Page 12 - Primer on Enhanced Oil Recovery

Introduction 3

no big trouble to find waste number of original texts and papers to guide and help
them. Most likely, the best information sources are professional societies and the
reader would be strongly advised to join one.
It is in human general nature to remember well-structured facts; we usually refer
to this as logically bonded knowledge. For this reason, we have written this book
starting from simple phenomena and processes. Little by little, the phenomena will
get more complicated but we hope that each step is well justified and is easily
understood.
We have to stress again that in reality the Enhanced Oil Extraction and all used
in it techniques invoke very complex natural and technological processes when
applied to the real oil fields. Nevertheless, not understanding everything newer
stopped human beings to get involved and to apply limited knowledge with a rea-
sonably good rate of success. Oil recovery is complex and multistage process. The
initial investment and price of mistakes are huge. We hope that by reading this
book, the esteemed reader will make a first step in appreciation and comprehension
of oil extraction complexity and, in some ways, this step would be just enough to
make an informed, better judgement and this will pave the way to successful
business.
Oil recovery and especially Enhanced Oil Recovery are energy-hungry pro-
cesses. Energy use traditionally linked to CO 2 emissions. Many routes in the
Enhanced Recovery rely on chemical processes and require injection of chemical
agents into an oil formation. Environmental impact of all this is not negligible.
Development of renewable energy utilization and biodegradable chemicals are but
the responsible approach to the future of the industry.