An excellent example of our contribution to Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) is construction of air separators to generate nitrogen for flooding.
We opened the world’s largest air separation plant in the Gulf of Mexico in 2000, going on to expand it in 2006.
Our customer is the state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos Coportivo (Pemex) oil company, which has been drilling the Cantarell oil field since 1976. This field is located in a giant crater below the seabed in the Bay of Campeche.
Cantarell, one of the world’s largest offshore oil fields, is also Mexico’s most significant source of crude oil, accounting for around a third of that nation’s total output.
Large amounts of nitrogen must be pumped into the reservoirs to increase pressure and maintain the oil flow. However, daily production might drop to 500,000 barrels at some stage, and experts anticipate that the reserves will be completely exhausted within a few years.
The Linde-designed air separator helps postpone this point for as long as possible, closing the energy gap that looms if fossil fuels run out before we can secure an adequate supply from renewable sources.
At a glance |
| Name: | Air separator to generate nitrogen |
| Country: | Mexico |
| Raw material: | Crude oil |
| Process technology: | Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) |
| Cooperation partner: | Pemex (customer) |
| More information: | Cantarell |
