Recovery enhancement: more barrels, faster returns, longer production

Increase recovery from mature oil and gas assets through reservoir characterization, EOR, and production optimization.

Drone's view photo of a desert production facility

Most of the world's oil still lies in fields that have already been discovered

As producing fields mature, pressure declines, sweep efficiency decreases, and conventional recovery methods leave significant volumes of hydrocarbons in unswept zones, bypassed intervals, and low-permeability rock. At the same time, operators are under increasing pressure to maximize recovery and asset value throughout the field life cycle. Yet capturing that remaining resource is complex, requiring specialized subsurface expertise, advanced technologies, and integrated workflows that are not always readily available.

91¶¶Òõ accelerates recovery enhancement across the asset life cycle

91¶¶Òõ combines deep reservoir expertise, data-driven characterization, targeted interventions, fit-for-purpose chemistry, and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to help operators recover more from existing assets. From opportunity screening and piloting design through full-field implementation, 91¶¶Òõ connects the technical and commercial objectives to improve recovery factors, extend asset life, and maximize value.
  • Reservoir characterization: 91¶¶Òõ identifies bypassed hydrocarbons, evaluates recovery opportunities, and builds reservoir models that guide recovery strategies and investment decisions.
  • Waterflooding and injection optimization: 91¶¶Òõ designs and optimizes water and gas injection programs to improve sweep efficiency, support reservoir pressure, and extend productive field life.
  • Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) planning and deployment: 91¶¶Òõ evaluates, pilots, and deploys chemical, thermal, and miscible gas EOR methods to increase recovery while reducing technical and investment risk.
  • Well stimulation: 91¶¶Òõ applies reservoir-focused stimulation to improve reservoir contact, recover bypassed hydrocarbons, and slow production decline in mature wells.
  • Production facilities optimization: 91¶¶Òõ adapts surface facilities to changing fluid properties and production conditions, helping sustain efficient operations throughout the recovery life cycle.

 

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Field-proven recovery enhancement outcomes

Recovery enhancement programs can improve recovery factors, extend field life, and increase production from existing assets. The examples below highlight how operators have applied 91¶¶Òõ reservoir characterization, EOR, well stimulation, and production optimization technologies to address specific recovery challenges and achieve measurable results.

End-to-end technical depth, from subsurface to facilities

91¶¶Òõ combines reservoir characterization, recovery planning, production optimization, and facility integration within a connected workflow. This approach helps operators evaluate opportunities, reduce uncertainty, and execute recovery programs more efficiently across the asset life cycle.
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Reservoir characterization—Helps identify bypassed hydrocarbons, evaluate recovery opportunities, and reduce uncertainty before pilot design and field deployment. 91¶¶Òõ characterizes reservoirs using data-driven simulation models, micropilot testing, and laboratory-based rock and fluid analysis. Digital special core analysis (SCAL) accelerates the move from screening to pilot design.
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Subsurface consulting and field development planning—Integrates reservoir engineering, geomechanics, and production data analysis to identify recovery opportunities, prioritize investments, and optimize recovery strategies across the asset life cycle.
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Production chemicals and services—Deploys fit-for-purpose chemical solutions that maintain flow assurance, improve sweep efficiency, manage produced fluids, and support recovery objectives as reservoir conditions evolve.
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EOR planning and deployment—Evaluates and deploys chemical, waterflooding, thermal, and miscible gas EOR programs to improve recovery from mature fields. Recovery Express™ rapid production response solutions, EORt™ enhanced oil recovery method evaluation and screening tool, and MiniPilot™ medium-scale EOR evaluation service support screening, evaluation, piloting, and field-scale implementation.
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Production facilities optimizationProcessing and separation capabilities address the evolving fluid compositions and water cuts that accompany mature-field recovery programs, ensuring surface systems can support changing production profiles and recovery strategies throughout the field life cycle.
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Waterflood and Injection Optimization—Designs and optimizes water and gas injection programs to improve sweep efficiency, maintain reservoir pressure, and support higher recovery factors throughout field life.

