In-Situ Catalytic Aquathermolysis Combined with Geomechanical Dilation to Enhance Thermal Heavy-Oil Production

Fan, Yanying; Sun, Xianqiang; Mai, Xing; Xu, Bin; Dong, Mingzhe; Yuan, Yanguang

doi:10.2118/184981-ms

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…As a result, both well production and stimulation efficiency increase. Similar supportive field data can be found in [5][6][7][8][9][10] and [11].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 83%

High In Situ Stress Anisotropy Lead to Formation of Complex Fracture Patterns

Yan¹,

Zhang²,

Yu³

et al. 2021

Geofluids

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During the process of water injection, due to solid particle deposition and foreign liquid intrusion, the formation near the wellbore was contaminated and blocked. As a result, water injection rate reduced and failed to meet the injection requirements. In order to improve water injection rate and improve oil recovery of offshore oilfields, hydraulic injection tests were carried out in controlled laboratory conditions. In general, the formation of complex fracture patterns is an ideal outcome of the hydraulic fracturing stimulation seeks to achieve. In situ stress condition is an inherited geological condition one can only adopt to. By comparing test results of different experiments that had varied stress and hydraulic injection conditions imposed, we can investigate their impact on the fracture patterns created. This paper presents laboratory evidences to support that if the hydraulic injection condition is managed properly, a complex fracture pattern is possible even under a high in situ stress anisotropy. Even if the in situ stress condition has a large anisotropy, proper hydraulic stimulation operations can still cause complex fracture patterns and thus provide good stimulation efficiency.

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“…As a result, both well production and stimulation efficiency increase. Similar supportive field data can be found in [5][6][7][8][9][10] and [11].…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 83%

High In Situ Stress Anisotropy Lead to Formation of Complex Fracture Patterns

Yan¹,

Zhang²,

Yu³

et al. 2021

Geofluids

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“…It introduces shear dilation to induce the mini-fractures between the injector and producer. The mass transfer rate of steam into the formation would be effectively enhanced through these mini-fractures, and the preheating period would be evidently reduced from 200-300 days to 100-150 days [18][19][20][21]. With the characteristics of water shear dilation and formation rock tensile parting, the high permeability sections would be preferentially communicated, leaving the low-permeability or interbedded sections poorly heated, which has been validated by SAGD field application in FC oilfield in Xinjiang.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Strategies of SAGD Start-Up by Downhole Electrical Heating

Yang²,

Yang³

et al. 2022

Energies

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The SAGD start-up process normally circulates steam in both the injector and producer, which consumes a large amount of steam, requires the high cost of high-temperature-produced liquid treatment, and unavoidably results in preferential communication in heterogeneous reservoirs. In order to achieve uniform preheat and full steam chamber development in SAGD wellpairs, downhole electrical heating to start up SAGD was proposed and investigated in this study using physical and numerical simulation approaches. Two 3-D scaled physical experiments were designed and implemented to investigate the feasibility and heating characteristics of such a method. Numerical simulation was conducted using an SAGD sector model with typical field properties to design the preheating process, optimize key operational parameters, and formulate the soak strategy to determine the SAGD conversion timing. The experimental results indicate that electrical heating outperforms steam circulation in achieving the uniform thermal communication in heterogeneous reservoirs, which is challenged in the conventional steam circulation process. The preheating process and operational parameters of electrical heating were formulated and optimized, which include wellbore pre-flush, wellbore saturation by heat conduction fluid, electrical heating, and replacement of heat conduction fluid periodically. Surveillance of temperature difference along the horizontal section while powering off electrical heating intermittently is optimized to be the SAGD conversion timing determination strategy. Based on the combination results of scaled physical simulation and pilot wellpair numerical simulation, full heat communication and steam chamber development are achieved along the horizontal length by electrical preheating, and the oil recovery factor of the pilot wellpair is enhanced by 14.8%, indicating encouraging potentials in heavy oil and bitumen development.

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“…The distance between the injector and the producer can be varied based on the reservoir conditions. Before the steam injection, a high mobility zone is generated to build the communication between the injector and producer (Fan et al, 2017;Sun et al, 2021). Subsequently, steam injection is initiated.…”

Section: Process Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since 2013, FUSE technology has been applied to more than 60 SAGD well pairs, and good results have been achieved. Significant experience has been gained in site execution [31].…”

Section: Dilation (Start-up)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Investigation of a Novel Bottom-Up Assisted Pressure Drive Process in Oil Sands Reservoirs with Shale Barriers

et al. 2022

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Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is widely applied to recover bitumen and heavy oil resources. Reservoir heterogeneity, especially the presence of shale barriers, continues to challenge the performance of SAGD. A novel enhanced oil recovery process, bottom-up assisted pressure drive, is proposed to improve the oil production in the reservoirs with shale barriers. In this work, numerical simulation is applied to investigate the feasibility of a bottom-up assisted pressure drive process. A reservoir model with typical oil sand reservoir properties is developed considering shale barriers. The performance of bottom-up assisted pressure drive and SAGD is compared under the same reservoir conditions, including steam chamber development, oil production rate, cumulative oil production, and the pressure difference between injector and production. The inherent mechanisms associated with the bottom-up assisted pressure drive are also well understood and confirmed. In the bottom-up assisted pressure drive, a flat steam chamber is developed from the bottom of the reservoir in the early stage of the process and grows upward with the injection of steam. The large volume of the steam chamber and the huge contact area between steam and bitumen contribute to a high oil production rate. The peak oil production rate in the bottom-up assisted pressure drive is approximately three times that in the SAGD process. The cumulative oil production in the bottom-up assisted pressure drive is 20% higher than that in the SAGD process. The effect of shale barriers on bottom-up assisted pressure drive is less, indicating one advantage of this novel process over SAGD in oil sands reservoirs with shale barriers. The pressure difference in the bottom-up assisted pressure drive is greater than that in the SAGD process. The pressure drive is another mechanism for improving oil production. The calculated net present value (NPV) in the bottom-up assisted pressure drive process is 27% higher than that in the SAGD process. This is mainly attributed to the high oil production rate in the early stage of the process and high cumulative oil production. The simulation study in this work provides technical support for the future field applications of this novel recovery process.

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In-Situ Catalytic Aquathermolysis Combined with Geomechanical Dilation to Enhance Thermal Heavy-Oil Production

Cited by 9 publications

References 9 publications

High In Situ Stress Anisotropy Lead to Formation of Complex Fracture Patterns

High In Situ Stress Anisotropy Lead to Formation of Complex Fracture Patterns

Strategies of SAGD Start-Up by Downhole Electrical Heating

Numerical Investigation of a Novel Bottom-Up Assisted Pressure Drive Process in Oil Sands Reservoirs with Shale Barriers

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