Steam Injection in Faulted Reservoir and Application of Fracture Assisted Flooding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Tianovita
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Steam Injection ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Development Plan ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Fractured Reservoir ◽  
Reservoir Model ◽  
Injection Process ◽  
Steam Flooding ◽  
New Development

The steam injection process is one of the most effective thermal recovery processes for heavy oil reservoirs. Common challenges with this method are unexpected faults, heat transfer efficiency, and less exposure between oil and steam. The existence of an unexpected fault causes steam to escape from the target zone to the untargeted zone and poses a hazard on the surface. This condition has made the steam injection activity very restricted in faulted reservoirs. The application of hydraulic fracturing known as the fracturing-assisted steam flooding process is a new promising technique for increasing oil recovery by creating a path between injection wells and producing wells. This paper evaluates the effect of a faulted reservoir and accommodates a hydraulically fractured reservoir simulation in the steam injection process using a commercial simulator. The focus of the hydraulic fractures implementation in this study is to increase the exposure between steam and oil. The effect of the injection pattern using an inverted five-spot pattern is also evaluated in this paper. Two reservoir model scenarios are used to illustrate the proposed method: the faulted reservoir model and hydraulically fractured reservoir model. A new development plan is proposed to overcome the faulted reservoirs in the steam injection process with a 20-25% increase in oil recovery compared to the traditional approach. It was observed that the presence of hydraulic fractures in the steam injection process significantly increased the oil recovery by 25-40%. The sensitivity results indicate that parameters such as the fracture schedule and permeability multiplier in the fracture zone affect the increment in oil recovery during the fracture-assisted steam flooding process. This study proves an improvement in the effectiveness of the steam injection process in faulted reservoirs and presents a unique approach to improve steam-oil exposures. This paper introduces a new development plan to overcome faulted reservoirs in the steam injection process. We also introduce an alternative approach to the application of fracture-assisted flooding in the steam injection process. Both methods will greatly impact to increase.

The Experimental Analysis of the Role of Flue Gas Injection for Horizontal Well Steam Flooding

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhanxi Pang ◽  
Peng Qi ◽  
Fengyi Zhang ◽  
Taotao Ge ◽  
Huiqing Liu
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Flue Gas ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Steam Injection ◽  
Displacement Efficiency ◽  
Oil Viscosity ◽  
Sweep Efficiency ◽  
Steam Flooding ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Heavy oil is an important hydrocarbon resource that plays a great role in petroleum supply for the world. Co-injection of steam and flue gas can be used to develop deep heavy oil reservoirs. In this paper, a series of gas dissolution experiments were implemented to analyze the properties variation of heavy oil. Then, sand-pack flooding experiments were carried out to optimize injection temperature and injection volume of this mixture. Finally, three-dimensional (3D) flooding experiments were completed to analyze the sweep efficiency and the oil recovery factor of flue gas + steam flooding. The role in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) mechanisms was summarized according to the experimental results. The results show that the dissolution of flue gas in heavy oil can largely reduce oil viscosity and its displacement efficiency is obviously higher than conventional steam injection. Flue gas gradually gathers at the top to displace remaining oil and to decrease heat loss of the reservoir top. The ultimate recovery is 49.49% that is 7.95% higher than steam flooding.

Research Status and Prospect of Heavy Oil Recovery Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 888 ◽  
pp. 111-117
Author(s):  
Yi Zhao ◽  
De Yin Zhao ◽  
Rong Qiang Zhong ◽  
Li Rong Yao ◽  
Ke Ke Li
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Development Trend ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Oil Reservoir ◽  
Heavy Oil Recovery ◽  
Steam Flooding ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoir

With the continuous exploitation of most reservoirs in China, the proportion of heavy oil reservoirs increases, and the development difficulty is greater than that of conventional reservoirs. In view of the important subject of how to improve the recovery factor of heavy oil reservoir, the thermal recovery technology (hot water flooding, steam flooding, steam assisted gravity drainage SAGD and steam huff and puff) and cold recovery technology (chemical flooding, electromagnetic wave physical flooding and microbial flooding) used in the development of heavy oil reservoir are summarized. The principle of action is analyzed, and the main problems restricting heavy oil recovery are analyzed The main technologies of heavy oil recovery are introduced from the aspects of cold recovery and hot recovery. Based on the study of a large number of literatures, and according to the development trend of heavy oil development, suggestions and prospects for the future development direction are put forward.