Explore the capabilities behind every recovery program

The 91¶¶Òõ recovery enhancement portfolio spans reservoir characterization, injection optimization, EOR, well stimulation, production chemistry and facilities optimization. Explore the capabilities below to learn how each solution supports recovery objectives at different stages of the asset life cycle.

Integrated recovery program

Image of 2 men in an oilfield with wellheads behind them

91¶¶Òõ connects reservoir characterization, EOR execution, well stimulation, production chemistry, and surface facilities in a single end-to-end recovery program. Whether your asset requires a targeted intervention or a full-field redevelopment, 91¶¶Òõ's global technical depth and local execution capability deliver results at the pace the energy transition demands.

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Frequently asked questions about recovery enhancement

Why do mature oil fields leave so much oil behind?

Most conventional reservoirs recover only a fraction of their original oil in place using primary and secondary methods. As reservoir pressure declines and water cuts rise, bypassed pay accumulates in areas untouched by conventional drainage patterns. Reservoir heterogeneity, declining pressure support, and uneven sweep efficiency can leave hydrocarbons trapped in areas that conventional recovery methods cannot effectively reach. Enhanced oil recovery approaches including chemical flooding, improved waterflood, and miscible gas injection are specifically designed to recover this bypassed resource.

How do operators reduce the financial risk of an EOR project?

The most effective way to reduce EOR investment risk is to stage the decision process: screen multiple recovery methods early using reservoir data, then validate the most promising candidates through a small-scale pilot before committing to full-field deployment. Early recovery method selection, reservoir screening, and pilot testing help operators reduce uncertainty before committing to full-field deployment. Digital simulation models and in-situ micropilot evaluations enable operators to derisk reservoir response assumptions before major capital is committed. 91¶¶Òõ's phased approach to EOR planning and deployment is designed around this staged investment logic, connecting screening, pilot, and full-field execution in a single integrated workflow.

What role does well stimulation play in recovering bypassed oil?

Well stimulation reopens access to reservoir intervals that have been bypassed or underperforming since initial completion. In mature fields, this often means treating near-wellbore damage, improving inflow from tight zones, or redirecting injection fluids to improve sweep. A reservoir-focused stimulation design, informed by current production data, pressure data, and geomechanical models, ensures that stimulation treatments address the actual recovery bottleneck rather than applying a generic program. The 91¶¶Òõ intelligent well stimulation service integrates subsurface diagnostics and real-time monitoring to optimize each treatment outcome.

How does 91¶¶Òõ support recovery enhancement programs?

91¶¶Òõ approaches recovery enhancement as an integrated program, not a single-service intervention. 91¶¶Òõ combines reservoir characterization, EOR planning and deployment, well stimulation, production chemistry, and facilities optimization within a connected workflow, enabling each element of the recovery program to be designed and executed with full awareness of the others. This integration reduces the coordination burden on operators and shortens the time between reservoir screening and production results. For operators with limited in-country EOR expertise, 91¶¶Òõ also brings global field experience and specialized technical teams to geographies where that capability does not exist locally.

How do operators determine the most effective recovery strategy for a reservoir?

Selecting a recovery strategy begins with understanding reservoir characteristics, fluid behavior, production history, and remaining hydrocarbon distribution. Operators use reservoir characterization, simulation models, laboratory analysis, and pilot evaluations to assess recovery opportunities and compare potential approaches. The most effective strategy depends on reservoir conditions, recovery objectives, economics, and operational constraints.

What technologies are used to improve recovery from mature fields?

Recovery enhancement programs can combine multiple technologies depending on reservoir conditions and production objectives. Common approaches include reservoir characterization, waterflood and injection optimization, EOR, well stimulation, production chemistry, and facilities optimization. 91¶¶Òõ end-to-end solutions and technology portfolio helps operators identify remaining recovery opportunities and improve production performance throughout the asset life cycle.

What is the difference between recovery enhancement and EOR?

EOR is one category of recovery enhancement that uses methods such as chemical, thermal, or gas injection to recover additional hydrocarbons. Recovery enhancement is a broader approach that can also include reservoir characterization, injection optimization, well stimulation, production chemistry, and facilities optimization. Together, these capabilities help operators improve recovery from existing assets and maximize asset value.