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As one the most important recovery mechanisms of steam‐assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), gravity drainage is largely dependent on the inclination angle of the steam chamber edge. The existence of solution‐gas causes an ellipsoid‐shaped chamber that has small inclination angle at the bottom, which leads to inefficient gravity drainage and slows down oil production. To address this problem, this study proposes a new scheme, variable‐pressure SAGD (VP‐SAGD). It is basically a SAGD process, at certain stages of which pressure surge is induced by controlling the operating conditions so that the shape of steam chamber can be altered. This leads to a larger slip angle in the steam chamber at the bottom and more efficient heat transport between hot steam and crude oil. Results show that VP‐SAGD is able to increase oil recovery by up to 20% and decrease cumulative steam–oil ratio (cSOR) by up to 7%. Its special oil extraction mechanisms include swabbing effect, enlarged inclination angle of steam chamber boundary at the bottom, and enhanced heat transfer. Particularly, the inclination angle is increased by up to 40%. In addition, a lower producer bottom‐hole pressure (BHP) during pressure drawdown leads to a better production incremental in later stages. The optimal timing for pressure surge is the middle stage of steam chamber growth. The lower the producer BHP decrease, the better the yield increase. Moreover, The VP‐SAGD strategy works better in heavy oil reservoirs with a permeability of k = 0.5–10 Darcy or solution gas content of greater than 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is an efficient thermal recovery technique for oil sands and extra heavy oil exploitation. The development of steam chamber goes through multi-stage physical processes for SAGD production in a heavy oil reservoir with an interlayer. In this study, considering the situation that an interlayer is located directly above a pair of horizontal wells, we analyzed the whole process of steam chamber development. We divided the whole process into stages I–V, which are the first rising stage, the first lateral expansion stage, the second rising stage, the second lateral expansion stage and the confinement stage, respectively. Particularly, we further divided stage II into 2 periods and stage IV into 3 periods. These stages and periods can help us understand the development process of steam chamber dominated by an interlayer more profoundly. Based on the divided stages and periods, we established different models of SAGD production by assuming different geometric shapes of steam chamber in different stages and periods. Oval shape was assumed in stages I and III, and inverse triangle shape was hypothesized in stages II, IV and V. The formulas of the front distance of steam chamber and the oil production rate of SAGD were deduced from the established models for different development stages. At the end, we performed two example applications to SAGD production in heavy oil reservoirs with an interlayer. The real oil production rates were matched very well with the theoretical oil production rates calculated by the deduced formulas, which implies the multi-stage development model of steam chamber is of reliability and utility.

The influences of structural parameters (shape, dimensions, structure pitch) on the capillary-transport properties of the wick was studied, and the choice of microstructured wick elements for hyperfine evaporative-condensing devices is substantiated. It has been established that steam chambers with conical microstructures are characterized by minimal mass at a high efficiency in removing thermal loads from hard-to-reach heat-stressed elements. Laboratory technologies for producing microprofiled structures by chemical and electrochemical milling have been developed. Experimental samples of microprofiled structures with a porosity of 65% and a permeability of 91 darcy were obtained. Based on the developed wick (70 × 70 × 0.05 mm3), a steam chamber of size 75 × 75 × 0.81 mm3 (working fluid — water, casing — copper) with a thermal resistance of 0.13 K/W and isothermicity of 1.4°C was created. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the SAGD steam chamber and production performance in heavy oil reservoirs under fluvial sedimentation environment are heavily impacted by reservoir heterogeneity, an innovative strategy was proposed in this study coupling rock dilation and multi-lateral wells in SAGD projects to break the mud barriers and achieve uniform steam chamber growth. True tri-axial experiments and numerical simulation were designed to validate the feasibility of this strategy, based on which the branches of the SAGD well pairs were designed and the operational parameters were optimized for different geologic heterogeneity conditions. The tri-axial experiment results indicate that the rock formations in the heavy oil reservoirs of the F oilfield exhibit significant shear dilation effects under low confinement pressure conditions, with a volumetric dilation capacity of up to 7%. The branches should be deployed in an interleaved manner, with a horizontal displacement of 20 m and a vertical displacement of 6 m. The optimal results are achieved when the branches intersect the interbeds, allowing for enhanced steam chamber conformance and enlarged volume. Dilation zones of 3–8 m can be created above the steam-injection horizontal wells and around the branches in the reservoir during the dilation of SAGD steam chambers. The maximum volume of dilation fluid used for hydraulic dilation is suggested to be less than 2000 m3. This strategy has been validated as being successful in the pilot SAGD well pair in the F oilfield, China, with the SAGD preheating time reduced by 50% and an incremental oil rate of 4.5 tones/day, indicating encouraging potentials in similar heavy oil reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In thin layer oil sand reservoirs, the vertical and horizontal combined wells steam assisted gravity drainage (VH-SAGD) can avoid validly the problems of low steam efficiency and the high heat loss induced by the traditional SAGD technology. However, there are few laboratory studies about steam chamber development and production performance on the VH-SAGD. To fill this gap, a 3D large-scale physical model with temperature sensors was designed based on the similarity criterion, the experiment was carried out to simulate the production process of VH-SAGD. Then the development characteristic of steam chamber was captured by monitoring the temperature distribution changes. Finally, the production performance at each steam chamber development stage was analyzed. The experimental results showed the steam chamber development experienced the formation stage, the longitudinal development stage, the lateral expansion stage and the stabilization stage. The formation of triangular cold oil area indicated the steam chamber is mature, and the appearance of smooth steam front funnel indicated the steam chamber stopped developing. This research revealed the steam