In-Situ Combustion Pilot Operations in the Wabasca Heavy Oil Sands Deposit of North Central Alberta, Canada

1983 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Alderman ◽  
R.L. Fox ◽  
R.G. Antonation
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
North Central

Application and Exploration of Early In-Situ Combustion Huff-and-Puff Technology in a Deep Undisturbed Reservoir with Extra Heavy Oil

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Wang Xiaoyan ◽  
Zhao Jian ◽  
Yin Qingguo ◽  
Cao Bao ◽  
Zhang Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Gas Injection ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Pilot Test ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Coiled Tubing

Summary Achieving effective results using conventional thermal recovery technology is challenging in the deep undisturbed reservoir with extra-heavy oil in the LKQ oil field. Therefore, in this study, a novel approach based on in-situ combustion huff-and-puff technology is proposed. Through physical and numerical simulations of the reservoir, the oil recovery mechanism and key injection and production parameters of early-stage ultraheavy oil were investigated, and a series of key engineering supporting technologies were developed that were confirmed to be feasible via a pilot test. The results revealed that the ultraheavy oil in the LKQ oil field could achieve oxidation combustion under a high ignition temperature of greater than 450°C, where in-situ cracking and upgrading could occur, leading to greatly decreased viscosity of ultraheavy oil and significantly improved mobility. Moreover, it could achieve higher extra-heavy-oil production combined with the energy supplement of flue gas injection. The reasonable cycles of in-situ combustion huff and puff were five cycles, with the first cycle of gas injection of 300 000 m3 and the gas injection volume per cycle increasing in turn. It was predicted that the incremental oil production of a single well would be 500 t in one cycle. In addition, the supporting technologies were developed, such as a coiled-tubing electric ignition system, an integrated temperature and pressure monitoring system in coiled tubing, anticorrosion cementing and completion technology with high-temperature and high-pressure thermal recovery, and anticorrosion injection-production integrated lifting technology. The proposed method was applied to a pilot test in the YS3 well in the LKQ oil field. The high-pressure ignition was achieved in the 2200-m-deep well using the coiled-tubing electric igniter. The maximum temperature tolerance of the integrated monitoring system in coiled tubing reached up to 1200°C, which provided the functions of distributed temperature and multipoint pressure measurement in the entire wellbore. The combination of 13Cr-P110 casing and titanium alloy tubing effectively reduced the high-temperature and high-pressure oxygen corrosion of the wellbore. The successful field test of the comprehensive supporting engineering technologies presents a new approach for effective production in deep extra-heavy-oil reservoirs.

An Experimental Investigation of In Situ Combustion in High Permeability Contrast Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Melek Deniz Paker ◽  
Murat Cinar
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Combustion Front ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Front Propagation ◽  
High Permeability ◽  
Vertical Orientation ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Horizontal Orientation

Abstract A significant portion of world oil reserves reside in naturally fractured reservoirs and a considerable amount of these resources includes heavy oil and bitumen. Thermal enhanced oil recovery methods (EOR) are mostly applied in heavy oil reservoirs to improve oil recovery. In situ combustion (/SC) is one of the thermal EOR methods that could be applicable in a variety of reservoirs. Unlike steam, heat is generated in situ due to the injection of air or oxygen enriched air into a reservoir. Energy is provided by multi-step reactions between oxygen and the fuel at particular temperatures underground. This method upgrades the oil in situ while the heaviest fraction of the oil is burned during the process. The application of /SC in fractured reservoirs is challenging since the injected air would flow through the fracture and a small portion of oil in the/near fracture would react with the injected air. Only a few researchers have studied /SC in fractured or high permeability contrast systems experimentally. For in situ combustion to be applied in fractured systems in an efficient way, the underlying mechanism needs to be understood. In this study, the major focus is permeability variation that is the most prominent feature of fractured systems. The effect of orientation and width of the region with higher permeability on the sustainability of front propagation are studied. The contrast in permeability was experimentally simulated with sand of different particle size. These higher permeability regions are analogous to fractures within a naturally fractured rock. Several /SC tests with sand-pack were carried out to obtain a better understanding of the effect of horizontal vertical, and combined (both vertical and horizontal) orientation of the high permeability region with respect to airflow to investigate the conditions that are required for a self-sustained front propagation and to understand the fundamental behavior. Within the experimental conditions of the study, the test results showed that combustion front propagated faster in the higher permeability region. In addition, horizontal orientation almost had no effect on the sustainability of the front; however, it affected oxygen consumption, temperature, and velocity of the front. On the contrary, the vertical orientation of the higher permeability region had a profound effect on the sustainability of the combustion front. The combustion behavior was poorer for the tests with vertical orientation, yet the produced oil AP/ gravity was higher. Based on the experimental results a mechanism has been proposed to explain the behavior of combustion front in systems with high permeability contrast.

In Situ Combustion Technology In The Later SAGD Process In Extra Heavy Oil Reservoir

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Desheng ◽  
S. Lanxiang ◽  
X. Changfeng ◽  
Li Xiuluan ◽  
Guo Erpeng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Reservoir ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Combustion Technology ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoir
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