Ecopetrol Inaugurates Gel Injection Plant In Huila To Increase Crude Oil Extraction

In the Colombian department of Huila, Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC, BVC: ECO) has begun operations of its colloidal dispersion gels injection plant (CDG) in its Dina Cretaceous field, using the technology to enhance crude oil extraction in the declining field, part of the Monserrate Stage 1 tertiary recovery project.

The technique injects “improved water” into the oilfield with the purpose of facilitating petroleum extraction. Ecopetrol expects to increase the recovery factor from 33% to 39%, reaching a peak of 1,600 barrels per day on average.

Ecopetrol drilled 16 development wells; 11 production wells and 5 injection wells, along with injection facilities and expanded the Cebu Water Injection Plant, at an investment cost of $65 million USD. Water that has been pumped naturally along with the crude oil product is mixed with polymers & dispersants, then reinjected as “improved water.”

Ecopetrol expects to apply the same technology in other fields of the Monserrate formation in Huila which holds an estimated 1 billion barrels of crude.