Predator Oil & Gas Holdings Plc (Predator), the Jersey-based Oil and Gas Company with operations in Trinidad, Morocco and Ireland, announced the results of its Pilot CO2 EOR Project in the Inniss- Trinity field onshore Trinidad.
According to Predator, the Pilot CO2 EOR programme is designed to demonstrate safe injection of anthropogenic CO2 ; to allow for sufficient lag time postinjection for reservoir pressure to stabilise; to collect oil viscosity data; and to use the results to evaluate and calibrate the pre-injection desk-top production forecast and the CO2 EOR commercial model. Pilot CO2 EOR is focussed on a single reservoir sand of the five producing Herrera reservoirs in the Inniss-Trinity Field, the Herrera #2 Sand, and a part of the field, the "AT-4 Block", representing approximately 10% of the total area potentially available for CO2 EOR injection.
The objectives of the Pilot CO2 EOR have been successfully achieved, despite the unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic; electrical power outages influencing the efficiency of the Inniss-Trinity field operations, the understandable regulatory delays due equally to COVID-19 and the introduction of a new CO2 EOR operating system being employed for the first time in Trinidad at the Inniss-Trinity field, the requirement for flexible operations to find solutions to overcome well integrity issues in some of the wells in the AT-4 Block that were drilled over 60 years ago, and the increasing competition for workover rig time.
During the period of the Pilot CO2 EOR operations, the commercial model has been strengthened by optimising operating costs, the rise in WTI oil price from US$30.74/brl on 18 May 2020 to US$53.02/brl on 15 January 2021, and the increased threshold to US$75/brl before Supplementary Petroleum Profit Tax is applied to operating profits.
During the period 18 May 2020 to 7 January 2021, 443.58 metric tonnes of CO2 was injected over a planned cumulative period of 45 days. This represents 2% of the pre-Pilot desktop volume estimated to be required to recover 459,000 barrels of oil from the Herrera #2 Sand over the five year life of a full-scale CO2 EOR operation in the AT-4 Block.
According to Predator, the pre-Pilot CO2 EOR success has de-risked CO2 EOR in Trinidad and has provided the commercial, environmental and technical model for future projects.
Capitalising upon this proven, fully integrated, working business model, expertise, and the exclusivity of liquid CO2 supply by introducing a fee-paying and profits-sharing service under the commercial model established by the company for Inniss-Trinity CO2 EOR, is now a practical near-term objective of the company. Five in-country operators and two international State oil companies have made initial exploratory approaches to assess suitability of CO2 EOR for some of their producing, mature, oil field assets.
The company added that enhanced oil recovery is likely to become a key component of work programme commitments required to extend Incremental Production Service Contracts. The successful CO2 EOR Pilot has demonstrated a practical and potentially more efficient alternative to waterflood and has established the Company as the leading services provider for mobile CO2 injection for enhanced oil recovery. The successful development of the CO2 EOR business in Trinidad allows the business to be valued on the basis of its assets, invested project costs, existing contracts, goodwill and CO2 EOR operational experience.
The company’s CEO, Paul Griffiths said, "The excellent results from the Pilot CO2 EOR project, despite a challenging operational environment due to COVID-19, has derisked the case for CO2 EOR and established the company as the ground-breaking leader in CO2 EOR expertise and delivery onshore Trinidad and within the wider Caribbean region. Results more than just support pre-Pilot CO2 EOR forecasts and create a solid foundation for expanding production growth over the next twelve months. Expanding our successful CO2 EOR business can be achieved by increasing production revenues and also by offering fee-paying services to other operators with profit-sharing entitlements."