chamber development characteristics and the production performance of VH-SAGD, which can provide a reference value for optimizing injection and production parameters and predicting recovery factor for VH-SAGD in thin layer oil sand reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steam-assisted-gravity-drainage (SAGD) is a widely employed method to enhance heavy oil production and efficiency, and the key to ensuring its steady operation is the maintenance of a steam chamber. Heat conduction and convection of steam to connate water are essential factors in the heat transfer process. In this paper, we developed a novel analytical model to investigate the heat transfer process on the boundary of the steam chamber, driven by the pressure difference between the injected steam and the original reservoir. Both conduction and convection are considered in this new model, and the calculated results are in good agreement with the simulated data by using CMG-STARS. After model validation, the effects of physical properties and operating conditions (relative permeability, initial water saturation, and steam temperature) on the heat transfer process are investigated. The results reveal that connate water saturation plays a large role than the steam temperature in conductive heat flux; low saturation leads to more efficient crude oil exploitation. This work provides new insights into the recovery mechanisms of a SAGD process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhong18 wellblock of Fengcheng oilfield developed with low permeability interlayer and had strong heterogeneity, which caused steam chamber of conventional steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process cannot extend lengthwise continuously and serious steam heat loss. To address this problem, a method of acid fracturing assisted SAGD process is proposed to enhance the oil drainage and improve oil recovery. Based on the herringbone well SAGD being used in Zhong18 wellblock, the orthogonal experimental design and oil reservoir numerical simulation are used to determine the significance level and fracture parameter optimization of the acid fracturing process. The priority of optimization sequence is: fracture permeability, fracture width, fracture half-length, fracture spacing. The optimal parameters are as: 3D fracture permeability, 2.8 mm fracture width, 80 m fracture half-length and 80 m fracture spacing. A 10-year simulation using optimized parameters can improve the recovery by 9.2 % compared with the conventional SAGD process. The result proved that acid fracturing assisted herringbone well SAGD process can effectively penetrate the low permeability interlayer, expand the sweep range of steam chamber, and improve the oil recovery degree of the reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermosensitivity experiments and simulation calculations were conducted on typical oil sand core samples from Kinosis, Canada to predict the steam chamber development with time-lapse seismic data during the steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). Using an ultrasonic base made of polyether ether ketone resin instead of titanium alloy can improve the signal energy and signal-to-noise ratio and get clear first arrival; with the rise of temperature, heavy oil changes from glass state (at –34.4 °C), to quasi-solid state, and to liquid state (at 49.0 °C) gradually; the quasi-solid heavy oil has significant frequency dispersion. For the sand sample with high oil saturation, its elastic property depends mainly on the nature of the heavy oil, while for the sand sample with low oil saturation, the elastic property depends on the stiffness of the rock matrix. The elastic property of the oil sand is sensitive to temperature noticeably, when the temperature increases from 10 °C to 175 °C, the oil sand samples decrease in compressional and shear wave velocities significantly. Based on the experimental data, the quantitative relationship between the compressional wave impedance of the oil sand and temperature was worked out, and the temperature variation of the steam chamber in the study area was predicted by time-lapse seismic inversion.

Geothermal energy is a clean energy source to fulfill the increasing global energy demands. For the first time, several energy extraction strategies are proposed and compared through numerical simulations for effective energy recovery from low-permeability geothermal reservoirs. We simulate geothermal energy extraction using either Cyclic Water Injection (CWI) or Water-Assisted Gravity Drainage (WAGD) processes with or without hydraulic fracturing over a 10-year operation. We evaluate the positioning of injector and producer in WAGD process, well spacing, addition of one injector, and the time variation of injection/soaking periods in CWI process. The simulations indicate that the fractured reservoirs generate more energy than those without fracturing; CWI-based processes exhibit higher energy recovery efficiency than WAGD process in terms of Energy-Water-Ratio (EWR). EWR, as a newly proposed parameter in this study, is defined as the energy production specific to per unit volume of water injected, which is useful in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of a geothermal energy extraction process. The gravitational effect proves to be the dominant factor that determines energy generation compared to phase change in WAGD process. In addition, formation and impacts of steam chambers in CWI and WAGD-based processes are discussed. Furthermore, statistical analyses are performed to evaluate the effects of reservoir temperature, pressure, permeability, and their mutual interactions on cumulative energy production. Eventually, two correlation models for predicting cumulative energy production based on these formation properties are proposed. This study provides a new perspective on implementing different innovative exploration strategies and optimization processes for energy extraction from low-permeability geothermal reservoirs.

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Steam injection can be success in increasing oil recovery by determining the steam chamber growth. It will impact on the steam distribution and steam performance in covering hot areas in the reservoir. An injection plan and a proper cyclic steam stimulation (CSS) schedule are critical in predicting how steam chamber can grow and cover the heat area. A reservoir simulation model will be used to understand how CSS really impact in steam chamber generation and affect the oil recovery. This paper generates numerous scenarios to see how steam working in heavy oil system particularly in unconsolidated sand reservoir. Combine the CSS method and steam injection continue investigate in this research. We will validate the scenarios based on the how fast steam chest can grow and get maximum oil recovery. Reservoir simulation resulted how steam chest behavior in unconsolidated sand to improve oil recovery; It concluded that by combining CSS and Steam Injection, we may get a faster steam chest growth and higher oil recovery by 61.5% of heavy oil system.

