Rankin Field Results
Harris County, Texas, USA
In July 1990, the Rankin Field in Harris County, Texas, was purchased for the purpose of conducting field tests with the BOS [Titan] technology. The results were monitored for 27 months and oil production increased approximately 60% over the baseline. During this time only two Titan nutrient injections were applied to the field. The Rankin Field had been on a 4-year 19% annual production decline until the first Titan Process injection. The decline was immediately halted and remained halted for more than two years.
The positive production trend was observed to have lasted through 1994 (not shown on graph), fully two years after the last nutrient injections. Pressure tests on the field confirmed that thief zones within the waterflood strata had been blocked off by the Titan Process.
Excerpts from a report by Bill Davis, Petroleum Engineer for Vector Minerals Corporation
“The BOS [Titan Process] microbial treatment had an immediate positive effect on the Rankin field. Oil production increased, water injection pressures went up and the overall field decline was halted. Although we only had two injection treatments over two years, the field produced approximately 24,400 barrels of additional oil over the base line expectation…In summary the BOS treatment appears to have greatly extended the life of this mature water flood.
“With regard to the Rankin project, this property was purchased in order to conduct the BOS experiment, and strict attention was paid to hold the entire field operations constant so that the only change would be the result of the BOS treatments. As I recall, there were several potential field enhancements (well reworks, other conventional stimulations, improving the production equipment, etc.), which could have been implemented in conjunction with the BOS treatments; however, that would have tainted the science and confused the effects of BOS.
“The Rankin Field was discovered in the early 1950’s and had been under an active water flood since the mid-1960’s. In 1987, due to depressed oil prices, about fifteen of the field’s twenty or so wells had been shut in, leaving two active producing wells and three active water injectors. From that time until the first BOS treatment (July, 1990) this production arrangement had been on a steady 19% per year decline and was producing approximately 40 barrels of oil per day. The BOS treatment immediately arrested the field’s decline and the oil production remained constant or slightly increased from that point foreward.
"In 1987, due to depressed oil prices, about fifteen of the field's twenty or so wells had been shut in, leaving two active producing wells and three active water injectors. From that time until the first BOS treatment (July, 1990) this production arrangement had been on a steady 19% per year decline and was producing approximately 40 barrels of oil per day. The BOS treatment immediately arrested the field's decline and the oil production remained constant or slightly increased from that point forward. That in of itself is quite remarkable; however, other significant phenomena also occurred in conjunction with the increased oil production. The water injection pressures coincidentally increased dramatically which was a very positive sign. As I recall, the water injection pressures had initially been in the 300 to 400 psi range prior to the BOS treatment. After the BOS treatment, the pressure on the injection wells gradually increased to around 1,100 psi. I was concerned that we had plugged up our injection wells, which is a common occurrence, in my experience, using conventional polymers to reprofile water floods. I shut in the injections wells and the pressures in all three of them decreased to zero in 3-5 minutes. This reaction indicated that the pressure increases we had observed were the result of a blocking off the thief zones in the reservoir away from the well bore. This is an independent verification that reprofiling had indeed occurred — a very welcome event. Had the well bore itself been plugged up, the shut-in pressures would have decreased very slowly over an hour or longer.
"A second BOS treatment was applied in February, 1992 and I don't recall that the second treatment had such a dramatic effect, but rather continued the newly established production trends. During the BOS experiment, the casing head gas produced by the wells stayed pretty much the same. We concluded the BOS experiment in late 1992 without changing any of the operating parameters. The field was subsequently sold to another operator. I don't know the details after 1992; however, the production records reflect that the "BOS trend" of oil production appears to have lasted through 1994. After that, production declined, and the field is currently producing about 12 barrels of oil per day. Based on an original 19% per year decline, Rankin should have reached 12 barrels of oil per day five and one half years ago. This is just one indication of how extraordinary the BOS process worked at Rankin."
— Vector Minerals Corp., Bill Davis, Petroleum Engineer
