Simulation of Non-Condensable Gases Co-Injection in Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage: The Role of Gas-Liquid Relative Permeability Curves

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Maria Mendoza ◽  
Apostolos Kantzas
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage ◽  
Relative Permeability Curves

Analytical Solutions and Derivation of Relative Permeabilities for Water-Heavy Oil Displacement and Gas-Heavy Oil Gravity Drainage Under Non-Isothermal Conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (01) ◽  
pp. 181-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Argüelles-Vivas ◽  
T.. Babadagli
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Variable Temperature ◽  
Spontaneous Imbibition ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Positive Temperature ◽  
Relative Permeability Curves ◽  
Isothermal Gas

Summary Analytical models were developed for non-isothermal gas/heavy-oil gravity drainage and water-heavy oil displacements in round capillary tubes including the effects of a temperature gradient throughout the system. By use of the model solution for a bundle of capillaries, relative permeability curves were generated at different temperature conditions. The results showed that water/gas-heavy oil interface location, oil-drainage velocity, and production rate depend on the change of oil properties with temperature. The displacement of heavy oil by water or gas was accelerated under a positive temperature gradient, including the spontaneous imbibition of water. Relative permeability curves were greatly affected by temperature gradient and showed significant changes compared with the curves at constant temperature. Clarifications were made as to the effect of variable temperature compared with the constant (but high) temperatures throughout the bundle of capillaries.

Convection at the Edge of a Steam-Assisted-Gravity-Drainage Steam Chamber

SPE Journal ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. 503-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyotsna Sharma ◽  
Ian D. Gates
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Injection Well ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Oil Sand ◽  
Production Well ◽  
Steam Chamber ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage

Summary Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) has become the preferred process to recover bitumen from Athabasca deposits in Alberta. The method consists of a lower horizontal production well, typically located approximately 2 m above the base of the oil zone, and an upper horizontal injection well located roughly 5 to 10 m above the production well. Steam flows from the injection well into a steam chamber that surrounds the wells and releases its latent heat to the cool oil sands at the edge of the chamber. This research re-examines heat transfer at the edge of the steam chamber. Specifically, a new theory is derived to account for convection of warm condensate into the oil sand at the edge of the chamber. The results show that, if the injection pressure is higher than the initial reservoir pressure, convective heat transfer can be larger than conductive heat transfer into the oil sand at the edge of the chamber. However, enhancement of the heat-transfer rate by convection may not necessarily imply higher oil rates; this can be explained by relative permeability effects at the chamber edge. As the condensate invades the oil sand, the oil saturation drops and, consequently, the oil relative permeability falls. This, in turn, results in the reduction of the oil mobility, despite the lowered oil viscosity because of higher temperature arising from convective heat transfer.

Steam-on-a-chip for oil recovery: the role of alkaline additives in steam assisted gravity drainage

Lab on a Chip ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 3832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. de Haas ◽  
Hossein Fadaei ◽  
Uriel Guerrero ◽  
David Sinton
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage

Numerical Investigation of Wettability Effects on Two-Phase Flow in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs Using Complex System Modelling Platform

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Sedaghat ◽  
Hossein Dashti
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
System Modelling ◽  
Naturally Fractured ◽  
Relative Permeability Curves

Abstract Wettability is an essential component of reservoir characterization and plays a crucial role in understanding the dominant mechanisms in enhancing recovery from oil reservoirs. Wettability affects oil recovery by changing (drainage and imbibition) capillary pressure and relative permeability curves. This paper aims to investigate the role of wettability in matrix-fracture fluid transfer and oil recovery in naturally fractured reservoirs. Two experimental micromodels and one geological outcrop model were selected for this study. Three relative permeability and capillary pressure curves were assigned to study the role of matrix wettability. Linear relative permeability curves were given to the fractures. A complex system modelling platform (CSMP++) has been used to simulate water and polymer flooding in different wettability conditions. Comparing the micromodel data, CSMP++ and Eclipse validated and verified CSMP++. Based on the results, the effect of wettability alteration during water flooding is stronger than in polymer flooding. In addition, higher matrix-to-fracture permeability ratio makes wettability alteration more effective. The results of this study revealed that although an increase in flow rate decreases oil recovery in water-wet medium, it is independent of flow rate in the oil-wet system. Visualized data indicated that displacement mechanisms are different in oil-wet, mixed-wet and water-wet media. Earlier fracture breakthrough, later matrix breakthrough and generation and swelling of displacing phase at locations with high horizontal permeability contrast are the most important features of enhanced oil recovery in naturally fractured oil-wet rocks.

The Role of Emulsions in Steam-Assisted-Gravity-Drainage (SAGD) Oil-Production Process: A Review

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (02) ◽  
pp. 969-989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shadi Ansari ◽  
Reza Sabbagh ◽  
Yishak Yusuf ◽  
David S. Nobes
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Qualitative Description ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage ◽  
Well Completion ◽  
Sand Control ◽  
Reservoir Conditions ◽  
Emulsification Process

Summary Studies that investigate and attempt to model the process of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) for heavy-oil extraction often adopt the single-phase-flow assumption or relative permeability of the moving phases as a continuous phase in their analyses. Looking at the emulsification process and the likelihood of its prevalence in SAGD, however, indicates that it forms an important part of the entire physics of the process. To explore the validity of this assumption, a review of prior publications that are related to the SAGD process and the modeling approaches used, as well as works that studied the emulsification process at reservoir conditions, is presented. Reservoir conditions are assessed to identify whether the effect of the emulsion is strong enough to encourage using a multiphase instead of a single-phase assumption for the modeling of the process. The effect of operating conditions on the stability of emulsions in the formation is discussed. The review also covers the nature and extent of effects from emulsions on the flow mechanics through pore spaces and other flow passages that result from the well completion and downhole tubing, such as sand/flow-control devices. The primary outcome of this review strengthens the idea that a multiphase-flow scenario needs to be considered when studying all flow-related phenomena in enhanced-oil-recovery processes and, hence, in SAGD. The presence of emulsions significantly affects the bulk properties of the porous media, such as relative permeability, and properties that are related to the flow, such as viscosity, density, and ultimately pressure drop. It is asserted that the flow of emulsions strongly contributed to the transport of fines that might cause plugging of either the pore space or the screen on the sand-control device. The qualitative description of these influences and their extents found from the review of this large area of research is expected to guide activities during the conception stages of research questions and other investigations.

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