Economic and environmental analysis of a Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) facility for oil recovery from Canadian oil sands

2015 ◽  
Vol 142 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Giacchetta ◽  
Mariella Leporini ◽  
Barbara Marchetti
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Analysis ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage

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.

Feasibility of electromagnetic methods to detect and image steam-assisted gravity drainage steam chambers

Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. E227-E241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah G. R. Devriese ◽  
Douglas W. Oldenburg
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Design Procedure ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Steam Chamber ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage ◽  
Mcmurray Formation

We have investigated the use of electric and electromagnetic (EM) methods to monitor the growth of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) steam chambers. SAGD has proven to be a successful method for extracting bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta, Canada. However, complexity and heterogeneity within the reservoir could impede steam chamber growth, thereby limiting oil recovery and increase production costs. Using seismic data collected over an existing SAGD project, we have generated a synthetic steam chamber and modeled it as a conductive body within the bitumen-rich McMurray Formation. Simulated data from standard crosswell electrical surveys, when inverted in three dimensions, show existence of the chamber but lack the resolution necessary to determine the shape and size. By expanding to EM surveys, our ability to recover and resolve the steam chamber is significantly enhanced. We use a simplified survey design procedure to design a variety of field surveys that include surface and borehole transmitters operating in the frequency or time domain. Each survey is inverted in three dimensions, and the results are compared. Importantly, despite the shielding effects of the highly conductive cap rock over the McMurray Formation, we have determined that it is possible to electromagnetically excite the steam chamber using a large-loop surface transmitter. This motivates a synthetic example, constructed using the geology and resistivity logging data of a future SAGD site, where we simulate data from single and multiple surface loop transmitters. We have found that even when measurements are restricted to the vertical component of the electric field in standard observation wells, if multiple transmitters are used, the inversion recovers three steam chambers and discerns an area of limited steam growth that results from a blockage in the reservoir. The effectiveness of the survey shows that this EM methodology is worthy of future investigation and field deployment.

scholarly journals Identifying Reservoir Features via iSOR Response Behaviour

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 427
Author(s):  
Jingyi Wang ◽  
Ian Gates
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Athabasca Oil Sands ◽  
Steam Chamber ◽  
Heterogeneous Reservoirs ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage ◽  
Response Behaviour

To extract viscous bitumen from oil sands reservoirs, steam is injected into the formation to lower the bitumen’s viscosity enabling sufficient mobility for its production to the surface. Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is the preferred process for Athabasca oil sands reservoirs but its performance suffers in heterogeneous reservoirs leading to an elevated steam-to-oil ratio (SOR) above that which would be observed in a clean oil sands reservoir. This implies that the SOR could be used as a signature to understand the nature of heterogeneities or other features in reservoirs. In the research reported here, the use of the SOR as a signal to provide information on the heterogeneity of the reservoir is explored. The analysis conducted on prototypical reservoirs reveals that the instantaneous SOR (iSOR) can be used to identify reservoir features. The results show that the iSOR profile exhibits specific signatures that can be used to identify when the steam chamber reaches the top of the formation, a lean zone, a top gas zone, and shale layers.

Investigation of Emulsion Flow in Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage

SPE Journal ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (03) ◽  
pp. 440-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.C.. C. Ezeuko ◽  
J.. Wang ◽  
I.D.. D. Gates
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage ◽  
Emulsion Flow ◽  
Very High ◽  
Effective Representation

Summary We present a numerical simulation approach that allows incorporation of emulsion modeling into steam-assisted gravity-drainage (SAGD) simulations with commercial reservoir simulators by means of a two-stage pseudochemical reaction. Numerical simulation results show excellent agreement with experimental data for low-pressure SAGD, accounting for approximately 24% deficiency in simulated oil recovery, compared with experimental data. Incorporating viscosity alteration, multiphase effect, and enthalpy of emulsification appears sufficient for effective representation of in-situ emulsion physics during SAGD in very-high-permeability systems. We observed that multiphase effects appear to dominate the viscosity effect of emulsion flow under SAGD conditions of heavy-oil (bitumen) recovery. Results also show that in-situ emulsification may play a vital role within the reservoir during SAGD, increasing bitumen mobility and thereby decreasing cumulative steam/oil ratio (cSOR). Results from this work extend understanding of SAGD by examining its performance in the presence of in-situ emulsification and associated flow of emulsion with bitumen in porous media.

