Ethane From Shale Plays Opens New EOR Opportunity For Conventional Oil Reservoirs LAKEWOOD, CO.-The United States pioneered the science of injecting carbon dioxide into conventional reservoirs to enhance oil recovery, and the Permian Basin has long been the international hub of CO2 EOR activity. CO2 EOR is a very successful and mature technology in onshore projects. The risks are low, primarily because there is no exploration uncertainty. However, the primary limiting factor to CO2 EOR is the availability of low-cost carbon dioxide. Simply put, there is not enough cost-effective CO2 available to undertake all the potential EOR opportunities in the lower 48. With most economic sources of natural CO2 already on line, and developing substantial volumes of anthropogenic supplies difficult, finding an effective alternative to CO2 could hold tremendous value in EOR applications. The shale revolution is providing that alternative in the form of the ethane extracted from the rich gasses and volatile oils produced from unconventional reservoirs. The abundance and affordability of ethane make it a viable option to supplement successful CO2-based EOR projects. Ethane presents a significant opportunity to add new gas injection EOR projects in mature conventional fields in oilproducing basins throughout the lower 48. Good EOR targets exist almost everywhere, given a sufficient oil price and an appropriate low-cost injecting agent. 62 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER