ABSTRACT
Further to the definition of petroleum reserves (Chapter 1), it is essential to understand the various techniques used to discover, recover, and transport petroleum.
Conventional primary and secondary recovery processes are ultimately expected to produce about one-third of the original oil discovered, although recoveries from individual reservoirs can range from less than 5% to as high as 80% of the original oil in place. This broad range of recovery efficiency is a result of variations in the properties of the specific rock and fluids involved from reservoir to reservoir (Table 5-1) as well as the kind and level of energy that drives the oil to producing wells, where it is captured.
