Which process is used to get more oil from reservoirs by injecting fluids such as steam or CO2?

• A. Enhanced oil production
• B. Primary production
• C. Secondary production
• D. Tertiary production

Answer: (A)

The process being tested is boosting oil recovery by injecting fluids into the reservoir to mobilize additional oil. This approach, known as enhanced oil recovery, uses methods like steam injection to heat and thin the oil so it flows more easily, and CO2 injection to mix with the oil and push it toward the well. These injection-based techniques come into play after primary production (driven by natural pressure) and secondary production (such as water flooding) have recovered the easily mobilized oil. Among the options, the term that best matches this concept is enhanced oil production, which describes using such methods to increase the amount of oil recovered from the reservoir. Primary production relies on natural reservoir pressure, while secondary production focuses on maintaining pressure with water or gas but doesn’t involve the thermal or displacement injections that define enhanced recovery.