Journal of Petroleum & Environmental Biotechnology

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR)

Helig E^* Managing Editor, Journal of Petroleum and Environmental Biotechnology, UK
^*Correspondence: Helig E, Managing Editor, Journal of Petroleum and Environmental Biotechnology, UK, Email:

Received: 20-May-2021 Published: 30-May-2021, DOI: 10.35248/2157-7463.21.12.422

Editorial

Enhanced oil recovery, also called tertiary recovery, is the extraction of crude oil from an oil field that cannot be extracted otherwise. EOR can extract 30% to 60% or more of a reservoir's oil, compared to 20% to 40% using primary and secondary recovery.

EOR helps to maximize the oil reserves recovered, extend the life of fields, and increase the recovery factor. It is an important tool for firms helping to maintain production and increasing the returns on older investments.

Oil production is separated into three phases: Primary, secondary and tertiary, which is also known as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). ... While waterflooding and gas injection during the secondary recovery method are used to push the oil through the well, EOR applies steam or gas to change the makeup of the reservoir.

The practice of oil extraction takes place in three separate phases at crude oil development and production in US oil reservoirs via three stages namely Primary, secondary, and tertiary (or improved) recovery, these. Water and gas injection are used in secondary recovery to dispense with the oil and drive it to the surface. These two techniques of production, according to the US Department of Energy, can leave up to 75% of the oil in the well.

During primary recovery, the reservoir's natural pressure or gravity force oil into the wellbore, which is then brought to the surface using artificial lift techniques (such as pumps). Thermal, chemical, and fluid phase behaviour effects are used in EOR processes to diminish or remove capillary forces that trap oil within pores, thin the oil or otherwise improve its mobility, and change the mobility of the displacing fluids. Only hydrocarbons that naturally rise to the surface or those that require artificial lift devices like pump jacks are eligible for primary oil recovery.