Heavy Oil Sand In.-Situ Pilot Plants In Alberta (Past And Present)

1977 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Nicholls ◽  
R.W. Luhning
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Sand

Seismic attributes for monitoring of a shallow heated heavy oil reservoir: A case study

Geophysics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 368-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas R. Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Oil Sand ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Spectral Estimates ◽  
Reflection Profile ◽  
In Situ Conditions ◽  
Short Time Window

In production geophysics, detecting the zones of production or constraining the in‐situ conditions within a reservoir are often of greater importance than obtaining highly resolved seismic structural images. Standard seismic data processing distorts the signal and limits the potential for extracting additional information, especially for shallow targets. An alternative “shift‐stack” procedure is applied in the processing of a shallow 12-fold, 1-m common midpoint (CMP) spacing reflection profile acquired over a heated Athabasca heavy oil sand reservoir. The shift‐stack involves summing of CMP traces which have been flattened to an appropriate reference event. Simple modeling confirms that the prestack waveforms are better preserved by this process. Amplitude and frequency attributes are extracted from the reflection profile. Amplitudes of a continuous reservoir event vary by 600% over 35-m intervals along the profile. Bright spots correlate with heated regions. Apparent frequencies, as measured by the instantaneous frequency and by short time‐window power spectral estimates of the subreservoir event are 20–30 Hz lower in these same regions. These diminished apparent frequencies most probably result from interference of the subreservoir reflection with events related to structural changes within the reservoir. A complete interpretation of the results has not been attempted as knowledge of the in‐situ conditions is incomplete. However, changes in the seismic response at the well locations suggest that these attributes are useful in detection and mapping of heated zones. The shiftstack procedure may also be useful in environmental and geotechnical applications.

Review of characterization methods for water-soluble polymers used in oil sand and heavy oil industrial applications

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 460-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaomeng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Environmental Fate ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Oil Sand ◽  
Characterization Methods ◽  
Water Soluble Polymers ◽  
Soluble Polymers ◽  
Terrestrial Animal

Water-soluble polymers have been used in many applications in the oil sand and heavy oil industries, including drilling, enhanced oil recovery, tailings treatment, and water treatment. Because they are water soluble, residual polymer can remain with the aqueous phase, potentially leading to environmental impacts. Investigating the environmental fate of these water-soluble polymers is particularly important as they may be toxic to aquatic biota or terrestrial animal life. However, since polymers are somewhat complex because of their high molecular weight, there are many challenges in their measurement, especially in complex matrices. In this paper, polymers used in oilfield applications, particularly in the oil sand or heavy oil industries, are reviewed and various analytical methods for polymer characterization are compared.

Industrial Application of Nickel Tallate Catalyst During Cyclic Steam Stimulation in Boca De Jaruco Reservoir

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey V. Vakhin ◽  
Irek I. Mukhamatdinov ◽  
Firdavs A. Aliev ◽  
Dmitriy F. Feoktistov ◽  
Sergey A. Sitnov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Industrial Application ◽  
Laboratory Scale ◽  
Catalyst Precursor ◽  
Hydrothermal Conditions ◽  
Cyclic Steam Stimulation ◽  
Steam Stimulation

Abstract A nickel-based catalyst precursor has been synthesized for in-situ upgrading of heavy crude oil that is capable of increasing the efficiency of steam stimulation techniques. The precursor activation occurs due to the decomposition of nickel tallate under hydrothermal conditions. The aim of this study is to analyze the efficiency of in-situ catalytic upgrading of heavy oil from laboratory scale experiments to the field-scale implementation in Boca de Jaruco reservoir. The proposed catalytic composition for in-reservoir chemical transformation of heavy oil and natural bitumen is composed of oil-soluble nickel compound and organic hydrogen donor solvent. The nickel-based catalytic composition in laboratory-scale hydrothermal conditions at 300°С and 90 bars demonstrated a high performance; the content of asphaltenes was reduced from 22% to 7 wt.%. The viscosity of crude oil was also reduced by three times. The technology for industrial-scale production of catalyst precursor was designed and the first pilot batch with a mass of 12 ton was achieved. A «Cyclic steam stimulation» technology was modified in order to deliver the catalytic composition to the pay zones of Boca de Jaruco reservoir (Cuba). The active forms of catalyst precursors are nanodispersed mixed oxides and sulfides of nickel. The pilot test of catalyst injection was carried out in bituminous carbonate formation M, in Boca de Jaruco reservoir (Cuba). The application of catalytic composition provided increase in cumulative oil production and incremental oil recovery in contrast to the previous cycle (without catalyst) is 170% up to date (the effect is in progress). After injection of catalysts, more than 200 samples from production well were analyzed in laboratory. Based on the physical and chemical properties of investigated samples and considering the excellent oil recovery coefficient it is decided to expand the industrial application of catalysts in the given reservoir. The project is scheduled on the fourth quarter of 2021.

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.

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