Chevron Corp. is employing new technologies in hopes of extending the life of one of the world's oldest and most prolific oil fields, a process that is being replicated elsewhere to help the energy industry squeeze more out of aging oil basins. The Kern River field has produced more than 2 billion barrels of oil in its 110 year history, but Chevron estimates it still holds another 1.5 billion barrels.
Chevron is using the Kern River field as a real world laboratory, testing enhanced recovery techniques and bringing in engineers from around the world to learn them. "The thing about being in this old oil field," said Chevron engineer Joe Fram, "you can try stuff." To get as many of those barrels as possible out of the ground and do so cheaply enough to turn a profit Chevron is deploying high tech temperature sensors to monitor its production, using three dimensional computer models to plan its wells and filtering waste water from the fields through walnut shells so it can be re-used .....read the entire article.
