SIDEBAR: Polaris injection approval

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

On Aug. 2 the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved an injection request for the Polaris oil pool. Polaris, like Orion, is in the Western Satellite area of the Prudhoe Bay unit.

The commission said Hilcorp requested approval for “a polymer injection pilot project to test the viability of using polymers to improve enhanced oil recovery” at Polaris.

“Polymer solutions increase the viscosity of the injected water and should improve the mobility ratio and sweep efficiency of the Polaris water flood, which in turn should result in increased ultimate recovery from the pool,” the commission said.

Polymer injection pilots in several fields in the viscous Schrader Bluff formation oil pools, including Hilcorp’s Milne Point field, “have shown promising results,” and “a short duration injection test utilizing polymers and low salinity water was successful on the Polaris L-212 well.”

Hilcorp proposes an 18-month pilot in three Polaris wells to evaluate performance “and develop a long-term strategy for polymer injection” in the Schrader Bluff formation pool at Prudhoe, and in the Polaris and Orion development area of the Schrader Bluff.

“Based on available data and the results of previous polymer injection pilot projects, polymer injection should prove to be a viable development option in the PBU,” the commission said. “Due to differences in the way the Schrader Bluff Formation is developed in the various fields, additional information is needed to develop a full field development plan for the Schrader Bluff Formation.”

- KRISTEN NELSON