Evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for West Sak Field
thesis The West Sak heavy oil reservoir on the North Slope of Alaska represents a large potential domestic oil source which has not been fully developed due to difficulties with producing viscous oil from a cold reservoir. Past studies have evaluated the economic viability of producing from West Sak...
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ftunivutah:oai:collections.lib.utah.edu:ir_etd/194852 2023-05-15T13:09:06+02:00 Evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for West Sak Field Master of Science Wilkey, Jonathan E. College of Engineering Chemical Engineering University of Utah 2012-05 application/pdf 3,333,763 bytes https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6ng55dk eng eng University of Utah us-etd3/id/694 https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6ng55dk Copyright © Jonathan E. Wilkey 2012 Original in Marriott LIbrary Special Collections, HD30.5 2012 .W55 West Sak Field Heavy oil -- Alaska -- North Slope Petroleum industry and trade -- Alaska -- North Slope Text 2012 ftunivutah 2021-06-03T18:21:17Z thesis The West Sak heavy oil reservoir on the North Slope of Alaska represents a large potential domestic oil source which has not been fully developed due to difficulties with producing viscous oil from a cold reservoir. Past studies have evaluated the economic viability of producing from West Sak, but given the rising demand for oil, a fresh evaluation of the economic feasibility of heavy oil production processes from West Sak is warranted. Therefore, the objective of this project was to design a set of possible processes for recovery of heavy oil from West Sak and identify any economic barriers to production. Discounted cash flows were used to determine the investor's rate of return (IRR) for each process assuming oil sold for either a fixed price or followed a given price forecast. Capital and operating costs were estimated primarily using the methodology suggested by Seider et al. (2008). Three different scenarios were analyzed using this methodology: a base case and two alternatives for oil transport (dilution with gas-to-liquids and upgrading via hydrotreating). Polymer flooding was selected as the recovery method for all scenarios and production rates were estimated from recovery curves published by Seright (2011). Each scenario also investigates the possibility of using oxy-firing for CO2 capture as an alternative method for providing process heating. Results of the economic analysis show that the base case would produce an IRR of 41% (dilution would produce a 45% IRR, and upgrading a 6% IRR). A sensitivity analysis performed on the model's inputs gave a range of possible IRRs for the base case of 30% to 50%, dilution's range was 24% to 62%, and upgrading ranged from -2% to 29%. Both the base case and dilution scenarios have no economic barriers to development. If West Sak heavy oil as produced can be delivered via pipeline, then the base case would be the economically preferable scenario. Upgrading is not economically feasible due to high capital costs which drive up the required oil price and result in large severance tax liabilities. Text Alaska North Slope north slope Alaska The University of Utah: J. Willard Marriott Digital Library |
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The University of Utah: J. Willard Marriott Digital Library |
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English |
topic |
West Sak Field Heavy oil -- Alaska -- North Slope Petroleum industry and trade -- Alaska -- North Slope |
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West Sak Field Heavy oil -- Alaska -- North Slope Petroleum industry and trade -- Alaska -- North Slope Wilkey, Jonathan E. Evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for West Sak Field |
topic_facet |
West Sak Field Heavy oil -- Alaska -- North Slope Petroleum industry and trade -- Alaska -- North Slope |
description |
thesis The West Sak heavy oil reservoir on the North Slope of Alaska represents a large potential domestic oil source which has not been fully developed due to difficulties with producing viscous oil from a cold reservoir. Past studies have evaluated the economic viability of producing from West Sak, but given the rising demand for oil, a fresh evaluation of the economic feasibility of heavy oil production processes from West Sak is warranted. Therefore, the objective of this project was to design a set of possible processes for recovery of heavy oil from West Sak and identify any economic barriers to production. Discounted cash flows were used to determine the investor's rate of return (IRR) for each process assuming oil sold for either a fixed price or followed a given price forecast. Capital and operating costs were estimated primarily using the methodology suggested by Seider et al. (2008). Three different scenarios were analyzed using this methodology: a base case and two alternatives for oil transport (dilution with gas-to-liquids and upgrading via hydrotreating). Polymer flooding was selected as the recovery method for all scenarios and production rates were estimated from recovery curves published by Seright (2011). Each scenario also investigates the possibility of using oxy-firing for CO2 capture as an alternative method for providing process heating. Results of the economic analysis show that the base case would produce an IRR of 41% (dilution would produce a 45% IRR, and upgrading a 6% IRR). A sensitivity analysis performed on the model's inputs gave a range of possible IRRs for the base case of 30% to 50%, dilution's range was 24% to 62%, and upgrading ranged from -2% to 29%. Both the base case and dilution scenarios have no economic barriers to development. If West Sak heavy oil as produced can be delivered via pipeline, then the base case would be the economically preferable scenario. Upgrading is not economically feasible due to high capital costs which drive up the required oil price and result in large severance tax liabilities. |
author2 |
College of Engineering Chemical Engineering University of Utah |
format |
Text |
author |
Wilkey, Jonathan E. |
author_facet |
Wilkey, Jonathan E. |
author_sort |
Wilkey, Jonathan E. |
title |
Evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for West Sak Field |
title_short |
Evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for West Sak Field |
title_full |
Evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for West Sak Field |
title_fullStr |
Evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for West Sak Field |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for West Sak Field |
title_sort |
evaluation of the economic feasability of heavy oil production processes for west sak field |
publisher |
University of Utah |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6ng55dk |
genre |
Alaska North Slope north slope Alaska |
genre_facet |
Alaska North Slope north slope Alaska |
op_source |
Original in Marriott LIbrary Special Collections, HD30.5 2012 .W55 |
op_relation |
us-etd3/id/694 https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6ng55dk |
op_rights |
Copyright © Jonathan E. Wilkey 2012 |
_version_ |
1766162491449016320 |