Copyright of Petroleum Geology & Recovery Efficiency is the property of Petroleum Geology & Recovery Efficiency and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Flue gas assisted steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is a frontier technology to enhance oil recovery for heavy oil reservoirs. The carbon dioxide generated from the thermal recovery of heavy oil can be utilized and consumed to mitigate climate warming for the world. However, most studies are limited to merely use numerical simulation or small physical simulation device and hardly focus on large scale three-dimensions experiment, which cannot fully investigate the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) mechanism of flue gas assisted SAGD, thus the effect of flue gas on SAGD production performance is still not very clear. In this paper, large-scaled and high temperature and pressure resistant 3D physical simulation experiment was conducted, where simulated the real reservoir to a maximum extent, and systematically explored the EOR mechanisms of the flue gas assisted SAGD. Furthermore, the differences between the steam huff and puff, SAGD and flue gas assisted SAGD are discussed. The experimental result showed that the production effect of SAGD was improved by injecting flue gas, with the oil recovery was increased by 5.7%. With the help of thermocouple temperature measuring sensors, changes of temperature field display that flue gas can promote lateral re-development of the steam chamber, and the degree of reservoir exploitation around the horizontal wells has been increased particularly. What's more, the addition of flue gas further increased the content of light components and decreased the content of heavy by comparing the content of heavy oil components produced in different production times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the effect of structural parameters and saturation pressure on the intensity of heat transfer from boiling on porous structures made of copper metal fibers. The study involved changing the structural and geometric characteristics of porous samples and saturation pressure. The study regime parameters were chosen based on the conditions of operation of steam chambers, namely the horizontal orientation of the work area, the capillary transport of the heat carrier to the work area. It was determined that reducing saturation pressure from 0.1 MPa to 0.012 MPa leads to a reduction in heat transfer by 15‒20 % depending on the parameters of porous structures. This pattern has been explained in this paper by the increased detachable diameters of steam bubbles that thus overlap part of the capillary structure’s vaporization area, which leads to a decrease in the values of the discharged heat flux at the same temperature gradient values. The influence of values of the porosity and diameters of fibers, which the samples of a capillary structure were made from, was ambiguous. The parameter chosen for generalizing the data obtained was an effective diameter of the samples’ pores, which is a more general characteristic. The generalization of the experimental data has demonstrated that the efficiency of heat transfer increases with an increase in the effective diameter of pores in the examined range from 20 to 90 μm. Estimation dependences have been built to determine the intensity of heat transfer under sub-atmospheric pressures for metal-fibrous porous structures at a deviation of up to ±30 %. It turned out that the resulting dependences could be used to determine the intensity of heat transfer by the examined powder structures under the sub-atmospheric pressure conditions. Applying these dependences would make it easier to design thermal stabilization systems based on steam chambers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is devoted to the development of models and methods to describe and predict the process of steam-assisted gravity drainage during the extraction of high-viscosity oil. On the basis of the original physicomathematical model, the authors have considered the problems of circulation of a steam in the injection well for preheating the stratum, the stratum sweep by the action of the steam, and methods to increase it. The presence of the optimum spacing between pairs of reactive wells or the optimum density of the network of wells has been established. From an analysis of basic mechanisms of the process, the authors have identified the causes of the maximum value of the oil recovery factor for the optimum network of wells. The possibility has been shown of raising the economic efficiency of the process of passage from the injection of a steam to the injection of unheated water in the final stage of the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Oil Drilling & Production Technology / Shiyou Zuancai Gongyi is the property of Shiyou Zuancai Gongyi Bianjibu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The steam chamber rising process is an essential feature of steam-assisted gravity drainage. The development of a steam chamber and its production capabilities have been the focus of various studies. In this paper, a new analytical model is proposed that mimics the steam chamber development and predicts the oil production rate during the steam chamber rising stage. The steam chamber was assumed to have a circular geometry relative to a plane. The model includes determining the relation between the steam chamber development and the production capability. The daily oil production, steam oil ratio, and rising height of the steam chamber curves influenced by different model parameters were drawn. In addition, the curve sensitivities to different model parameters were thoroughly considered. The findings are as follows: The daily oil production increases with the steam injection rate, the steam quality, and the degree of utilization of a horizontal well. In addition, the steam oil ratio decreases with the steam quality and the degree of utilization of a horizontal well. Finally, the rising height of the steam chamber increases with the steam injection rate and steam quality, but decreases with the horizontal well length. The steam chamber rising rate, the location of the steam chamber interface, the rising time, and the daily oil production at a certain steam injection rate were also predicted. An example application showed that the proposed model is able to predict the oil production rate and describe the steam chamber development during the steam chamber rising stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Special Oil & Gas Reservoirs is the property of Special Oil & Gas Reservoirs Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Oil Drilling & Production Technology / Shiyou Zuancai Gongyi is the property of Shiyou Zuancai Gongyi Bianjibu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To improve the oil recovery and economic efficiency in heavy oil reservoirs in late steam flooding, taking J6 Block of Xinjiang Oilfield as the research object, 3D physical modeling experiments of steam flooding, CO 2 -foam assisted steam flooding, and CO 2 assisted steam flooding under