Numerical Simulation of Phase Transitions in Porous Media with Three-Phase Flows Considering Steam Injection into the Oil Reservoir

Abstract

This study focuses on the analysis of an approach to the simulation of the phase transition in porous media when hot steam is injected into the oil reservoir. The reservoir is assumed to consist of a porous medium with homogeneous thermal properties. Its porous space is filled with a three-phase mixture of steam, water, and oil. The problem is considered in a non-stationary and non-isothermal formulation. Each phase is considered to be incompressible, with constant thermal properties, except for the dynamic viscosity of oil, which depends on the temperature. The 1D mathematical model of filtration, taking into account the phase transition, consists of continuity, Darcy, and energy equations. Steam injection and oil production in the model are conducted via vertical or horizontal wells. In the case of horizontal wells, the influence of gravity is also taken into account. The Lee model is used to simulate the phase transition between steam and water. The convective terms in the balance equations are calculated without accounting for artificial diffusion. Spatial discretization of the 1D domain is carried out using the finite volume method, and time discretization is implemented using the inverse (implicit) Euler scheme. The proposed model is analyzed in terms of the accuracy of the phase transition simulation for various sets of independent phases and combinations of continuity equations. In addition, we study the sensitivity of the model to the selected independent phases, to the time step and spatial mesh parameters, and to the intensity of the phase transition. The obtained results allow us to formulate recommendations for simulations of the phase transition using the Lee model.

Experiments on Steam Injection into Preformed Steam Chambers of Various Shapes for Maximum Condensate Recovery

“…In the search for a strong reduction in the injected water and the wasted energy, it is crucial to understand the main physical mechanisms and conditions that control the efficient production of condensates [10][11][12][13][14][15]. For instance, some numerical [12,13] and experimental [14,15] studies suggest that it is possible to control the well spacing, the well placement, or the injection temperature [13] in order to optimize the oil production of heavy oil reservoirs.…”

“…It is important to note that, perhaps due to the seminal works of Butler [1][2][3][4], many theoretical and experimental works have reported steam injection in terms of volume flow rates (see, for instance, [7,11,14,22,23]). However, to measure gas flow using a volumetric flow meter, temperature and pressure measurement are required, along with the gas density, to convert the volumetric flow into mass flow.…”