Ecopetrol doubles expected crude oil production through air injection recovery pilot

Ecopetrol has produced 2.8 million bbl of oil from third-quarter 2019 to June 2024—double the expected crude oil production—through an air injection pilot at Chichimene heavy oil field in the municipality of Acacías (Meta), onshore Colombia.

Development of the pilot demonstrated the technical and economic viability of the technology, also known as in situ combustion, in heavy oil fields, the company said in a release last week.

The pilot consists of compressing air to introduce it into the oil field through an injection well, at a depth of about 2,400 m (2.4 km). The oxygen reacts with part of the heavy crude oil and generates an increase in temperature that contributes to reducing the viscosity of the oil, allowing it to flow to the surface through a production well.

The company plans to use the technology on a larger scale in the field, and possibly introduce the technology in Orinoquía fields, the company said.

In addition, the operator said, the pilot has allowed the company to incorporate 915 million bbl of oil as contingent resources, which have been certified between 2021 and 2023. The volume represents 32% of the contingent resources of the entire Ecopetrol Group.