Efficient Simulation and Analysis of the Effects of Permeability on the In-Situ Combustion of Heavy Oils

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Aounallah
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oils ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Efficient Simulation

scholarly journals Use of two vertical injectors in place of a horizontal injector to improve the efficiency and stability of THAI in situ combustion process for producing heavy oils

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rabiu Ado
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Combustion Front ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Steam Injection ◽  
Electrical Heating ◽  
Heavy Oils ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Start Up

AbstractThe current commercial technologies used to produce heavy oils and bitumen are carbon-, energy-, and wastewater-intensive. These make them to be out of line with the global efforts of decarbonisation. Alternative processes such as the toe-to-heel air injection (THAI) that works as an in situ combustion process that uses horizontal producer well to recover partially upgraded oil from heavy oils and bitumen reservoirs are needed. However, THAI is yet to be technically and economically well proven despite pilot and semi-commercial operations. Some studies concluded using field data that THAI is a low-oil-production-rate process. However, no study has thoroughly investigated the simultaneous effects of start-up methods and wells configuration on both the short and long terms stability, sustainability, and profitability of the process. Using THAI validated model, three models having a horizontal producer well arranged in staggered line drive with the injector wells are simulated using CMG STARS. Model A has two vertical injectors via which steam was used for pre-ignition heating, and models B and C each has a horizontal injector via which electrical heater and steam were respectively used for pre-ignition heating. It is found that during start-up, ultimately, steam injection instead of electrical heating should be used for the pre-ignition heating. Clearly, it is shown that model A has higher oil production rates after the increase in air flux and also has a higher cumulative oil recovery of 2350 cm3 which is greater than those of models B and C by 9.6% and 4.3% respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that for long-term projects, model A settings and wells configuration should be used. Although it is now discovered that the peak temperature cannot in all settings tell how healthy a combustion front is, it has revealed that model A does indeed have far more stable, safer, and efficient combustion front burning quality and propagation due to the maintenance of very high peak temperatures of mostly greater than 600 °C and very low concentrations of produced oxygen of lower than 0.4 mol% compared to up to 2.75 mol% in model C and 1 mol% in model B. Conclusively, since drilling of, and achieving uniform air distribution in horizontal injector (HI) well in actual field reservoir are costly and impracticable at the moment, and that electrical heating will require unphysically long time before mobilised fluids reach the HP well as heat transfer is mainly by conduction, these findings have shown decisively that the easy-and-cheaper-to-drill two vertical injector wells configured in a staggered line drive pattern with the horizontal producer should be used, and steam is thus to be used for pre-ignition heating.

ROCK OIL RESERVOIR STRUCTURE INFLUENCE ON THE FLAME STABILITY OF THE IN-SITU COMBUSTION RECOVERY METHOD

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Henrique Pagoto Deoclecio ◽  
Filipe Arthur Firmino Monhol ◽  
Antônio Carlos Barbosa Zancanella
Keyword(s):  
Flame Stability ◽  
Oil Reservoir ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Recovery Method

Ceramic monolith- and foam-structured catalysts via in-situ combustion deposition for energetic applications

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-418
Author(s):  
Cristina ITALIANO ◽  
Lidia PINO ◽  
Massimo LAGANÀ ◽  
Antonio VITA
Keyword(s):  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Structured Catalysts

Determination of the propagation state of the combustion zone during in-situ combustion by dimensionless numbers

Fuel ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 284 ◽  
pp. 118972
Author(s):  
Dong Liu ◽  
Junshi Tang ◽  
Ruonan Zheng ◽  
Qiang Song
Keyword(s):  
Combustion Zone ◽  
Dimensionless Numbers ◽  
In Situ Combustion
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document