The U.S. Department of Energy says the Wilmington Field oil-recovery project's success will be felt throughout the U.S. and world. The project commenced in 1995 to increase recoverable heavy-oil reserves in sections of Wilmington in the Los Angeles Basin operated by Long Beach, California-based Tidelands Oil Production Co. The field is the third largest in the Lower 48.
Upon the project's end on March 31, the DOE counts an additional 525 million barrels of incremental oil production from the field, a 2.4% increase in total U.S. proved oil reserves. The best wells were drilled in an area that had been virtually given up as depleted, the DOE adds. Initial well rates ranged from 159 to 1,048 barrels per day.
Occidental Petroleum Corp., Los Angeles, recently acquired Tidelands and is developing one of the largest steamflood projects in the world in the Mukhaizna oil field in central Oman.
Project manager for the DOE Jim Barnes says, "The innovations developed during the Wilmington project are noteworthy because they can be used anywhere and are not limited to this specific project."
Recommended Reading
API Gulf Coast Head Touts Global Emissions Benefits of US LNG
2024-04-01 - The U.S. and Louisiana have the ability to change global emissions through the export of LNG, although new applications have been frozen by the Biden administration.
Heard from the Field: US Needs More Gas Storage
2024-03-21 - The current gas working capacity fits a 60 Bcf/d market — but today, the market exceeds 100 Bcf/d, gas executives said at CERAWeek by S&P Global.
Antero Poised to Benefit from Second Wave of LNG
2024-02-20 - Despite the U.S. Department of Energy’s recent pause on LNG export permits, Antero foresees LNG market growth for the rest of the decade—and plans to deliver.
Political, Legal Fight Over Biden’s LNG Pause Intensifies
2024-04-10 - In 2021, states and the White House had a similar conflict over offshore oil and gas leasing rights.
Dispatch from the LNG Front: Development Not ‘Paused’ so much as Slowed
2024-04-04 - Analysts: Low prices may stall upcoming gas gathering projects that are needed for an expected boom.