North Slope Heavy-Oil Sand-Control Strategy: Detailed Case Study of Sand Production Predictions and Field Measurements for Alaskan Heavy-Oil Multilateral Field Developments

Burton, Robert C.; Chin, L.Y.; Davis, Eric; Enderlin, Milton; Fuh, Giin-Fa; Hodge, Richard M.; Ramos, Rico; VanDeVerg, Phil; Werner, Michaël; Mathews, William Lloyd; Petersen, Sean David

doi:10.2118/97279-ms

Cited by 21 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Instead, success with several thermal methods, such as steam injection and electromagnetic heating, was demonstrated. Among the thermal processes, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), which was pioneered and developed by Butler (Butler and Mcnab 1981), is the most widely adopted technology for commercial production in Alberta (Ipek et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Effects of Lean Zones and Shale Distribution in Steam-Assisted-Gravity-Drainage Recovery Performance

Wang

Leung

2015

SPE Reservoir Evaluation &Amp; Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Performance of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is influenced significantly by the distributions of lean zones and shale barriers, which tend to impede the vertical growth and lateral spread of a steam chamber. Previous literature has partially addressed their effects on SAGD performance; however, a comprehensive and systematic investigation of the heterogeneous distribution (location, continuity, size, saturation, and proportions) of shale barriers and lean zones is still lacking.In this study, numerical simulations are used to model the SAGD process. Capillarity and relative permeability effects, which were ignored in many previous simulation studies, are incorporated to model bypassed oil. Numerous ranking schemes are formulated to analyze various aspects of SAGD performance. A detailed sensitivity analysis is performed by varying the location, continuity, size, proportions, and saturation of these heterogeneous features. Lean zones and shale lenses (imbedded in a region of degraded rock properties) with different sizes and degrees of continuity are placed in areas above the injector, below the producer, or in between the well pair. It is noted that among numerous parameters that influence the ultimate recovery, remaining bypassed oil, chamber advancement, and heat loss, continuity and position of these features in relation to the well pair play a particularly crucial role. Neural network modeling is subsequently used for constructing data-driven models to identify and propose a set of input variables for correlating relevant parameters or measures, which are descriptive of the heterogeneity and properties of the shale barriers and lean zones, to recovery and ranking results.This work provides a guideline for assessing the impacts of reservoir and saturation heterogeneities on SAGD performance. A set of input variables and parameters that have significant impacts on the ensuing recovery response is identified. One can define readily the proposed set of variables from well logs and apply immediately in data-driven models with field data and scaleup analysis of experimental models to assist field-operation design and evaluation. One can also extend the approach presented in this paper to analyze other solvent-assisted SAGD processes.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Effects of Lean Zones and Shale Distribution in Steam-Assisted-Gravity-Drainage Recovery Performance

Wang

Leung

2015

SPE Reservoir Evaluation &Amp; Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The original heavy oil in place is 1.7 trillion barrels in Alberta, Canada (Burton et al 2005;Chen et al 2008). Amongst, a significant amount is contained in reservoirs with a top water zone or a top gas zone (Alturiki et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility Study of Using Polymer to Improve SAGD Performance in Oil Sands with Top Water

Zhou

Zeng

2014

Day 1 Tue, June 10, 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In western Canada, there are significant amounts of oil sands reserves that have little or no cap rock with a top water zone (Alturiki et al. 2011); because of huge heat loss, conventional SAGD process is uneconomical when it is directly applied in this type of reserves.In this study, it is proposed that high temperature polymer can be injected into the bottom of the top water zone to establish a stable high viscosity layer in order to prevent steam from leaking to the top water zone. Lab tests were first conducted to screen the polymers. In order to select a proper polymer which was able to have stable viscosity under high temperature, viscosities of different polymers at different temperatures were measured; and concentration of the selected polymer was optimized. Then numerical simulations were performed to evaluate the feasibility of using the selected polymer to improve SAGD performance in oil sands with top water. The numerical simulation model was based on Athabasca oil sands reservoir. In this formation, the top water zone was around 94 meters, while the reservoir thickness was about 30 meters. The vertical permeability was 50 mD and 1,400 mD for the top water zone and the oil zone, respectively. And the porosity was 10% for the top water zone and 30% for the oil zone. The effect of the polymer injection strategy including the polymer injection parameters, such as polymer slug size, injection rate, injection time and well distance on the performance of SAGD process was studied.The numerical simulation results suggested that, polymer injection was able to block the heat from leaking to the top water zone. With polymer injection, the cSOR can be reduced from 8.5 m 3 /m 3 to 4.8 m 3 /m 3 , while for the case without top water, the cSOR was 3.8 m 3 /m 3 . This indicates that polymer injection is technically feasible to improve SAGD performance in oil sands with top water.

show abstract

“…Since the development of the North Slope, numerous pilot projects have attempted to economically produce the viscous West Sak oil; however, none of these projects have resulted in commercial development of the resource until recently 1,2 . Advances in drilling and a detailed study into sand management has led to an economically viable project utilizing extended reach slotted liners in dual and tri-lateral wells 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Much Is Left of Your Centralizer After Exiting a Casing Window in an Extended-Reach Horizontal Multilateral? Modeling, Yard Tests, and Field Results From Alaska's West Sak Development

Peterson¹,

Greener²,

Davis³

et al. 2007

Proceedings of SPE/IADC Drilling Conference

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

TX 75083-3836 U.S.A., fax 1.972.952.9435. AbstractThe West Sak viscous oilfield on the North Slope of Alaska is currently being developed with extended reach multilateral wells, with departure to depth ratios up to 5 to 1, in which horizontal slotted liners are utilized in conjunction with a TAML level 3 multilateral junction system. Centralizers are considered necessary on the slotted liners to avoid slot plugging, reduce drag, and limit differential sticking. Selection of proper centralizers to run through a casing exit, without a whipstock in place, has been key to ensuring a successful multilateral installation.Several failures of centralizers run on liners through casing exits have resulted in significant drilling lost time associated with fishing and milling pieces of centralizers in order to place the wells into proper service. After three such failures, the requirement to study the passage of a centralized liner through a casing exit became essential. A surface test fixture was utilized to simulate liners run through a casing exit to test several potential centralizer candidates using the loads estimated from modeling.Torque and drag modeling provided the side force estimates exerted on the liner and centralizer as they passed through a casing exit. This paper will the discuss the liner centralizer installation problems prior to the testing program, detail the modeling used to determine the loads exerted on the centralizer at the casing exit, show the results of the yard tests conducted on several commonly utilized industry centralizers, and make recommendations for proper liner centralization in multilaterals.

show abstract

North Slope Heavy-Oil Sand-Control Strategy: Detailed Case Study of Sand Production Predictions and Field Measurements for Alaskan Heavy-Oil Multilateral Field Developments

Cited by 21 publications

References 19 publications

Characterizing the Effects of Lean Zones and Shale Distribution in Steam-Assisted-Gravity-Drainage Recovery Performance

Characterizing the Effects of Lean Zones and Shale Distribution in Steam-Assisted-Gravity-Drainage Recovery Performance

Feasibility Study of Using Polymer to Improve SAGD Performance in Oil Sands with Top Water

How Much Is Left of Your Centralizer After Exiting a Casing Window in an Extended-Reach Horizontal Multilateral? Modeling, Yard Tests, and Field Results From Alaska's West Sak Development

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About