different perforation conditions are conducted, and CO 2 -assisted steam flooding is proposed for reservoirs in the late stage of steam flooding. The experimental results show that after adjusting the perforation in late steam flooding, the CO 2 assisted steam flooding formed a lateral expansion of the steam chamber in the middle and lower parts of the injection well and a development mode for the production of overriding gravity oil drainage in the top chamber of the production well; high temperature water, oil, and CO 2 formed stable low-viscosity quasi-single-phase emulsified fluid; and CO 2 acted as a thermal insulation in the steam chamber at the top, reduced the steam partial pressure inside the steam chamber, and effectively improved the heat efficiency of injected steam. Based on the three-dimensional physical experiments and the developed situation of the J6 block in Xinjiang Oilfield, the CO 2 assisted steam flooding for the J6 block was designed. The application showed that the CO 2 assisted steam flooding made the oil vapor ratio increase from 0.12 to 0.16 by 34.0%, the oil recovery increase from 16.1% to 21.5%, and the final oil recovery goes up to 66.5% compared to steam flooding after perforation adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is an efficient technology that has been used to develop oil sand resources, and it has been successfully and maturely applied in Canada. However, oilfield production has demonstrated that reservoir heterogeneity has a serious impact on SAGD development, among which the most drastic impact is caused by multiple barrier layers in the reservoir. These barrier layers can severely impede the development of a steam chamber and the drainage of oil. Hence, it is important to investigate their influence mechanism. In this study, oil samples from the Long Lake oil field were used in laboratory experiments to study the development of the steam chamber and the residual oil distribution under the effect of multiple barrier layers. Then, a theoretical numerical simulation model was established to describe the fluid flow more precisely. In addition, the production characteristics of SAGD under the influence of different numbers of barrier layers were analyzed by comparing the development of the steam chamber. Finally, the impacts of multiple barrier layers with different modes of combinations were studied for their effects on SAGD production. The results indicated that for impermeable barrier layers of the same length, the steam primarily developed upward after flowing around the first barrier layer. After the steam chamber reached the top of the reservoir, the steam began to enter into the interbedded zone. Based on an unchanged first barrier layer, the number of barrier layers had little influence on the overall shape of the steam chamber and SAGD production, which confirmed that the first barrier layer played a dominant role in the influence of multiple barrier layers. In addition, characteristic points (P 1 , P 2 , P 3), which corresponded to changes in the stage of steam chamber development, were established and used to evaluate the effect of the barrier layers. Different combinations of barrier layers were realized by changing the relative properties of the first barrier layer. The results showed that the longer the length of the first barrier layer, the closer it was to the steam injection well and the lower the permeability; hence, the more obvious its hysteresis effect on the SAGD process. • A physical model is used to study the effect of multiple barrier layers on SAGD. • A theoretical numerical model is established to describe the fluid flow more precisely. • The first barrier layer plays a dominant role in the influence of multiple barrier layers. • Several characteristic points (P 1 , P 2 , P 3) on the productivity curve are established. • The impact of multiple barrier layers with different combinations is analyzed in detailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of steam chamber can be used to evaluate steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) performance. The velocity of steam chamber expanding is the key parameter for evaluating the development of steam chamber. Based on SAGD technology theory and heat transfer theory, two calculation model methods, observation well temperature method and steam chamber edge method for estimating the horizontal expanding velocity of steam chamber, were presented. Through analyzing the monitoring data and numerical simulation results of a typical super heavy oil block developed by SAGD in Fengcheng oilfield in Xinjiang, NW China, the development patterns of steam chamber and temperature variation law in the observation well at different stages are determined. The observed temperature data was used to calculate steam chamber expanding velocity. The calculated chamber velocity at different time was applied to predict the temperature distribution of oil drainage zone at the edge of steam chamber and SAGD oil rate. The results indicate that temperature function of high temperature zone in the observation well temperature curve has a linear relationship with measuring depth. The characteristic section can be used to calculate key parameters such as the angle of the drainage interface, expanding edge and velocity of steam chamber. The field production data verify that the results of the two proposed methods of steam chamber growth are reliable and practical, which can provide theoretical support for the efficient development of SAGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, new techniques to implement Enhanced Oil Recovery in heavy oil reservoirs have been studying, since as most of the global reserves are of this type of hydrocarbon. The Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is a cutting age EOR method that have been applied in bitumen reservoirs gaining successful results, obtaining recovery factors up to 50%. The technique involves two horizontal wells, the first one located a few feet above the second one depending on the viscosity of the crude oil; by the upper well, the continuous vapor injection is made an for density differences this vapor tents to expand to the top of the formation heating the hydrocarbons which then, by gravity come down in the reservoir to be produce, with the condensed vapor, through the second horizontal well. The production mechanism evidenced in this technique is the gravity drainage because in its implementation, applied to bitumen, only the heated hydrocarbons will flow through the producer well by the effect of the gravity therefore a connectivity between the two wells must be necessary. However, in the majority of heavy oil reservoirs the crude have mobility i.e. the viscosity is not to high (