Numerical Simulation of Thermal Solvent Replacing Steam under Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage SAGD Process

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiqiang Li ◽  
Daulat D. Mamora
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Steam Injection ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Production Performance ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage ◽  
Recovery Technique ◽  
Simulation Results

Abstract Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is one successful thermal recovery technique applied in the Athabasca oil sands in Canada to produce the very viscous bitumen. Water for SAGD is limited in supply and expensive to treat and to generate steam. Consequently, we conducted a study into injecting high-temperature solvent instead of steam to recover Athabasca oil. In this study, hexane (C6) coinjection at condensing condition is simulated using CMG STARS to analyze the drainage mechanism inside the vapor-solvent chamber. The production performance is compared with an equivalent steam injection case based on the same Athabasca reservoir condition. Simulation results show that C6 is vaporized and transported into the vapor-solvent chamber. At the condensing condition, high temperature C6 reduces the viscosity of the bitumen more efficiently than steam and can displace out all the original oil. The oil production rate with C6 injection is about 1.5 to 2 times that of steam injection with oil recovery factor of about 100% oil initially-in-place. Most of the injected C6 can be recycled from the reservoir and from the produced oil, thus significantly reduce the solvent cost. Results of our study indicate that high-temperature solvent injection appears feasible although further technical and economic evaluation of the process is required.

Environmentally-Friendly Production and Recovery Processes for Heavy Oils

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celal Hakan Canbaz ◽  
Cenk Temizel ◽  
Yildiray Palabiyik ◽  
Korhan Kor ◽  
Luky Hendrandingrat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Steam Injection ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Heavy Oils ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Injection Process ◽  
Environmental Footprints

Abstract Oil Industry is going green and there is no solid and comprehensive publication that outlines the use of green energies and methods in oil recovery. Thus, this paper is going to close that gap. As there are more environmental restrictions especially in developed countries, inclusion of green energy methods in petroleum recovery processes is very important for the future of these reserves. We will focus on extra/heavy oil as conventional oil is simpler to produce and doesn't need EOR processes that may come with environmental footprints. The objective of this study is to investigate and outline the ‘green’ production and recovery processes of heavy oil recovery in environmentally-sensitive locations where greenhouse gas emissions, type of energy used to extract oil and gas (e.g., generation of steam using natural gas vs solar), environmental impact of surface facilities, transportation of produced oil and gas and other associated materials/chemica ls required for recovery (e.g. solvents for steam injection process) are critical for the operations as well as economics.

The Application of the Multi-Component Thermal Fluid Huff and Puff Technology to Daqing Heavy Oil Block

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianjun Wang ◽  
Xiangbin Liu ◽  
Borui Li ◽  
Qiang Yin ◽  
Zhonglian Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Corrosion Inhibitor ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Gas Absorption ◽  
Composition Ratio ◽  
Steam Flooding ◽  
Gas Channeling ◽  
Lock In

Abstract The reservoir of Daqing Heidimiao Oilfield (permeability 1736×10−3μm2) contains heavy oil, with the average viscosity of 3306 mPa•s. It is developed by steam flooding and steam huff and puff, however, the recovery rate is only 14.6%. Therefore, the multi-component thermal fluid huff-and-puff technology is applied to, dealing with pertinent problems such as gas channeling, corrosion and oil pump lock in the process so as to improve oil recovery and production. Mechanism: Cooling by water, the ultra-high temperature gas generated via combustion of diesel or natural gas with air produces a multi-component thermal fluid containing CO2,N2 and vapor, combining the advantages of gas absorption and thermal recovery. Simulation: A multi-component and multi-phase percolation model is built to optimize the huff-and-puff parameters including composition ratio, temperature and injection volume. Supporting techniques: a high temperature oil-and-acid resistant foam system to form a precedent-blocking slug and automatically adjust the huff-and-puff profile. a dedicated low-cost and high-efficiency corrosion inhibitor system to realize corrosion-resistance. a four-node down-hole gas-liquid separation device to increase efficiency. The comprehensive reduced-viscosity rate is more than 30%; high-pressure air chambers, ranging from 0.2 to 2.0MPa, are formed for elastic energy replenishment. Field tests show the average annual oil increase per well is about 3800 barrels, with the highest being about 7200 barrels. The numerical simulation results show that the optimal composition ratio (N2: CO2: vapor) is 5:1:1.5, that the best injection amount is 30∼50×104Nm3 and that the injection temperature is preferably 280 ∼ 300 °C. The oil-and-acid resistant foaming agent has improved recovery efficiency, as a significantly improved profile of gas absorption, and the oil extraction degree increases by about 31.5%. High temperature corrosion is prevented, through intermittent injection of high-temperature-resistant corrosion inhibitor (corrosion inhibition rate 70.5% at 350 °C), and the frequency of pipeline corrosion is reduced averagely by 98.5%. Air-lock in pump vanishes via gas-liquid separation devise, with the average indoor pump efficiency increases by more than 50% (gas-liquid ratio ≤3000m3/m3)and the one in field test increases from less than 20% to over 45%. More importantly, the maintenance period has reached 662d. This technology has been applied to 98 wells in Daqing to date, 95 of which are stimulated successfully. The multi-component thermal fluid huff-and-puff technology solves the problems such as gas channeling, corrosion and air-lock in pumps through supporting techniques and the synergism of steam flooding and thermal recovery to enhance oil recovery and can be used as a superseded technology after steam huff-and-puff treatment to increase the EUR, especially for heavy oil reservoirs with medium and high permeability.

