Conversion Timing of Following-Up Thermal Recovery Approaches of Post-CHOP for Foamy Extraheavy Oil Reservoirs

The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal conversion timing of follow-up thermal recovery approaches of post-CHOP for foamy extraheavy oil reservoirs. The microscopic visualization experiment and the one-dimensional sand pack experiment are conducted to investigate the influence of temperature on the foamy oil cold production process. According to the experimental results, it can be concluded that the temperature has great influence on foamy oil flow stage during the CHOP process. Therefore, it is necessary to study the optimal conversion timing of follow-up thermal recovery approaches after CHOP for the foamy extraheavy oil reservoir. Based on the analysis of the experimental results, the compositional foamy oil model is established by taking the effect of temperature into consideration. In the numerical model, the conversion timings of different thermal recovery approaches are investigated. The optimal conversion timings for cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) and steam flooding (SF) processes are the moments when the pressure drops to the pseudo-bubble point pressure. For the CSS method, excessive pressure cannot give full play to the production potential of CHOP stage; when the pressure is too low, it lacks enough energy to drive the heated crude oil to the wellbore. For the SF method, high pressure cannot fully release the latent heat of steam, and the content of dissolved gas (which will hinder the heat transfer) in oil phase is higher under high pressure, while the very low pressure leads to relatively high viscosity of crude oil; thus, the performance of the SF process becomes worse. For the SAGD process, the adverse effects of released solution gas in foamy extraheavy oil reservoir outweigh the positive effects. As a result, the CHOP period should be extended as long as possible to obtain a high recovery. In other words, the recovery process should be switched to the SAGD process at a relatively low formation pressure. The findings of this study could help for better understanding of the CHOP and post-CHOP thermal techniques for foamy extraheavy oil reservoirs, and it can provide guidance for reservoir engineers to make better use of the thermal recovery techniques to further improve the recovery performance of foamy extraheavy oil reservoirs.

Comparison of Foamy Oil Behaviour between Shallow and Middepth Heavy Oil Reservoirs in the Orinoco Belt

Nowadays, extra heavy oil reservoirs in the Orinoco Heavy-Oil-Belt in Venezuela are exploited via cold production process, which present different production performance in well productivity and primary recovery factor. The purpose of this study is to investigate the causes for such differences with the aspect of foamy oil mechanism. Two typical oil samples were adopted from a shallow reservoir in western Junìn region and a middepth reservoir in eastern Carabobo region in the Belt, respectively. A depletion test was conducted using 1D sand-pack with a visualized microscopic flow observation installation for each of the oil samples under simulated reservoir conditions. The production performance, the foamy oil behaviour, and the oil and gas morphology were recorded in real time during the tests. The results indicated that the shallow heavy oil reservoir in the Belt presents a weaker foamy oil phenomenon when compared with the middepth one; its foamy oil behaviour lasts a shorter duration with a smaller scope, with bigger bubble size and less bubble density. The difference in foamy oil behaviour for those two types of heavy oil reservoir is caused by the difference in reservoir pressure, solution GOR, asphaltene content, etc. Cold production presents obvious features of three stages under the action of strong foamy oil displacement mechanism for the middepth heavy oil reservoir, which could achieve a more favourable production performance. In the contrary, no such obvious production characteristics for the shallow heavy oil reservoir are observed due to weaker foamy oil behaviour, and its primary recovery factor is 9.38 percent point lower than which of the middle heavy oil reservoirs.

Rich-Gas Condensate Huff and Puff Process in High-Volume, Watered-Out, and Highly Viscous Heavy Oil Wells, Case Study in Iraq

