NIS has initiated a tender for the construction of a system to evaluate the feasibility of an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method at the Velebit exploitation field in the municipality of Kanjiža. Velebit, Serbia’s largest oil deposit, was discovered in 1968, with production starting in 1985.
The pilot project aims to increase output by injecting a surfactant-polymer blend into three newly drilled injection wells, enhancing recovery from seven neighboring producing wells. This plan was outlined in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scope and content request submitted by NIS in April to the Provincial Secretariat for Urban Planning and Environmental Protection.
The proposed surfactant-polymer technique is an advanced EOR method designed for mature reservoirs. Surfactants reduce interfacial tension to release trapped oil, while polymers thicken the injection water to improve sweep efficiency and delay premature water breakthrough. The goal is to extract oil that conventional water flooding cannot recover.
According to the EIA documentation, current production at the Velebit field stands at 592 tons of oil per day, with an 85 percent water cut and daily dissolved gas output of 15,497 cubic meters. The project includes installing equipment for preparing the surfactant-polymer mixture, along with supporting infrastructure such as a water tank, filtration plant, surfactant storage tank, truck unloading station, and a pipeline network connecting to the injection wells.
The project will be executed in two stages. The first phase, scheduled for completion by December 2026, will focus on determining optimal injection parameters. The second phase, running through 2041, aims to achieve a 7.5 percent increase in the oil recovery factor and a corresponding rise in total production.
