Environmental factors affecting heavy oil recovery in the midcontinent (Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma) USA

Thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) of shallow heavy oil by cyclic steam injection or steamflooding is a commercial technology that has evolved over the past 30 years. Although TEOR may have adverse effects on the environment, these can be mitigated by careful management of standard oil field practices during TEOR process implementation. Poorly plugged old wells, natural fracturing, vertical communication between oil reservoirs and underground aquifers, and impact on air quality are a few of the environmental factors under consideration that may limit production of the midcontinent heavy oil resources. Air quality conditions and legislation are compared to those in California, which has air quality standards that are more stringent than those of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Early in the life of determining the feasibility of TEOR for a specific site, the combined resources of engineering, geological and economic feasibility, process design, and environmental assessment must be coordinated to determine the environmental impact of process implementation.