborating with ITF, and with each other, to get to the heart of the challenges facing the Middle East.”