Halfaya field in Iraq contains multiple vertically stacked oil and gas accumulations. The major oil horizons at depth of over 10,000 ft are under primary development. The main technical challenges include downdip heavy oil wells (as low as 14.56 °API) became watered-out and ceased flow due to depleted formation pressure. Heavy crude, with surface viscosities of above 10,000 cp, was too viscous to lift inefficiently. The operator applied high-pressure rich-gas/condensate to re-pressurize the dead wells and resumed production. The technical highlights are below: Laboratory studies confirmed that after condensate (45-52ºAPI) mixed with heavy oil, blended oil viscosity can cut by up to 90%; foamy oil formed to ease its flow to the surface during huff-n-puff process.In-situ gas/condensate injection and gas/condensate-lift can be applied in oil wells penetrating both upper high-pressure rich-gas/condensate zones and lower oil zones. High-pressure gas/condensate injected the oil zone, soaked, and then oil flowed from the annulus to allow large-volume well stream flow with minimal pressure drop. Gas/condensate from upper zones can lift the well stream, without additional artificial lift installation.Injection pressure and gas/condensate rate were optimized through optimal perforation interval and shot density to develop more condensate, e.g. initial condensate rate of 1,000 BOPD, for dilution of heavy oil.For multilateral wells, with several drain holes placed toward the bottom of producing interval, operating under gravity drainage or water coning, if longer injection and soaking process (e.g., 2 to 4 weeks), is adopted to broaden the diluted zone in heavy oil horizon, then additional recovery under better gravity-stabilized vertical (downward) drive and limited water coning can be achieved. Field data illustrate that this process can revive the dead wells, well production achieved approximately 3,000 BOPD under flowing wellhead pressure of 800 to 900 psig, with oil gain of over 3-fold compared with previous oil rate; water cut reduction from 30% to zero; better blended oil quality handled to medium crude; and saving artificial-lift cost. This process may be widely applied in the similar hydrocarbon reservoirs as a cost-effective technology in Middle East.

Experimental Analysis of the Effects of Varying Temperature and Viscosities on Foamy Oil Production

The phenomenon of higher than expected production rates and recovery factors in heavy oil reservoirs captured the term "foamy oil," by researchers. This is mainly due to the bubble filled chocolate mousse appearance found at wellheads where this phenomenon occurs. Foamy oil flow is barely understood up to this day. Understanding why this unusual occurrence exists can aid in the transfer of principles to low recovery heavy oil reservoirs globally. This study focused mainly on how varying the viscosity and temperature via pressure depletion lab tests affected the performance of foamy oil production. Six different lab-scaled experiments were conducted, four with varying temperatures and two with varying viscosities. All experiments were conducted using lab-scaled sand pack pressure depletion tests with the same initial gas oil ratio (GOR). The first series of experiments with varying temperatures showed that the oil recovery was inversely proportional to elevated temperatures, however there was a directly proportional relationship between gas recovery and elevation in temperature. A unique observation was also made, during late-stage production, foamy oil recovery reappeared with temperatures in the 45-55°C range. With respect to the viscosities, a non-linear relationship existed, however there was an optimal region in which the live-oil viscosity and foamy oil production seem to be harmonious.

Development Features of Cold Production with Horizontal Wells in a Foamy Extra-Heavy Oil Reservoir

The block M as a foamy extra-heavy oil field in the Carabobo Area, the eastern Orinoco Belt, has been exploited by foamy oil cold production utilizing horizontal wells. The early producing area of block M has been put into production more than 10 years. And the development features of cold production in foamy extra-heavy oil reservoirs are different from the conventional oil field. It is necessary to investigate the development features of this kind reservoir and analyze its influence factors. Combining the production data with the reservoir geological characteristics of the research area, the cold production features of foamy extra-heavy oil using horizontal wells are analyzed. Then numerical simulations were adopted to study the influence factors of cold production performance. In the early stage of cold production, the oil production rate is high and the producing GOR is low. With the process of cold production, the reservoir pressure decreases gradually, the producing GOR increases gradually, and the oil production rate decreases gradually. When the bottom hole flowing pressure drops to below the bubble point pressure, the flow of extra-heavy oil in the reservoir can be divided into two zones: far well zone and near well area. In the far well zone, the pressure is higher than the bubble point pressure. The flow of oil is a single-phase flow, and the displacement mode is elastic driving. In the near well area, the pressure is lower than the bubble point pressure, and the oil flow is foamy oil flow, and the displacement mode is the dissolving gas drive driven by foamy oil. There exists many factors that influence the cold production performance of foamy extra-heavy oil, including reservoir depth, reservoir thickness, reservoir physical property and heterogeneity. The oil recovery factor per unit pressure drop can evaluate the cold production performance of foamy extra-heavy oil reservoirs. The effectiveness of cold production is closely related to reservoir parameters. Larger reservoir thickness, deeper reservoir depth and greater reservoir permeability will enhance the performance of cold production. Closer, larger and more interlayers above the horizontal well will hinder the performance of cold production. This research provides certain guidance and reference for further development adjustment and new project evaluation for foamy extra-heavy oil reservoirs in the Eastern Orinoco Belt.

