scholarly journals Half a century of continuous oil production by in-situ combustion in Romania – case study Suplacu de Barcau field

2021 ◽  
Vol 343 ◽  
pp. 09009
Author(s):  
Gheorghe Branoiu ◽  
Florinel Dinu ◽  
Maria Stoicescu ◽  
Iuliana Ghetiu ◽  
Doru Stoianovici
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Production ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Oil Reservoir ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Cyclic Steam Stimulation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Steam Stimulation

Thermal oil recovery is a special technique belonging to Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods and includes steam flooding, cyclic steam stimulation, and in-situ combustion (fire flooding) applied especially in the heavy oil reservoirs. Starting 1970 in-situ combustion (ISC) process has been successfully applied continuously in the Suplacu de Barcau oil field, currently this one representing the most important reservoir operated by ISC in the world. Suplacu de Barcau field is a shallow clastic Pliocene, heavy oil reservoir, located in the North-Western Romania and geologically belonging to Eastern Pannonian Basin. The ISC process are operated using a linear combustion front propagated downstructure. The maximum oil production was recorded in 1985 when the total air injection rate has reached maximum values. Cyclic steam stimulation has been continuously applied as support for the ISC process and it had a significant contribution in the oil production rates. Nowadays the oil recovery factor it’s over 55 percent but significant potential has left. In the paper are presented the important moments in the life-time production of the oil field, such as production history, monitoring of the combustion process, technical challenges and their solving solutions, and scientific achievements revealed by many studies performed on the impact of the ISC process in the oil reservoir.

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.

Estimation of the Combustion Temperature Profile in a Romanian Oil Field

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2669-2676
Author(s):  
Gheorghe Branoiu ◽  
Tudora Cristescu ◽  
Iulian Nistor
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Thermal Regime ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Heavy Crude ◽  
Thermal Oil

Developing and producing of the heavy crude oil involved significant economic and technological challenges. The oil industry ability to prospect and capitalize the huge world heavy oil resources both economically and environmentally friendly will be crucial in helping meet future energy needs. Thermal oil recovery is one of the three types of techniques belonging to Enhanced Oil Recovery. It is applied for increasing the cumulative of crude oil that can be produced in an oil field. One of the oldest thermal oil recovery is in-situ combustion or fireflooding applied for the first time about 100 years ago. Despite in-situ combustion has not found widespread acceptance among operators like other thermal processes (such as steam injection), analysis of the successful projects indicates that the process is applicable to a wide range of oil reservoirs, especially to heavy crude oils. An important monitoring parameter of thermal oil recovery process is represented by thermal regime especially in heavy oil fields in which a high-temperature regime must be occur as the in-situ combustion to be successful. In the paper the authors are using thermal analysis (thermogravimetric and thermodifferential analysis) for investigation of the thermal regime involved in the production process of an oil reservoir by in-situ combustion.

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.

An Experimental Investigation of In Situ Combustion in High Permeability Contrast Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Melek Deniz Paker ◽  
Murat Cinar
Keyword(s):  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Combustion Front ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Front Propagation ◽  
High Permeability ◽  
Vertical Orientation ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Horizontal Orientation

Abstract A significant portion of world oil reserves reside in naturally fractured reservoirs and a considerable amount of these resources includes heavy oil and bitumen. Thermal enhanced oil recovery methods (EOR) are mostly applied in heavy oil reservoirs to improve oil recovery. In situ combustion (/SC) is one of the thermal EOR methods that could be applicable in a variety of reservoirs. Unlike steam, heat is generated in situ due to the injection of air or oxygen enriched air into a reservoir. Energy is provided by multi-step reactions between oxygen and the fuel at particular temperatures underground. This method upgrades the oil in situ while the heaviest fraction of the oil is burned during the process. The application of /SC in fractured reservoirs is challenging since the injected air would flow through the fracture and a small portion of oil in the/near fracture would react with the injected air. Only a few researchers have studied /SC in fractured or high permeability contrast systems experimentally. For in situ combustion to be applied in fractured systems in an efficient way, the underlying mechanism needs to be understood. In this study, the major focus is permeability variation that is the most prominent feature of fractured systems. The effect of orientation and width of the region with higher permeability on the sustainability of front propagation are studied. The contrast in permeability was experimentally simulated with sand of different particle size. These higher permeability regions are analogous to fractures within a naturally fractured rock. Several /SC tests with sand-pack were carried out to obtain a better understanding of the effect of horizontal vertical, and combined (both vertical and horizontal) orientation of the high permeability region with respect to airflow to investigate the conditions that are required for a self-sustained front propagation and to understand the fundamental behavior. Within the experimental conditions of the study, the test results showed that combustion front propagated faster in the higher permeability region. In addition, horizontal orientation almost had no effect on the sustainability of the front; however, it affected oxygen consumption, temperature, and velocity of the front. On the contrary, the vertical orientation of the higher permeability region had a profound effect on the sustainability of the combustion front. The combustion behavior was poorer for the tests with vertical orientation, yet the produced oil AP/ gravity was higher. Based on the experimental results a mechanism has been proposed to explain the behavior of combustion front in systems with high permeability contrast.

In Situ Combustion Technology In The Later SAGD Process In Extra Heavy Oil Reservoir

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Desheng ◽  
S. Lanxiang ◽  
X. Changfeng ◽  
Li Xiuluan ◽  
Guo Erpeng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Reservoir ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Combustion Technology ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoir

Evaluation of a Field-Wide Post-Steam In-Situ Combustion Performance in a Heavy Oil Reservoir in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Zhao ◽  
Changfeng Xi ◽  
Xialin Zhang ◽  
XiaoRong Shi ◽  
Fengxiang Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Reservoir ◽  
In Situ Combustion ◽  
Combustion Performance ◽  
Heavy Oil Reservoir

Modeling In-Situ Combustion in a Heavy Oil Field in Romania

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Priestley ◽  
Jorge Alejandro Ruiz ◽  
Paul F Naccache ◽  
Guenther Glatz ◽  
Virgil Crecana
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Oil ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
In Situ Combustion
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