Billions of barrels left behind in Alberta

Study says one-third of Alberta’s original oil in place has been recovered; balance can be lifted for cost of tapping new pools

Gary Park

For Petroleum News

With few exceptions, barely one-third of the original oil in place has been recovered from Alberta oil fields, meaning billions of barrels are being left behind, a study by the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada says.

And the study, entitled Ramping Up Recovery, estimates what is left behind could be recovered for about the same cost as finding new pools.

The study said a combination of proper incentives, research funding and pilot programs could boost Alberta’s conventional oil reserves by 3.6 billion barrels over the next 10 to 20 years.

The findings are contained in separate 200-page reports on Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The details were made public after the expiration of a two-year confidentiality agreement.

The study estimates finding and development costs of C$1.92 to C$8.49 per barrel for enhanced oil recovery projects in Alberta are more than competitive with exploration finding and development (F&D) costs, based on West Texas Intermediate crude prices of $45 per barrel.

The study estimated that waterfloods “typically have two- to five-year payouts” for return on revenue exceeding 30 percent.

It also estimates reserves added by increased infill drilling would carry an F&D cost of C$7.54 a barrel and pay out in 1.7 years.

Reserves added by carbon dioxide EOR would cost C$8.49 per barrel and pay out in 4.2 years, not including the cost of CO2 capture and transportation.

Study author Richard Baker, president of Epic Consulting Services, said it is understandable that the Alberta government would focus on the oil sands because of the resource’s size.

But it only needs a shift from traditional technology and a business-as-usual approach to recover billions of barrels of conventional crude that would otherwise be ignored, he said.

The report was completed almost two years before the Alberta government announced this year it was earmarking C$2 billion to help finance three to five large carbon capture and storage projects, although it is not yet known how much will go to EOR projects.