Experimental investigation of nitrogen-assisted SAGD in heavy-oil reservoirs: A two-dimensional visual analysis.

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]