Permits - Huff & Puff

Injection associated with enhanced recovery is regulated through the Commission’s federally delegated Underground Injection Control (UIC) program and Statewide Rule 46 (SWR 46) (16 Texas Administrative Code §3.46). This type of enhanced recovery involves the generally continuous injection of a fluid or gas into a well to mobilize oil. This type of enhanced recovery also generally involves separate injection wells and production wells.

In a cyclic gas injection project, the operator injects fluid or gas into a well for a relatively short period of time, allows the fluid or gas to “soak” in the reservoir, then produces from the same well. This process is also sometimes called cyclical imbibition or cyclic miscible gas displacement.

Huff & Puff miscible injection wells that utilize separate injection well(s) or when the same well is utilized to conduct alternating cycles of injection and production on a semi continuous basis over a period greater than a year will require a SWR 46 permit and it should be noted on the permit the well is for is a Huff & Puff project.

Information required with the H-12 for these types of applications (in addition to the standard documents) will include:

1. Description and general plan for the project
2. Well configuration and modification
3. Oil recovery improvement process
4. Detail for the injection/soak/production cycle – duration of each period and how many cycles per year
5. Anticipated volumes that will be injected for each cycle
6. Project monitoring and production reporting
7. Pre-EOR base for the project (as described in 1991 Docket 3-95,902)

If the well is permitted for cyclic injection, it must be included on the well schedule as both an injection well and producing well once completed. (The operator will request this on the completion report in the “Remarks” section).  The appropriate forms and reports must also be submitted to the Production Unit to comply with all rules and regulations.