Deeply-buried and high-bitumen-content crude oil is one of the most important energy resources. Currently, Steam- and Solvent-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SSAGD) is an attractive, but a high-cost and high-carbon-emitting method for exploiting this type of resource. In order to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and economic performance of SSAGD, it is critical to predict the energy efficiency and solvent retention in the steam chamber. However, the fluid property profiles inside the steam chamber, which are directly related to energy efficiency and solvent retention, have been rarely investigated. In this work, a semi-analytical model is developed for examining the property distributions within the steam chamber, considering the complex interaction of energy and mass transfer along with the effects of phase behavior. Subsequently, the solvent retention and energy-utilization/-saving efficiency are carefully analyzed on the basis of the calculated property profiles inside the steam chamber. The proposed method is mostly based on analytical relationships and is free from certain simplifications that may affect the calculations of energy efficiency and solvent retention in the SSAGD process. Furthermore, the optimal solvent type and injection pressure obtained with the model can reduce the GHG emission and improve the economic benefits of future SSAGD projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Oil Drilling & Production Technology / Shiyou Zuancai Gongyi is the property of Shiyou Zuancai Gongyi Bianjibu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Oil Drilling & Production Technology / Shiyou Zuancai Gongyi is the property of Shiyou Zuancai Gongyi Bianjibu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The thermal recovery technology, SAGD, shows unique advantages to develop heavy oil reservoirs. A certain volume of non-condensate gas injected along with steam can effectively decrease heat loss from steam chamber to top-layer. Also, gas can dissolve in heavy oil to decrease the saturation of residual oil in the steam chamber. According to the one dimensional steady heat transfer theory, a mathematical model was introduced to optimize the thickness of gas layer during steam-gas assisted gravity drainage in heavy oil reservoir. Aiming at the dissolubility of non-condensate gas into heavy oil, a mathematical model was established to calculate injection rate of gas phase according to SAGD theory when steam and nitrogen were simultaneously injected into reservoirs. According to some geology characteristics, such as top water, large thickness, high viscosity, of an actual reservoir in China, the minimum thickness of nitrogen layer is 12.06 m, and the volume of injected nitrogen is 47.86 × 10 4 m 3 , and the injection rate of nitrogen is 5957.96 m 3 /d when steam and nitrogen were simultaneously injected into reservoirs after SAGD stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) method for heavy oil exploitation using horizontal wells has been done and successful in the field. In the similar concept with SAGD using horizontal wells, vertical well SAGD has been developed as alternative method. This well consists of two strings where one is as a producer on the bottom and the other one is as an injector on the top. This investigation makes different distance between injector and producer perforations gradually. The aim of this research is to make optimization strategy on the vertical well SAGD. The sensitivities tested consist of injection rate and distance between producer and injector perforations. Analysis result reveals that the impact of multilevel injector will decrease cSOR and improve the production rate on the same injection rate. If the process is combined with multilevel injection rate, the result would offer the most favourable option. Furthermore, the longer distance between producer and injector perforations will cause longer restrained heat in reservoir so that the volume steam chamber will be bigger and drainage radius will be wider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Fuentes, El Reventón Energético is the property of Universidad Industrial de Santander and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) is a widely-used thermal oil recovery technique in western Alberta’s oil sands reservoirs. Because of reservoir heterogeneity, the wellbore hydraulics and undulation, non-uniform steam chambers will evolve. Numerical simulation allows for the practical prediction of steam chamber size in SAGD. However, the long computation time in 3D scenarios and the impact of uncertainties in input parameters limit its application. In this paper, a numerical simulation based correlation between steam chamber size and temperature falloff data during shut-in was developed in the early period of the SAGD process which is before the moment that the steam chamber starts spreading laterally. The temperature falloff responses and the corresponding steam chamber sizes at different locations in the producer along the lateral were obtained though 3D numerical simulation studies. Based on the simulation results, a correlation among steam chamber, the temperature falloff rate and the height of liquid level in the producer was derived through regression analysis. The same correlation equation with different coefficients was also found at different shut-in times. The applicability of the proposed correlation in estimating steam chamber sizes along horizontal well is also investigated and validated. A synthetic case study shows that the chamber sizes obtained from the correlation and from simulation are in good agreement and also suggests that this correlation is applicable to estimate the chamber size distribution along the horizontal well at the early period of SAGD process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion behaviors of the steam chamber play a significant role in the stability of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). For Long Lake extra-heavy oil reservoir, the 3D SAGD physical model based on similarity criteria is established in this work to investigate the expansion angel and connection characteristics of the steam chamber at varying well-pairs spacing and vertical distance. The results show that expansion angles of the well spacing of 50 m, 75 m, and 100 m are 16.5° and 17.6°, 22.5° and 23.0°, 25.4° and 24.8°, and the sweep efficiency is 96.7%, 90.8%, 78.6%, respectively. The smaller the well spacing between the dual well-pairs, the smaller the final expansion angle of the steam chamber, and the greater development effects. The vertical distances of 3 m have the maximum expansion angles (24.0° and 16.7°), and the highest sweep efficiency (81.6%). The smaller vertical distance of the dual well pair is accompanied by the larger expansion angle, which is beneficial to the development and propagation of steam chambers. The vertical expansion of the steam chamber is concentrated in the early stage of development, and the lateral expansion speed increases after the steam chamber contacts the top of the reservoir. The lateral expansion velocity and width of the steam chamber are the largest (0.36 cm/min and 0.4 cm/min, 20 cm) at the well-pairs spacing of 100 m. The heavy oil recovery factors at varying well-pairs spacing are in turn, 39.4% (50 m), 37.1% (75 m), and 33.7% (100 m). Compared to 6 m and 9 m, the vertical distances of 3 m have the highest ultimate oil recovery, 35.4%. Considering the economy