Heavy Oil and Bitumen Recovery Using Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Irradiation and Electrical Heating: Theoretical Analysis and Field Scale Observations

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred Davletbaev ◽  
Liana Kovaleva ◽  
Tayfun Babadagli ◽  
Rais Minnigalimov
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Electrical Heating ◽  
Field Scale ◽  
Electromagnetic Irradiation ◽  
Bitumen Recovery

The Influence of Salt Concentration in Injected Water on Low-Frequency Electrical-Heating-Assisted Bitumen Recovery

SPE Journal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. 548-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.I.. I. Bogdanov ◽  
J.A.. A. Torres ◽  
H.A.. A. Akhlaghi ◽  
A.M.. M. Kamp
Keyword(s):  
Electric Conductivity ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Salt Concentration ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Water Circulation ◽  
Electrical Heating ◽  
Simple Problem ◽  
Field Scale ◽  
Bitumen Recovery

Summary Steam injection is often not a good alternative for oil recovery from shallow bitumen reservoirs. For instance, the thin caprock creates the danger of steam breakthrough. For deeper reservoirs, the heat losses from injection wells may be prohibitive. A technology that may be better suited is oil recovery aided by low-frequency electrical heating of the reservoir. This technology, well known for environmental remedial applications, has been field tried recently, yielding promising results. The process uses electric conductivity of connate water to propagate an alternating current between electrodes, inducing the Joule heating of the reservoir. An associated problem is the appearance of hot spots around the electrodes that may be relieved by water circulation. However, the water circulation may have a significant effect on the heating process because the electric conductivity of the circulated water depends on its salt content. To find out the influence of salt concentration on process efficiency, we have studied the process of salt-water recirculation around an electrode using numerical simulation. The physical properties and operational data for Athabasca bitumen have been collected from the literature. The model built with Computer Modelling Group's STARS simulator and tested first with available analytical solutions has been validated, and the proper choice of the underlying grid and numerical tuning parameters has been verified. The process was also simulated at field scale for a common pattern of electrodes and production wells. The salt penetrated into the reservoir, far beyond the major water-circulation zone around the electrodes. This process increases the electric conductivity in a large region between electrodes, which improves the heating of the reservoir. The single-electrode simulation studies using different tools yielded similar results for a simple problem. More-complex (and more-realistic) field-scale simulations show that adding salt enhances the oil production. In practice, an upper concentration limit may be given by corrosion problems at the electrodes. The reservoir simulation of bitumen recovery assisted by low-frequency heating is a challenging multiphysics problem. The understanding of the influence of salt concentration on the circulated water provided by this work is an important key in process-design considerations.

Field-Scale Analysis of Heavy-Oil Recovery by Electrical Heating

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (01) ◽  
pp. 131-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berna Hascakir ◽  
Tayfun Babadagli ◽  
Serhat Akin
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Electrical Heating ◽  
Scale Analysis ◽  
Heavy Oil Recovery ◽  
Field Scale

Numerical simulations of bitumen recovery using solvent and water assisted electrical heating

Fuel ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 186 ◽  
pp. 68-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moosa Rabiei Faradonbeh ◽  
Hassan Hassanzadeh ◽  
Thomas Harding
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Electrical Heating ◽  
Bitumen Recovery

Electrical-heating-assisted recovery for heavy oil

2004 ◽  
Vol 45 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 213-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.R. Rangel-German ◽  
J. Schembre ◽  
C. Sandberg ◽  
A.R. Kovscek
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Electrical Heating

Enhance Heavy Oil Production of Horizontal Well by Distributed Downhole Electrical Heating

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Lin ◽  
Cheng Jiang ◽  
Fugang Lu ◽  
Yong Zhang ◽  
Yongheng Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Horizontal Well ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Electrical Heating

Numerical Simulation of Electrical-Heating Assisted SAGD in Heterogeneous Heavy Oil Reservoirs

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu Yongbin ◽  
Li Xingmin ◽  
He Wanjun ◽  
Zhao Fang ◽  
Fang Yueyue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Electrical Heating ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Solvent-Selection Criteria Based on Diffusion Rate and Mixing Quality for Steam/Solvent Applications in Heavy-Oil and Bitumen Recovery

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (04) ◽  
pp. 620-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.. Marciales ◽  
T.. Babadagli
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Diffusion Rate ◽  
Asphaltene Precipitation ◽  
Solvent Selection ◽  
Solvent Injection ◽  
Mixing Quality ◽  
Bitumen Recovery ◽  
Static Conditions

Summary Heavy-oil and bitumen recovery requires high recovery factors to offset the extreme high cost of investments and operations. Attention has been given to solvent injection for this purpose, and it has been observed that high recoveries are achievable when it is combined with steam injection. Heavier (“liquid”) solvents (liquid at ambient conditions) are especially becoming more popular because of availability and transportation. High oil prices will allow the application of this kind of technique if a proper design is made to retrieve the injected solvent efficiently. “Liquid” solvents are advantageous because they yield a better-quality mixing (especially with very heavy oils and bitumen) but a lower diffusion rate than lighter solvents such as propane or butane. Despite this understanding, there still is not a clear screening criterion for solvent selection to mitigate both diffusion rate and the quality of the mixture. In this study, two main solvent-selection-criteria parameters—diffusion rate and mixing quality—were considered to evaluate solvent-injection efficiency at different temperatures. An optical method under static conditions and image-processing techniques were proposed to determine 1D diffusivity of liquid solvent into a wide range of oil samples in a capillary tube. This sampling range varies from 40-cp oil to 250-cp oil, for which digital-image treatment was developed. X-ray computerized tomography (CT) was applied for heavier (and darker) oils (viscosity range of 20,000 cp to 400,000 cp). The diffusion coefficients were then computed through nonlinear curve fitting on the basis of an optimization algorithm to ensure that the obtained values were in agreement with available analytical solutions. Next, viscosity measurements and asphaltene precipitation for the same heavy-oil/solvent mixtures were performed to determine the mixing quality. The ideal solvent types for different oil types were determined by using the results from the diffusion-rate and mixing-quality experiments. The experimental and semianalytical outcome of this research would be useful in the determination of the best solvent type for a given oil and in understanding the key factors that influence the quality of mixtures including viscosity reduction and probable asphaltene precipitation.

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