Approximate Physics-Discrete Simulation of the Steam-Chamber Evolution in Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage

SPE Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (02) ◽  
pp. 477-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Gallardo ◽  
Clayton V. Deutsch
Keyword(s):  
Oil Sands ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Porous Media Flow ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Discrete Simulation ◽  
Flow Equations ◽  
Integrity Assessment ◽  
Steam Chamber ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage

Summary Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is a thermal-recovery process to produce bitumen from oil sands. In this technology, steam injected in the reservoir creates a constantly evolving steam chamber while heated bitumen drains to a production well. Understanding the geometry and the rate of growth of the steam chamber is necessary to manage an economically successful SAGD project. This work introduces an approximate physics-discrete simulator (APDS) to model the steam-chamber evolution. The algorithm is formulated and implemented using graph theory, simplified porous-media flow equations, heat-transfer concepts, and ideas from discrete simulation. The APDS predicts the steam-chamber evolution in heterogeneous reservoirs and is computationally efficient enough to be applied over multiple geostatistical realizations to support decisions in the presence of geological uncertainty. The APDS is expected to be useful for selecting well-pair locations and operational strategies, 4D-seismic integration in SAGD-reservoir characterization, and caprock-integrity assessment.

scholarly journals Introduction and investigation of magnetic location system for steam-assisted gravity drainage dual-horizontal heavy oil wells

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 168781401879897 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Chen ◽  
Hao Yi ◽  
Chuan He
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Error ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Horizontal Projection ◽  
Recovery Method ◽  
Location System ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage ◽  
Magnetic Source

Steam-assisted gravity drainage has been proven to be an effective oil recovery method, and the technology of magnetic location is the key to steam-assisted gravity drainage. In view of the rapid development of this technology in China, a new magnetic location system with intellectual property rights was developed in this article, including mechanical parts and circuit section of detection system. Specific structure, operating principle, and technical parameters of magnetic source generator and detection system were designed and analyzed. The ground test results show that the source generator is powered by an alternating current of 4–7 A, the detection system can probe the magnetic field signal 25 m away from the magnetic source generator, and the measurement error is less than 3% by comparison of measured with actual spacing distance. The steam-assisted gravity drainage dual-horizontal well group in Zhong 37 Well block in Fengcheng Oilfield is chosen for further experiment with the developed magnetic location technology. The results of field experiment show the trajectories of Wells I (injection well) and P (production well) are basically matched in the horizontal projection, and the measurement error is within the allowable range. The magnetic location system developed in this article can meet the operational requirement in steam-assisted gravity drainage dual-horizontal wells.

Evaluation of Induced Thermal Pressurization in Clearwater Shale Caprock in Electromagnetic Steam-Assisted Gravity-Drainage Projects

SPE Journal ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (03) ◽  
pp. 443-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahar Ghannadi ◽  
Mazda Irani ◽  
Rick Chalaturnyk
Keyword(s):  
Pore Pressure ◽  
Analytical Solutions ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Shear Failure ◽  
Gravity Drainage ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Low Permeability ◽  
Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage ◽  
Thermal Pressurization ◽  
Shale Formation

Summary Inductive methods, such as electromagnetic steam-assisted gravity drainage (EM-SAGD), have been identified as technically and economically feasible recovery methods for shallow oil-sands reservoirs with overburdens of more than 30 m (Koolman et al. 2008). However, in EM-SAGD projects, the caprock overlying oil-sands reservoirs is also electromagnetically heated along with the bitumen reservoir. Because permeability is low in Alberta thermal-project caprock formations (i.e., the Clearwater shale formation in the Athabasca deposit and the Colorado shale formation in the Cold Lake deposit), the pore pressure resulting from the thermal expansion of pore fluids may not be balanced with the fluid loss caused by flow and the fluid-volume changes resulting from pore dilation. In extreme cases, the water boils, and the pore pressure increases dramatically as a result of the phase change in the water, which causes profound effective-stress reduction. After this condition is established, pore pressure increases can lead to shear failure of the caprock, the creation of microcracks and hydraulic fractures, and subsequent caprock integrity failure. It is typically believed that low-permeability caprocks impede the transmission of pore pressure from the reservoir, making them more resistant to shear failure (Collins 2005, 2007). In cases of induced thermal pressurization, low-permeability caprocks are not always more resistant. In this study, analytical solutions are obtained for temperature and pore-pressure rises caused by the constant EM heating rate of the caprock. These analytical solutions show that pore-pressure increases from EM heating depend on the permeability and compressibility of the caprock formation. For stiff or low-compressibility media, thermal pressurization can cause fluid pressures to approach hydrostatic pressure, and shear strength to approach zero for low-cohesive-strength units of the caprock (units of the caprock with high silt and sand percentage) and sections of the caprock with pre-existing fractures with no cohesion.

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