and exploitation effect, the dual well-pairs with 50–75 m spacing and no vertical distance is recommended to promote the successful application of the SAGD technique in heavy oil reservoirs with 20–30 m thickness. • Expansion angel and connection characteristics of the steam chamber were studied. • Dual well-pairs spacing is 50, 75, and 100 m and vertical distance is 3, 6, and 9 m. • Larger double-well pair spacing results in a larger expansion angle. • Smaller the vertical distance of dual well-pairs, the larger the expansion angle. • Dual well-pairs with 50–75 m spacing and no vertical distance are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the mechanical performance of concrete incorporating fly ash based light weight aggregates. Comparative assessment on the physical and mechanical properties of cold bonded and sintered fly ash aggregates were evaluated systematically. Design concrete mixes were theoretically arrived using aggregate packing concept with different combinations of two phase system (mortar and fly ash aggregate). Experimental test results indicated favorable mechanical strength improvements of concrete incorporating sintered fly ash aggregates compared to cold bonded aggregates. Test results also demonstrated that the composite strength of concrete was found to be improved when the ratio of volume of coarse aggregate to volume of cement mortar is lower. Most notably, the sintered fly ash aggregate (62%) substituted concrete mixes exhibited a maximum compressive strength of 39.97 MPa when subjected to hot water curing. In general, favorable strength gain properties were noted in the case of fly ash aggregate concrete specimens exposed to either accelerated steam or hot water curing. Effects on the strength properties of various fly ash aggregate concretes subjected to various durability tests were also reported in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical model for estimating the discharge of a horizontal well in the process of mining deposits of superviscous oils and natural bitumens by the method of steam-assisted gravity drainage has been developed. The results of calculations carried out using this model are in good agreement with the corresponding data of experiments on the physical simulation of the process of steam-assisted gravity drainage. The infl uence of the fi ltration capacity and the linear sizes of an oil pool on the discharge of a horizontal well in it was investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, with growing worldwide demand for oil, unconventional resources have been one of the major concerns of the petroleum industry to provide the next generation's fuel supply. These viscous trapped reserves need application of new technologies to be exploited economically. One of the most promising enhanced oil recovery methods for recovery of these potentially huge resources is the steam assisted gravity drainage process. Because of necessity for drilling horizontal wells during the system assisted gravity drainage process, this method needs a high operational cost. Therefore, one of the most challenging issues of engineers is reducing operational costs. This article presents a numerical investigation on a new well pattern for producing more oil during the system assisted gravity drainage process in naturally fractured reservoirs and reducing operational risks and costs by drilling fewer wells. By conducting several analyses, it was concluded that the system assisted gravity drainage process using this pattern results in enhanced ultimate recovery. In this new pattern, in addition to gravity drainage, the other production mechanism is pressure drive, which presents more recovery for the system assisted gravity drainage process. At last, operational parameters were optimized to have the best performance in this pattern. It was concluded that for this process it is better to drill the injector near to the producer. For the producing well, it should have a mean pressure to divert the oil efficiently by both drainage and pressure drive mechanisms simultaneously. As well for the steam injection rate, the best rate to drain more oil while preventing breakthrough for better pressure drive should be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is a promising technique for production of heavy oil reservoirs. Various new methods have been developed based on SAGD and one of them is SAGD-ISSLW. In this study, a comparison between SAGD and SAGD-ISSLW was investigated, and then effects of operational parameters and reservoir variables on SAGD-ISSLW performance were studied. The results show that cumulative oil production and oil production rate of SAGD-ISSLW process increase significantly in comparison to conventional SAGD. Higher injection rate and lower well spacing result in higher cumulative oil production in SAGD-ISSLW. Among reservoir variables, permeability has a considerable effect on oil production and other parameters have a negligible effect on the cumulative oil production, but affect steam chamber expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Multi-lateral well SAGD process is a newly proposed recovery process in recent years, in which a multi-lateral well is applied to replace the horizontal well in classic SAGD process. In this paper, a three-dimensional physical model is applied to simulate the recovery performance of multi-lateral well SAGD process in heavy oil reservoirs. First, on the basis of Pujol-Boberg similarity criterion, the Forchheimer's law is introduced to deal with the similarity of model permeability in 3D experiment. Thus, from the actual properties of Long Lake heavy oil reservoir, the lab scale experimental parameters are obtained. Then, by using a multi-lateral wellbore model, four scaled 3D SAGD experiments are performed, including one conventional dual horizontal well SAGD experiment (base case) and three multi-lateral well based SAGD experiments. From the experimental observation, the advantages of multi-lateral well are discussed from liquid production and steam chamber expansion. Finally, by the collected images, the distribution of residual oil saturation after SAGD process is also discussed. Results indicate that the introduction of Forchheimer's law can effectively handle with the problem of kinetic similarity damage caused by high permeability during a 3D experiment. Compared with the conventional dual horizontal well SAGD process, the application of multi-lateral well can increase the oil recovery factor by above 15%. To some extent, the application of multi-lateral well can increase the duration time of plateau stage or wind down stage. Simultaneously, compared with the single application of multi-lateral well in SAGD well pair, a dual multi-lateral well SAGD process has a higher expansion rate of steam chamber and a shorter recovery time. For steam chamber, under the dragging mechanism of branch wellbore, the shape of steam chamber is a "inverted trapezoid" shape instead of the "inverted triangle" shape for conventional dual horizontal well configuration. Under the effect of branch wellbore, steam chamber can effectively