The Link Alliance Magazine Summer July 2023

THE LINK: JULY 2023 36 Potential for large recovery of heavy oil fueling initiative University of Alaska scientists say they are on a path to dramatically increase potential recovery of large heavy oil resources on the North Slope. Abhijit Dandekar, Professor of Petroleum Engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said Friday, May 26, in an interview that experiments to inject carbon dioxide with polymers in the Ugnu formation, a large untapped heavy oil resource in the Milne Point and Prudhoe Bay fields, show promising results. Laboratory tests with the process show potential for loosening the thick, cold oil using CO2 and polymers mixed with low-salinity water to a potential 40 percent. The Ugnu resource is very large, with 23 billion barrels of in-place oil estimated, an in-place resource as large as the conventional Prudhoe Bay field, which is adjacent to the Milne Point field. Hilcorp Energy has one test well now producing from the Ugnu at A Pad in Milne Point. University charts course aimed at heavy Ugnu oil Photos Courtesy Hilcorp Energy Hilcorp Energy facilities on the North Slope will support Ugnu development.

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