Numerical Simulation of Nonequilibrium Foamy Oil for Cyclic Solvent Injection in Reservoirs after Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand

Summary Nonequilibrium foamy oil behavior and solvent transport are two important recovery mechanisms for cyclic solvent injection (CSI) processes in post-cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS) reservoirs. The nonequilibrium solvent exsolution and gas bubbles generated during the pressure depletion stage have the typical characteristics of foamy oil flow. In this paper, a field-scalepost-CHOPS model is constructed and upscaled from a core model, which was calibrated against detailed experimental data involving various propane (C3H8)-based and carbon dioxide (CO2)-based solvent mixtures. The field model is upscaled from the core model to analyze the impacts of simulation scales, heterogeneous wormholes, and the operating schedules on foamy oil behavior of different solvent systems. Reaction kinetics are implemented to represent the nonequilibrium gas dissolution and exsolution for foamy oil flow. A fractal wormhole network is modeled. To analyze the impacts of pressure depletion strategies, single-stage pressure depletion involving three oil solvent systems, as well as two cycles of CSI production processes, are examined. Detailed sensitivity analyses involving different solvent compositions are discussed. The results illustrate that both C3H8-based and CO2-based solvents exhibit significant nonequilibrium foamy oil characteristics, enabling the oil viscosity to remain close to its value with dissolved solvent during the pressure depletion process. However, the amount of nonequilibrium foamy oil flow is strongly dependent on the pressure depletion rate: A faster depletion rate is beneficial for higher oil recovery. The core model results are more sensitive to the solvent types, whereas the field-scale simulations show comparable recovery performance for both C3H8-based and CO2-based solvents. This observation highlights the significance of domain size, time scale, and wormhole heterogeneities on the ensuing foamy oil behavior. Although several post-CHOPS models were developed in the past, detailed field-scale models that simulate nonequilibrium foamy oil kinetics in a realistic wormhole network are lacking. The simulation model developed here has been calibrated against detailed experimental measurements and upscaled from a core-scale model. Improving our understanding of solvent dissolution/exsolution would aid in the design of operating strategies (e.g., pressure depletion and solvent injection schemes) for enhanced solvent/oil mixing and transport.

Numerical Simulation Investigation on Foamy Oil Behavior for a System of Heavy Oil-Mixture Solvent in Porous Media

Heavy oil resources, as a non-renewable energy resource, often requires extra enhanced oil recovery techniques such as solvent-based processes. Many kinds of solvents including pure and mixed solvent have been tested in the solvent-based applications. Compared with pure solvent, the solvent mixture has an advantage of relatively higher dew point pressure while maintaining desirable solubility in heavy oil. The characterization of foamy oil behavior in pure solvent system is different from the solvent mixture system despite their similarities. Thus, an additional numerical simulation study is necessary for solvent mixture system. This work conducted simulation studies to investigate foamy oil behavior in a heavy oil-mixture solvent (C1+C3) system from pressure depletion tests. A better understanding of foamy oil characterization and mechanism in a heavy oil-mixture solvent system is obtained. A reliable non-equilibrium model is developed to perform simulation studies. Since previous experiments suggest the behavior of foamy oil in the solvent mixture system share similarities with the heavy oil-methane system, this investigation first conducted simulation study with consideration of two reactions in the model and achieved good agreements between the simulated calculation results and experimentally measurement. Then four reactions are considered in the model for simulation study and obtained better history match results. The simulation results suggest methane has more impact on the foamy oil behaviors than propane in the heavy oil-mixture solvent system. This work also discussed effect of model parameters involved in the history matching process and conducted sensitivity analysis.