BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Due to its shale composition and limited pore space, oil extraction is difficult in the Bakken. The North Dakota oil industry is rapidly researching and implementing enhanced oil recovery methods to extend the lifespan of Bakken reserves for many decades to come.
Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, said traditional methods, including horizontal fracking, result in companies recovering only a portion of the oil available.
“Out of every 100 barrels of oil in the ground, we leave 85 of those barrels with existing technology,” said Ness.
Ness said there are 300 billion barrels of oil available in the Bakken. So far, only 5 billion barrels have been extracted using traditional recovery methods.
Enhanced oil recovery methods like injecting steam, chemicals or carbon dioxide (CO2) are being implemented through pilot programs.
“The techniques we’re looking at are things life Huff and Puff where We inject CO2 or rich gas into the well, let it interact with the oil, move into the fracture network, and then after some period of— we call it “soak time”— we produce that back,” said Charles Gorecki, the CEO Energy and Environmental Research Center.
These techniques extract more oil from a reservoir by freeing up the oil’s ability to flow.
According to Gorecki, the methods are also more environmentally friendly, with the ability to produce nearly carbon-neutral oil.
But Scott Skokos of the Dakota Resource Council said if they actually are is up for debate, citing environmental impacts like the emission of more greenhouse gases, public safety concerns of CO2 pipelines and more.
“So, when you send that CO2 underground, it can potentially go into faults, contaminate groundwater and things like that. We have a pretty okay geology here in North Dakota, but it’s not infallible,” said Skokos.
Without enhanced oil recovery methods, Ness said oil will still be extracted, but companies will have to pivot.
“We certainly will see oil production decline over time. We’re still going to have a very vibrant oil field, but it will not be this supercharged reservoir that we have,” said Ness.
Brady Pelton of the North Dakota Petroleum Council said the state’s Department of Mineral Resources has had EPA approval to conduct Underground Injection Control (UIC) programs for a number of years.
Also, he said injection of these fluids, as with those used in the hydraulic fracturing process, requires at least four layers of protection through all drinking water zones.
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