Published by the DTI Oil & Gas Directorate for the reservoir engineering and IOR community in the UK.
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SPE/DOE 13th Symposium on IOR, 13-17 April 2002, Tulsa, OK, USA

Tissa Jayasekera (pictured), DTI and Stephen Goodyear, AEA Technology presented a paper entitled "Improved Hydrocarbon Recovery in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf: Past Present and Future"

The full paper (SPE75171) is available on the SPE website (www.spe.org)

Abstract
Gas production from the UKCS commenced in 1967 and oil production in 1975. The North Sea area is now very much a mature province with the large fields in the Southern, Central and Northern North Sea producing at significantly below their early plateau production rates. Here the drive is to maximise the overall economic hydrocarbon recovery from the province, by making the best use of the infrastructure that has been built up to bring in new discoveries and improve recovery from the mature fields. New areas (deeper, harsher climate) are being opened up for exploration on the Atlantic Margin.

This paper reviews the evolution of the mature areas of the UKCS, with case studies to illustrate the technical challenges that have been overcome. Over the years government and industry have expended considerable resources in developing innovative techniques for improved hydrocarbon recovery. These range from developments in the application of EOR processes to advances in drilling and reservoir management technology, including novel seismic techniques to identify new or bypassed oil. Technological advances have also unlocked reserves in heavy oils and in high?pressure high-temperature (HPHT) condensate fields, which were left undeveloped until the 1990s.

Finally the potential for further exploitation and life extension of the UKCS as a significant hydrocarbon province will be reviewed. This will cover perceived technology gaps in opening up the new areas in deeper water, opportunities for redeveloping mature fields using new technology, combining IOR with carbon dioxide sequestration, and the need to drive down costs to be competitive in the international arena, while honouring environmental commitments.

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