Help for the aging fields of Kansas

Kansas had built its oil production to a 1956 peak of 339,400 bbl of crude oil. By 1974, the daily average producing rate had been cut. Clearly, the aging fields of Kansas needed help. The University of Kansas established the Tertiary Oil Recovery Project as a vehicle through which petroleum engineering and geological expertise and related laboratory facilities at the school could be brought to bear directly on the problem of Kansas declining oil production in 1974. Specific objectives were to evaluate the potential of tertiary oil recovery processes in Kansas, research and develop such processes that are applicable to Kansas oil fields, disseminate information about the technology to the Kansas oil industry and interact with that industry, and train students in tertiary oil recovery technology. Project activities and accomplishments are described.