Nimin breathes life into oxygen technology

By Noah Brenner

 28 June 2012 22:59 GMT

MOST people think of water or carbon dioxide when they hear the term enhanced oil recovery, but one company is trying to get them to think a little differently, writes Noah Brenner.

Nimin Resources is trying to convince people to think about oxygen.

The idea of pumping oxygen downhole has been around since the 1920s but initial tests used ambient air, which is heavy in nitrogen, an element that does not dissolve in oil and contributes little to the reservoir drive.

“It worked in some cases and in some cases it failed miserably,” Nimin chief operating officer Scott Dobson says.

Nimin takes pure oxygen and mixes it with a small amount of water and surfactant to create foam.

The foam bubbles surround the oxygen molecule with water,…

Become an Upstream member!

Membership includes a subscription to our weekly newspaper providing in-depth news from the energy industry, plus full-access to this site and its archives. Still not convinced? Try our free trial.

Already a member?

Login

Upstream share price index