The biennial Oil and Gas Journal Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) survey was published just preceding the SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium in Tulsa. It captures statistics on active and historical thermal, chemical, gas (miscible and immiscible) and microbial projects. A number of distinct trends were evident. While the number of projects increased from the 2004 survey (153 versus 143), the daily production from all active projects declined from 663,000 barrels to 649,000 barrels, due primarily to the 54,000 barrel decline in steam project production. Of the 153 active projects, 82 were CO2 and 40 were steam. There were no chemical or microbial projects reported. Increases were noted in CO2, gaining 11 projects and 32,000 barrels per day, and in-situ combustion, gaining 5 projects (North and South Dakota and Montana) and 11 thousand barrels per day.

Activity is indicative of increasing oil prices and interest in EOR. In the U.S., 16 CO2 projects (one immiscible) are in the development stage in Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan and Kansas. Two surfactant-polymer projects are planned for Oklahoma and two more combustion projects are slated for Montana and North Dakota.

The Granite Wash play in the northeastern Texas Panhandle is a mature area. Over 600 wells have been drilled in the Granite Wash in the last 5 years alone, but until recently, all were vertical. Recently, Grayhawk Operating Company drilled the first horizontal well in the Lard Ranch field and, in the first 11 months, it has produced 439 MMCF of gas and 9,900 barrels of 50 °API oil and is still producing nearly 1 MMCF/day of gas and 20 bopd. The Lard Ranch field, unlike some of the larger Granite Wash fields to the southwest, has 40 to 45 feet of net pay contained within 80 feet and no water-bearing formations above or below. With these characteristics, it is well suited to horizontal drilling. Grayhawk has since drilled five more horizontal wells in the field with similar success. They estimate the ultimate recovery of laterals will be in the 3 BCF range, about three times that of vertical wells at twice the cost, with the added benefit of needing half the surface locations. Since Grayhawk's success, several other operators in the field have been drilling horizontally.

 An alternate solution to liquid loading, where slugging and varying rates of gas and fluid are encountered,

Depending on the requirements, the multiphase pump can be used in conjunction with other devices for a more optimal solution. It can be used in conjunction with a compressor, where a water knockout is used to trap the liquid upstream of the compressor, and then sent to the multiphase pump to separate the remaining gas from the liquid. This allows the compressor to handle most of the gas and requires a considerably smaller pump. It can also be used in oil wells to separate liquids from the annulus gas, while the liquids are produced up the tubing through a submersible or rod pump.