reach to the reservoir boundary and increase the volume of steam chamber. The residual oil saturation mainly distributed around the reservoir boundary, which is far from the main wellbore and branch wellbore. This paper further clarifies the EOR mechanisms and steam chamber expansion rules of multi-lateral well SAGD process. • A 3D physical model is applied to simulate the recovery performance and steam chamber expansion of multi-lateral well SAGD process. • The Forchheimer's law is introduced to deal with the similarity of model permeability in 3D experiment. • The advantages of multi-lateral well are discussed from liquid production and steam chamber expansion. • The distribution of residual oil saturation after SAGD process is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the effect of reservoir heterogeneity on steam chamber expansion in SAGD, the different distribution patterns of shale interlayer were built by sequential-indicator simulation (SISIM). Three new concepts of upper steam chamber fraction, lower steam chamber fraction and total steam chamber fraction were defined on the basis of reservoir numerical simulation. The influences of different shale interlayer distribution patterns and fracturing fracture forms on steam chamber expansion of SAGD were studied. The research results showed that the more the shale interlayer developed in the reservoir, the stronger the steam chamber expansion in reservoir was limited by the shale interlayer, and the trends that vertical expansion steam chamber was weaken and horizontal expansion was enhanced appearently very clear with the shale interlayer development. Well linear functional relationship was set up between overall steam chamber fraction and oil recovery under different shale probabilities. The fracturing fracture could improve the performance of steam chamber expansion and SAGD development. The vertical fractures could accelerate oil drainage rate of SAGD by enlarging the vertical steam chamber height, which made the development effect of vertical fractures better than that of horizontal fractures. Besides, as the shifted vertical fractures could decrease steam cross flow between injection wells and production wells caused by vertical fractures, the steam chamber expansion and SAGD development effect of the shifted vertical fracture were both better than that of vertical fractures [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is very important to quantitatively analyze steam chamber expanding and bottom water invading during steam flooding. Firstly, a novel method was established to identify the moment of water invading based on the energy conservation law. Then, a series of experiments were carried out to research the effect of steam flooding through 3D physical simulation and oil-component analysis. The results showed that water invading was recognized through the inflection point of tangent slope of temperature vs. time. Steam mainly migrated in upper layer and hot water moved downwards into bottom layer. The four stages of steam flooding were corresponding to the growth processes of steam chamber, such as expanding, advancing, channeling and overriding. The ultimate oil recovery factor was only 36.00%. The shape of water coning deformed from a triangle to a trapezoid. Finally, the dimensionless volume of water coning was about 32.29%. During steam flooding, the content of oil components gradually changed due to the effect of distillation. The content of light hydrocarbon was higher at the front of steam chamber. However, heavy components mainly occupied the swept zone of steam flooding. The results are important in exploitation practice aiming at heavy oil reservoirs with bottom water. The production performance and the stage divisions during steam flooding. Aiming at steam flooding for heavy oil reservoirs with bottom water, a method was established to identify bottom water invading according to the energy conservation law. The growth processes of steam chamber presented different production performance during steam flooding. The processes involved expanding, advancing, channeling and overriding. The oil production rate was related to the four stages of effective displacement, stable displacement, steam channeling and complete water invading. During steam injection, steam mainly migrated in upper layer and hot water moved downwards into bottom layer. During bottom water invading, the shape of water coning gradually deformed from a triangle to a trapezoid. The oil components obviously changed due to the effect of distillation. The content of light hydrocarbon was higher at the front of steam chamber. However, heavy components mainly occupied the swept zone of steam flooding. [Display omitted] • A method is introduced to identify water invading based on the heat conservation law. • The growth of steam chamber involves expanding, advancing, channeling and overriding. • Water coning moves upward to horizontal well in a shape of triangle and then trapezoid. • The distillation effect to make light hydrocarbon volatilize and heavy component deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Guantao Formation in the Block Du 84 of the Liaohe Oilfield of Northeastern China is a super heavy oil reservoir surrounded by top water, side and bottom water. Commercial development started in 1999 using vertical well Cyclic Steam Stimulation (CSS), with anticipated oil recovery factor of less than 25%. To improve the ultimate oil recovery, a pilot test of SAGD as a follow-up to CSS began in 2005 using a combination of infill horizontal wells with existing vertical wells; and the commercial expansion began in 2008 as a result of the encouraging results from pilot test. The current recovery factor over the entire development area has exceeded 45% of OOIP, with the pilot test area exceeding 68% of OOIP, and the ultimate recovery factor is predicted to exceed 70%. As the steam chamber becomes more mature and continues expanding upward, the risk of communication with the top water increases. Due to high pressure (>6.0 MPa) in the top water layer, it is not practical to balance the operating pressure in the steam chamber under the current economic conditions. The early forecasting of top water flow rates is important to assess its potential impact on SAGD performance and to formulate operating strategies for the late stage of SAGD development. In this paper, a theoretical model for predicting flow rate of top water to the SAGD chamber is established based on the incorporation of fluid flow and heat transfer mechanisms in porous media in the reservoir (barrier layer) between the steam chamber and the top water. The influence of barrier layer thickness, permeability, crude oil viscosity distribution and operating pressures in the steam chamber on the flow rate of the top water are studied. The flow of the top water into the steam chamber will lower oil to steam ratio (OSR) and the recovery process may become uneconomic when top water flow rate exceeds the current steam injection rate per well pair. The presence of high-viscosity "asphalt shell" layers near the bottom of the top water has