Industrial Use of Steam in Sustainable Oil Recovery

Abstract

The enhanced oil recovery operation refers to an industrial process within the oil sector for producing crude oil from reservoirs that have been exploited to the point that ordinary lifting technologies prove to be inadequate. This enhanced oil recovery operation aims to change the characteristics of the crude oil such that it becomes more flowable. The present study considers solar-based thermal enhanced oil recovery systems in Oman at the oil field “Amal” that is located in Dhofar, which is the country’s largest governorate (state). In these systems, reflective trough concentrator surfaces are utilized for producing hot water vapor in a steam generator for the thermal recovery of crude oil. Three systems were established, which are “Amal I”, “Amal II”, and “Miraah”. If these systems are combined together, they can provide approximately two trillion British thermal units of heat annually while producing a peak of 2.1 kilotonnes of steam daily and avoiding the annual release of carbon dioxide, preventing annual emissions that exceed 100 kilotonnes. The three unconventional systems of oil recovery are briefly discussed here as examples of sustainability transformation practices in business and engineering under the oil sector.