State-of-the-Art of Thermal Recovery Models

1981 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 296-300
Author(s):  
S. M. Farouq Ali ◽  
J. Ferrer
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Input Data ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Front Tracking ◽  
Steam Injection ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Cyclic Steam Stimulation ◽  
Recovery Models

Thermal recovery models for oil recovery consist of steam injection and in-situ combustion simulators. At the present time, steam injection simulators have been developed to a point where it is possible to reliably simulate portions of a fieldwide flood. Cyclic steam stimulation simulation still entails a number of questionable assumptions. Formation parting cannot be simulated in either case. In-situ combustion simulators lack the capability for front tracking. Even though the models are rather sophisticated, process mechanism description and input data are inadequate.

Simulation of Steam Injection Process for Horizontal Well with Heavy Oil Recovery

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 1283-1295
Author(s):  
Chun-sheng Guo ◽  
Fang-yi Qu ◽  
Yong Liu ◽  
Jing-ran Niu ◽  
Yong Zou
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Horizontal Well ◽  
Steam Injection ◽  
Heavy Oil Recovery ◽  
Injection Process

A New High-Temperature Gel for Profile Control in Heavy Oil Reservoirs

2015 ◽  
Vol 138 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Changjiu Wang ◽  
Huiqing Liu ◽  
Qiang Zheng ◽  
Yongge Liu ◽  
Xiaohu Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Heat Stability ◽  
Steam Injection ◽  
Oil Reservoirs ◽  
Steam Flooding ◽  
Profile Control ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Controlling the phenomenon of steam channeling is a major challenge in enhancing oil recovery of heavy oil reservoirs developed by steam injection, and the profile control with gel is an effective method to solve this problem. The use of conventional gel in water flooding reservoirs also has poor heat stability, so this paper proposes a new high-temperature gel (HTG) plugging agent on the basis of a laboratory experimental investigation. The HTG is prepared with nonionic filler and unsaturated amide monomer (AM) by graft polymerization and crosslinking, and the optimal gel formula, which has strong gelling strength and controllable gelation time, is obtained by the optimization of the concentration of main agent, AM/FT ratio, crosslinker, and initiator. To test the adaptability of the new HTG to heavy oil reservoirs and the performance of plugging steam channeling path and enhancing oil recovery, performance evaluation experiments and three-dimensional steam flooding and gel profile control experiments are conducted. The performance evaluation experiments indicate that the HTG has strong salt resistance and heat stability and still maintains strong gelling strength after 72 hrs at 200 °C. The singular sand-pack flooding experiments suggest that the HTG has good injectability, which can ensure the on-site construction safety. Moreover, the HTG has a high plugging pressure and washing out resistance to the high-temperature steam after gel forming and keeps the plugging ratio above 99.8% when the following steam injected volume reaches 10 PV after gel breakthrough. The three-dimensional steam flooding and gel profile control experiments results show that the HTG has good plugging performance in the steam channeling path and effectively controls its expanding. This forces the following steam, which is the steam injected after the gelling of HTG in the model, to flow through the steam unswept area, which improves the steam injection profile. During the gel profile control period, the cumulative oil production increases by 294.4 ml and the oil recovery is enhanced by 8.4%. Thus, this new HTG has a good effect in improving the steam injection profile and enhancing oil recovery and can be used to control the steam channeling in heavy oil reservoirs.

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