limited mitigation effect on the flow of the top water. Under current operating conditions and 3.0 MPa pressure differential between the top water layer and steam chamber, 10 m of minimum thickness of barrier layer should be maintained to effectively mitigate the risk from inflow of top water. • A predictive model is established for the flow rate of top water into the steam chamber. • Key parameters affecting flow rate of top water into the steam chamber are analyzed. • The effect of top water flow into the steam chamber on OSR is evaluated. • Recommendations are made for mitigating the impact of top water on SAGD operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steam injection is the most popular used method in recovering heavy oil reservoirs. Many researchers were engaged in enhancing oil recovery (EOR) methods by using various well configurations. Laboratory experiments and field applications have verified the feasibility of extra-heavy oil recovery by steam injection using vertical injector -horizontal producer. It was also referred to as a steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process. However, the characteristic of steam chamber growth and production performance during the vertical injector-horizontal producer steam injection process have not been fully understood. In this study, a 3D physical model was constructed to investigate the mechanisms of the steam injection process using vertical injector-horizonal producer. Numerical simulations were also conducted to verify the laboratory experiment and field application. In the aspect of steam chamber growth, the results revealed that three stages were included during the steam injection process. In the aspect of developing mechanisms, it can be divided into steam flooding and gravity drainage stages. Moreover, the results show that about 43.9% of original oil in place (OOIP) was produced in the gravity drainage stage. In addition, subcool showed significant difference in steam flooding and gravity drainage stages. The temperature distribution mode of the horizontal producer was analyzed and proved to be a significant factor that influences the production performance. Sensitivity analysis by using numerical simulation demonstrated that oil viscosity is the dominant factor that impact the production performance. The results guided the development of pilot test area in Xinjiang Oilfield, China. The study can provide a clearer understanding of the vertical injector-horizontal producer steam injection process in recovering heavy oil reservoirs. • The vertical injector- horizontal producer steam injection process was divided into three stages. • The dominant driving forces, steam flooding and gravity drainage, varies in different developing stages. • Production performance at different developing stages were analyzed, and most oil was developed by gravity drainage. • The results were used to guide the development of the pilot test area in Xinjiang Oilfield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shale barrier distributes widely in heavy oil reservoirs. However, the influence mechanism of shale barrier on heavy oil recovery is still unclear. For this reason, the influence mechanism in physics was first proposed. Then, the influence mechanism in mechanics was concluded from the steam migration velocity decreasing and the heat conduction rate enhancing. Especially, it was obtained by theoretical analysis that shale barrier has a positive effect on heavy oil recovery under the reasobale condition. To validate the influence mechanism, a numerical model containing the shale barrier was established. The numerical results validated the influence mechanism in physics from two aspects of steam chamber shape and migration behaviors of steam and oil. In addition, the numerical results showed that it has the higher cumulative oil volume and the lower residual oil saturation for the heavy oil recovery when considering reasonable distribution of shale barrier, validating the conclusion that shale barrier has a positive effect on heavy oil recovery. Additionally, the reason behind positive effect caused by the shale barrier was analyzed, including the longer production period, the higher steam injection volume and the lower heat loss. Especially, economic feasibility for heavy oil recovery was evaluated by calculating net present value (NPV) and the ratio of the produced energy to the consumed energy. Finally, the parametric analysis was performed to investigate effects of geometric properties of shale barrier on heavy oil recovery, including the barrier location, the barrier length, the barrier thickness and the number of barrier. The results show that: (1) the reasonable distribution of barrier location far away from the injection well is advantageous for the heavy oil recovery; (2) the reasonable increasing of barrier length, thickness and number is beneficial for the heavy oil recovery. ► Influence mechanism of shale barrier on heavy oil recovery using SAGD was proposed. ► Influence mechanism was validated by numerical model considering shale barrier. ► Shale barrier has, to some extend, a positive effect on heavy oil recovery using SAGD. ► Shale barrier induced potential benefits for the heavy oil recovery were concluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its initial proposal, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) has become a key technology of heavy-oil recovery. Due to the large heat loss and high energy consumption in the SAGD process, gas-assisted SAGD is a way to improve the efficiency. In this paper, a two-dimensional (2D) visualization simulation experiment of SAGD is introduced. By adjusting the volume ratio of steam to nitrogen, the proportion for the nitrogen-assisted SAGD process is optimized based on a homogeneous model. The 2D visualization simulation experiment of a heterogeneous model is carried out by adjusting the length of a low-permeability interlayer. The results of the SAGD simulation experiment and nitrogen-assisted SAGD simulation experiment are analyzed. The effect of nitrogen on breaking through and bypassing the low-permeability interlayer is discussed. The experimental results show that the optimal volume ratio of steam to nitrogen is 8:2 in the process of nitrogen-assisted SAGD. At this volume ratio, the sweep efficiency, recovery factor and cumulative oil-steam ratio are the largest, and the recovery factor reaches up to 49.12%. The experimental results for the heterogeneous model with the low-permeability interlayer show that nitrogen can synergistically promote steam to break through the fully occluding interlayer and bypass partially occluding interlayers. Comparing the results of the SAGD simulation with those of the nitrogen-assisted SAGD simulation for the heterogeneous model with the low-permeability interlayer, it is found that the sweep efficiency of steam increases from 34.24% to 43.12%. This result can be explained by the effect of nitrogen on expanding the steam-swept area in the SAGD process and the synergistic action between nitrogen and steam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]